The Hermitage Hotel

From Lyn Dobrin

Nashville is rightfully billed as Music City so there is lots to do in town. Just four blocks away from the hotel, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum offers insight into this slice of Americana. At the museum, visitors can sign up for a tour of the historic RCA Studio B, a non-descript one-story building that was the epicenter of the Nashville Sound of the 1960s.

In Studio B the Everly Brothers recorded “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” Roy Orbison sang “Only the Lonely,” and Elvis Presley crooned “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” to name a few mega-hits that come out of this modest setting. It is possible to arrange a private tour and make your own recording there.

The Hermitage is also one block from the 5th Avenue of the Arts, home to many galleries featuring contemporary artists.

While in the region, a visit to a different Hermitage might be in order: the home of the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. Another grand house and gardens of interest is Cheekwood, the 1933 mansion of businessman Leslie Cheek, who established his fortune by investing in his cousin’s new blend of coffee: Maxwell House.

For golf lovers there are three highly acclaimed courses 20 minutes away: Spring House, which is part of Gaylord Opryland; and The President’s Reserve and The President’s Retreat, both in Hermitage, Tennessee.