Hospitality and home: How Nashville hotel design is evolving

Hospitality and home: How Nashville hotel design is evolving

Lee S. Davis, AIA, NCARB, LEED® AP BD+C
Ryan Terrell, AIA

Nashville’s hospitality market is booming, cementing the city’s place among premier U.S. destinations. With corporate office demand slowing and construction costs rising, hotels have emerged as one of the strongest opportunities for continued development.

Yet, in a city already dense with options, our architects at ESa and developers face a clear challenge: how do you design spaces that feel unique and deeply connected to Nashville’s character?

Designing for the Nashville tourist
Tourists come to Nashville for more than just a place to sleep. They want a story, a moment of escape and a true taste of the city’s essence. In a competitive hospitality market, the most successful hotels create experiences that feel rooted in Nashville’s identity.

Hotels should strike a balance, working as a personal retreat while feeling like home. Visitors don’t want a surface-level nod to Broadway neon signs or guitars on every wall, but to feel a genuine connection to the neighborhood they’re staying in. Through thoughtful storytelling, material choices and design details that reflect the city in a more subtle, meaningful way, design can immerse guests in a new way.

“It’s easy to be overly campy. Local architects, with their understanding of Nashville’s history and evolving culture, are better positioned to avoid falling into that trap. They can interpret the spirit of the city in ways that feel fresh and sophisticated rather than forced.” – Lee Davis

For example, a hotel lobby might draw inspiration from Nashville’s tradition of gathering spaces like listening rooms, without relying on literal musical motifs. Guest rooms could incorporate textures and finishes that echo the region’s craftsmanship, from warm woods to hand-finished details, grounding the experience in reality.

Ultimately, the goal is for every guest to walk away feeling like they experienced Nashville, not just a hotel room. When design honors the context and neighborhood, hotels become an extension of a city, leaving a lasting impression that goes far beyond a weekend stay.

Case study: Tempo by Hilton 
ESa’s design for Tempo by Hilton  creates an elevated guest experience inspired by the city’s history without leaning into stereotypes. Rather than filling the hotel with obvious references to guitars or country music, the design team looked to Nashville’s past and the people who shaped it.

The hotel draws inspiration from Nashville’s Art Deco landmarks, weaving subtle architectural references and warm, theater-inspired details into the interiors. Its sky lobby, set high above the busy downtown streets, offers sweeping views of the city, giving guests a sense of orientation and connection from the moment they arrive. Public spaces were planned to feel open and social with areas of intimacy for guests to recharge.

A central storytelling device for the project was the imagined character of “Mary Louise,” a 1970s Nashville music icon whose spirit inspired the design. Her persona shaped every piece of design from the color palette to the textures and furnishings. Velvet accents nod to backstage dressing rooms, while rich leathers and metallic finishes recall the glamour of the stage. Lighting choices evoke both spotlight moments and quiet evenings. Even artwork and subtle decorative touches were selected to feel like they might have been collected during Mary Louise’s career, making the interiors feel layered and lived in.

By channeling Mary Louise’s story, our team gave the hotel a distinctive personality. Guests feel as if they are stepping into a narrative that reflects the charisma of the city. The result is a sophisticated, guest-centric hotel that captures Nashville’s spirit with elegance and depth.

Designing for the Nashville resident
As the city grows, mixed-use buildings are in high demand. Many hotels now include residential units on upper floors, creating buildings that serve both permanent residents and short-term guests. This approach maximizes land use and provides new revenue opportunities. It also presents a particular design challenge: how do you create an environment that feels like home to some and a getaway to others?

The key lies in integrating privacy, comfort and shared experiences:

• Shared services and amenities: Communal spaces such as fitness centers, lounges and rooftop pools add value for residents and elevate the guest experience. These spaces must remain sophisticated yet flexible enough to serve both audiences.
• Prioritizing privacy and security: Features such as discreet entrances, controlled-access floors and dedicated lobbies or elevators preserve a sense of ownership for residents while keeping the hotel vibrant and welcoming.
• Creating neighborhood connection: Ground-floor design, whether through restaurants, retail or public gathering areas, anchors the building in the community, giving residents a neighborhood connection and guests an authentic Nashville experience.

ESa’s design for The Nashville EDITION Hotel & Residences combines hotel convenience with the comfort of home. The lower floors feature hotel rooms, and upper levels are reserved for private residences, creating natural separation and privacy. The L-shaped hotel design frames sweeping city views, while natural wood and greenery throughout the building create a calm, welcoming atmosphere.

Residents enjoy exclusive amenities such as a rooftop terrace, fitness center and sports simulator. They also have access to the hotel’s spa, bar and dining venues. Together, these features create a vibrant sense of community that appeals to both travelers and long-term residents.

Context is everything
Successful hotel design begins with understanding the bigger picture of the neighborhood, the site and the city context. A hotel is never designed in isolation. It must fit seamlessly into its surroundings.

“We are designing with the consideration of thoughtful urban planning, where the scope of work expands beyond individual buildings to entire neighborhoods. With more real estate to work with, projects are growing larger in scale, requiring a broader vision that considers not just design, but also infrastructure and long-term community needs. This focus shifts how each development impacts the character of the neighborhood and begs for an eye toward both functionality and the lasting effect they have on the people who live and work there.” – Ryan Terrell

As the second tower within a larger mixed-use district, Pendry Nashville and Pendry Residences at Paseo South Gulch were never envisioned as a standalone building. Its faceted glass-and-metal façade references the industrial character of the neighborhood while maintaining dialogue with the restored Voorhees Building nearby. By combining hospitality, residences, retail and public spaces, the design reinforces the Pendry as a vital link within the urban fabric. More than a landmark, the project reflects how thoughtful planning can shape the way people experience a neighborhood.

The future of hotel interiors
By blending the needs of tourists and residents, telling thoughtful stories and embedding buildings into their neighborhoods, architects can create projects that elevate the guest experience, strengthen communities and reinforce Nashville’s reputation as a premier destination city.

Interior design and renovation are emerging as critical areas of growth with new construction slowing. Through material selection and narrative-driven design, existing properties can be reimagined into vibrant experiences that feel current and honor their history.

Designing hotels in Nashville requires both creativity and functionality. The goal is to create projects that feel both distinctly Nashville and uniquely themselves – hotels that leave a lasting impression because they could only exist here. The most impactful projects come from collaboration between designers, developers and communities. Together, we can create hotels that welcome visitors and residents alike while expressing the authentic character of Nashville and beyond.