10 New Venues in Nashville for Fall 2021 Meetings and Events

The 252-room Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville opened on July 30 in the SoBro neighborhood near Broadway Street, hip restaurants and notable cultural destinations. There are 11 suites, each with views of the Cumberland River that guests can enjoy from the room’s massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The hotel’s lavish 1,096-square-foot Presidential Suite stands out with custom millwork, a custom dining room table and ping-pong table, a record player and curated vinyl, a vintage arcade game system and plenty of room to gather. Ella's on 2nd is the hotel’s signature restaurant showcasing Southern fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A poolside restaurant and bar are situated on the ninth floor, offering small bites, all-day rosé and a cocktail menu. There are nine meeting rooms spanning 7,600 square feet, and the largest room is the 2,040-square-foot Mandolin Ballroom, which can hold 128 guests. The Mandolin I room can accommodate 40 attendees in its 828-square-foot area, and the Mandolin II can welcome 60 guests within its 1,218 square-foot space. There's also the 606-square-foot Tambourine Lounge, or the 364-square-foot Harmonica Boardroom that has an 80-inch LCD screen ideal for presentations or board meetings. The Banjo meeting room has access to an outdoor terrace and is 515 square feet.

In May, the Staybridge Suites Nashville-Midtown opened by IHG near Vanderbilt University in the Midtown/West End corridor with easy access to Music Row, the Gulch and the Nashville Airport. The four-level, 164-room hotel features extended-stay style rooms. They are equipped with iPod docks, sofa beds and full-size kitchens with refrigerators, microwaves, stoves and dishwashers, suitable for business travelers. There is a 900-square-foot meeting space that can accommodate 40 guests for banquets or classroom-style configurations, or 60 attendees for receptions or theater style. An on-site bar and restaurant dubbed Station 350 pays homage to the location’s previous roots as a downtown fire station featuring photographs, fire station decor and fire station-inspired cocktails. An indoor heated pool and an outdoor seating area with a modern grilling station encompass 3,000 square feet. Other amenities include a 24-hour business center, a co-working space and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

In September, Monday Night Preservation Society, located on a 14-acre waterfront, celebrated its grand opening in East Germantown in the Neuhoff Development. The taproom was a former 1920s meatpacking facility with 20-foot ceilings, concrete pillars, exposed brick, communal tables and a stage. The rustic space serves over 20 craft beers on tap, including year-round, seasonal, special-edition and limited-release options. An open-air, partially covered outdoor pavilion (pictured) is available for meetings and events and can host as many as 120 for seated occasions or 180 for receptions. Monday Night Brewing operates two other locations in Atlanta and Birmingham, Ala.

The 165,000-square-foot Tennessee State Library and Archives opened to the public April 13 on the northeast corner of the Bicentennial Mall at Rep. John Lewis Way North and Jefferson Street in Nashville. The new building is climate-controlled and features a robotic retrieval system. It can store 500,000 books and 40,000 boxes of important historical documents, manuscripts and collections. The new space can host up to 300 guests in the classroom and meeting rooms and is an ideal venue for school groups, historians and librarians. Additionally, a reading room is suitable for researchers, lawyers and historians to access the extensive collections.

Forge restaurant was unveiled in May on the first floor of The Chattanoogan Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, slightly over two hours southeast of Nashville. It has 160 seats and a meeting area that can accommodate 60 attendees. The space’s manufacturing past inspires the restaurant’s decor and menu items. The hotel boasts 199 guest rooms recently renovated in 2020, along with the corridors and every bathroom. There was a significant revamp to the Chattanoogan Ballroom, which offers 7,752 square feet of meeting and event space and can hold as many as 500 guests for banquets. The second-floor High Rail, a rooftop bar with beautiful views of downtown Chattanooga, also saw an overhaul. The hotel’s spa was relocated to the first floor and has grown to six treatment rooms and additional services.

The 205-guest room La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Nashville Downtown/Stadium opened in July on the East Bank of Nashville's Cumberland River, across from the Nissan Stadium near Broadway Street. There are two meeting rooms for private events that can host as many as 354 guests within 3,330 square feet. Other highlights include an on-site restaurant and bar, a fitness center, a heated indoor pool and a business center.

The newly opened Aloft Chattanooga Hamilton Place is just over two hours from Nashville and opened in June. The lobby has a six-seat communal table with bold yellow chairs, a colorful area rug and artwork. The 874-square-foot Exchange Meeting Room can accommodate 15 in a classroom-style configuration, 16 guests for conferences or U-shape style, 20 guests theater style or up to 40 for receptions. The 426-square-foot Tactic Board Room (pictured) can hold six guests for small meetings. Guests can use the fitness center 24 hours, which has a mix of free weights and cardio equipment. The hotel’s rooftop bar, WXYZ, is a vibrant space that provides a swanky lounge indoors and outdoor accommodations, a firepit, colorful seating throughout and hand-crafted cocktails.

Staybridge Suites Nashville SE-Murfressboro opened in June and is just under 30 miles from downtown Nashville. The four-level hotel has 101 guest suites equipped with a sofa bed and a full kitchen, and it's ideal for business travelers or extended-stay travelers. There is a 594-square-foot meeting space that can host 18 guests in a U-shape, 24 in a classroom or boardroom setting, or up to 59 attendees theater style. Available equipment for meetings includes an LCD projector and television, whiteboards, flip charts and markers.

The 1,240-square-foot Sidebar opened in April and is billed as the “good time parlor.” The former carport has comfortable leather seating and industrial lighting. It is located within the 69-room boutique hotel Bode Nashville in the SoBro neighborhood. It serves bar bites like the Southern pulled pork sliders, locally sourced meat and cheese boards, pimento cheese dip and house pita chips. Standouts on the cocktail menu include the clever Rhubarb Julep, The Wallflower and The Dark Island Daiquiri, along with craft beer and wine. Buyouts are available for the space that can accommodate up to 69 guests; however, a private bar team and package must be reserved. It can be booked with the nearby courtyard that can host as many as 125 guests for seated events or up to 200 for receptions.

Up-Down Nashville opened in August in the trendy Five Points neighborhood, well-known for shopping and dining. The unique arcade has more than 80 vintage arcade games from the '80s and '90s, including "Donkey Kong," "Excitebike," "Super Mario Bros." and "Pac-Man." Guests can also enjoy pinball machines, including Jurassic Park, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Real Ghostbusters, as well as four Skee-Ball alleys. Overall, the Nashville arcade spans two levels with over 10,000 square feet and can accommodate as many as 440 people. There are two fully stocked bars, a unique cocktail menu and more than 60 craft beers on tap. The menu highlights traditional and specialty pizzas such as pepperoni, macaroni and cheese, and barbecue chicken. Full buyouts are available as well as partial rentals.