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March 1, 2024
On a holiday trip down south I had no doubt where we would be staying in Memphis; The Peabody Hotel is one of the most historic hostelries in the United States. Originally opened in 1869 and rebuilt and refurbished a number of times since, it is a Memphis icon and anyone who is anyone has stayed here while in town including seven Presidents, dozens of rock and roll and blues singers, Hollywood actors by the score and even Margaret Thatcher. It played a pivotal role in John Grisham's breakout novel The Firm and Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman stayed here while making the film. Aside from the glitterati who have made The Peadody their Memphis home, it is even more famous for its legendary ducks who twice a day make their way from their rooftop palace to the fountain that is in the middle of the vast lobby. Led by the Duckmaster it is a very odd spectacle that as dumb as it sounds, is something I’ve always wanted to see. Arriving at The Peabody you can’t help but be impressed by the massive lobby with bars, restaurants and shops running off to the sides. In two days I was still discovering new places including a run in with Jack Daniel at the Corner Bar which receives an annual special edition bourbon made especially for this bar. You'll also find the Lansky Bros. clothing store here. Although not originally at this location, it was from the Lansky's that Elvis bought his regular clothes, along with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Since then it has used the motto ' Dress like a Rock Star' and countless others from Carlos Santana to Drake have followed in the Memphis singers' footsteps. Who knows who you might run into here? Coming here during the holiday season is quite special with a giant, and I mean giant, Chris**as tree on one side of the lobby. There's also a substantial Chris**as village featuring Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory which had to have a permanent guardian to prevent the little children from starting to eat parts of it. The Peabody offers free coffee to its guests in the pastry shop which I'm sure is a great loss leader as the pastries on offer are almost irresistible - white chocolate duck anyone? The duck theme continues to the rooms which have super comfortable linens and pillows and mini-bars of soap in the shape of a duck. All told there was nothing I would change about our stay at The Peabody, it lived up to our expectations in every respect and given the time of year was not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be. And yes we got to see the ducks march in from the balcony on the mezzanine.