The first of 3 stories about my April trip to Graceland.
March 30, 2017, I made my first trip to Graceland at a time other than Elvis Week. My wife was attending an autism conference at the Guesthouse at Graceland and asked me to tag along with her. The Guesthouse is a new hotel run by Elvis Presley Enterprises and is located almost directly next to the mansion. The hotel opened in October. A new visitor’s center with new exhibits call Elvis Presley’s Memphis opened in early March. With an autism conference going on, the hotel being open for less than a year and the visitor’s center being less open for less than a month, this was going to be an interesting trip. This would also be the first time that my visit to Graceland involved an overnight stay.
The Guesthouse
The new hotel at Graceland is very much in the style of the Graceland mansion. It is decorated in a modern style that also strongly suggests the décor of 1970’s Graceland and still managing to be modern. There are a few seats in the lobby that are over the top but they also feel like they wouldn’t be too out of place in a modern-day luxury hotel. There is a stairway at one end of the main floor with a chandelier over it and decorated with mirrors and curtains that strongly resemble the stairway at the entrance at Graceland. This was a popular place for many of the visitors to take pictures including the bride that was getting married in one of the halls in the hotel on Friday night. The Elvis related decorations in our room was limited on one picture on the bedroom that was jumpsuit from the waist to the neck and another picture in the bathroom that had a subtle rockabilly theme. No velvet Elvis paintings or gaudy decorations. The main thing you would notice in the room that made it stand out as an Elvis property were 4 channels on the television. When you turn it on, it starts on a menu page playing Elvis music. If you just want to listen to this music, it allows you to from any of the three decades of Elvis’ career. Another channel ran highlights of the most recent candelight vigil and other Graceland related interviews and news. Another channel ran the ’68 Comeback Special non-stop and another ran the Aloha from Hawaii special non-stop. There were plenty of regular channels if you needed an escape from all things Elvis.
The hotel has plenty of halls and rooms for a conference like the one my wife was attending. I can see the spaces being used during Elvis Week for activities that have been held off-site during previous years. There is a relatively large theatre that is part of this this facility where they have concerts from time to time. I think the wedding was going to be in this room and they were advertising a comedian who would be performing there the following weekend. On-line they were promoting a weekend with Joe Walsh that would be taking place at Graceland with performances and meeting and greet/hangout opportunities this summer. It sounds like an interesting event and I’ve considered attending. The lounge in the lobby had live music every evening. We listened to a “looping performer” play and sing on Thursday night. We also saw an old man fall off a stool at the bar. There was also a woman complaining about someone saying that “they don’t love Memphis.” The back patio of the hotel was a great place to relax and watch a thunderstorm or have a cocktail. They have shuttle busses that will take you to the visitor’s center. Beginning a 6 each evening, a shuttle bus runs between the hotel and Beale Street. We took advantage of this on Friday night.
