The Historic Peabody Hotel – The South’s Grand Hotel is really grand. Ducks swim in the lobby fountain, rooftop parties are a regular event during the summer, and the staff goes above and beyond to make your stay memorable.
The Historic Peabody Hotel Lobby + Check In
When you walk into the lobby, you are hit with a sense of awe.
It is simply gorgeous and definitely awe worthy!
A large fountain carved from a single chunk of marble sits in the center. And if you come during the daytime be on the lookout for ducks swimming happily in the water.
Checkin was a breeze.
I showed up around 10:45 am and my room wasn’t ready yet – I honestly didn’t expect it would be. The front desk couldn’t guarantee when it would be, but they promised to send a text when it was.
The Peabody also offers luggage storage for guests at the concierge desk. I dropped my bags, quickly watched the ducks march, and then set off to explore downtown Memphis before Bloghouse started.
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The Executive King Room
The moment you step through the door it hits you that you are not in an average hotel. The furniture and decor give the room a unique historic charm.
A large sitting area made the hotel room feel more like a studio apartment (minus the kitchenette) than a hotel room.
I heard some of the rooms even have walk-in closets. However, mine did not. In all honesty, though, I definitely didn’t need one.
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The Mezzanine
The Mezzanine is a great place to take a step through time.
I went up there looking for a better shot of the lobby down below and instead found a bit of history.
Off to each side of the elevators was a small shelf with older style telephones. Much to my surprise, when I lifted the receiver, they all had a dial tone.
Down another hall toward one of the meeting rooms was a set of old-timey phone booths. They, too, had a dial tone when I lifted the receiver.
The Ducky Details
The historic Peabody, known for their marching ducks, has branded itself well with all the ducky details.
The do not disturb door hangers said, “Don’t Ruffle My Feathers.”
Each room had two small bars of duck-shaped soap. One was for guests to use during their stay. The other was in a gift bag on the desk with two rubber duckies.
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The gift bag costs about $9 if you would like a souvenir of your stay. Or you can get a Rubber Ducky drink from the bar at the Rooftop Party. The drink is coconut rum based and topped with a small yellow rubber duck that you are more than welcome to keep.
Of course, in my brilliance, I did not get photos of any of these little details.
The Duck March and the Duckmaster
The Duck March is something you can only see at The Historic Peabody Hotel.
The story is that in 1933 when live duck decoys were legal for hunting, the general manager and friend returned to the hotel after a hunting trip with nothing but their decoys. They also had a bit of alcohol to drink and thought it would be a fun joke to place the decoy ducks in the lobby fountain.
The following morning, when the ducks were still in the fountain, guests adored them. In time, the English call ducks were replaced with Mallards and the Peabody Duck March became a thing people started coming to the hotel to see.
The current Duckmaster, Anthony Petrina, is only the fifth Duckmaster to have the position. He is responsible for care, feeding, and training of the ducks. Every three months, he gets a new set of five to train and the previous group is retired.
If you want to get a decent spot to see the ducks march, make sure to get there around 45 minutes to an hour early. It’s an incredibly popular event!
Or head up to the roof, to see them march from their palace to the elevator.
[box style=”rounded”]DID YOU KNOW: Ducks were not the first species of animal to call the lobby fountain home. Rumour has it management tried out turtles and maybe even baby alligators before putting ducks in the fountain as a practical joke in the 1930s. [/box]Food
I wish I would have had time to order room service. Based on the breakfast and snacks available in the conference room, I can only imagine how delicious room service breakfast would have been.
One of the most unique things, the Peabody had to offer was a fresh honeycomb for breakfast one morning. The hotel sponsors several local hives and the honey was deliciously fresh.
Other fun snacks we had were cookies and rice crispy bars shaped like ducks.
There was also a to die for peach cobbler with maple bacon ice cream and Jack Daniels caramel.
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The Rooftop Party
This was my first rooftop party. I could definitely get used to them. Especially the ones at the Peabody.
Every Thursday night during the summer, the Peabody Hotel hosts their well-known rooftop party with live music!
The VIP section was pretty cool and way less crowded, but I don’t think it is necessarily something you should spring for. When I wasn’t with other Bloghouse members, I was right next to the stage having a fantastic time.
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Renovations
The hotel is currently undergoing renovations to update their guest rooms for 2018/2019.
Look how pretty they are! And I love the green accent wall!
Many thanks to The Peabody Hotel, Memphis Travel, and Mediavine for partially sponsoring my stay in Memphis, Tennessee. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you stayed at the historic Peabody Hotel? Have you heard of the Peabody ducks? Tell me in the comments below or tweet me! Or should I say quack me?
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