Hotels in downtown Knoxville
Comments
STORY TOOLS
More Hotels
Share and Enjoy
If you’re looking to spend a little time in Knoxville, you may want to make the downtown area your base of operations.
Downtown Knoxville functions as the city’s historical and cultural center. Folks as diverse as Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch gang, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams and actor Michael Emerson (better known as creepy “Lost” islander Benjamin Linus) have all spent time here.
Downtown Knoxville has seen significant development in the past few years. Getting a hotel room here will put you in the thick of street festivals, sporting events, concerts, trendy shopping and delicious dining options.
Downtown is easy to reach. Interstates 40 and 275 both exit traffic nearby. The University of Tennessee campus is also within walking distance, just down Cumberland Avenue. Broadway Avenue, Western Avenue, Chapman Highway and Neyland Drive also converge in the vicinity. Downtown is approximately 12 miles north of McGhee Tyson Airport.
Most of the hotels in downtown Knoxville are large, towering giants with plenty of comforts and amenities, conveniently located near just about anything you could want to see or do. The Holiday Inn Select, for instance, is across from the World’s Fair Park, the home of the 1982 World’s Fair. The hotel is connected to the Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center, and only a few feet from the Knoxville Convention Center. The hotel offers an off-site fitness center, indoor pool, laundry service, high speed Internet access, concierge services, an unstaffed business center and much more.
A little further away, next to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, overlooking the Tennessee River and connected to the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum, is the Marriott. This hotel is 11 floors of comfort, with complimentary on-site parking, valet service, a health club, sports bar, hair salon, concierge, gift shop, meeting space and more.
Other downtown hotels include the Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Hampton Inn Suites, Maplehurst Inn, The Hotel St. Oliver and more. Most of the hotels downtown will set you back anywhere from $100 to $200, though you can find a room for less than $100 at some locations. Price will vary depending on the season, the type of room and the hotel itself. Check with individual hotels for rates and amenities.
Dining in the downtown area is diverse and unique. You won’t find much fast food directly downtown, though there is an Arby’s on Gay Street that’s probably been open since the Lincoln administration. Market Square is home to several restaurants, as is the Old City and Gay Street. But overall you’ll find, well, everything. There’s vegan food, steak, seafood, fondue, a London gastropub, pizza, martinis, craft beer, pasta, ice cream, sushi, coffee, even a cereal bar. The University of Tennessee campus has more student-friendly food, including wings, pizza and plenty of beer.
Finding something fun to do will be as easy as walking outside your hotel room. Local, regional and national acts perform at any number of bars and theaters, including the historic Tennessee Theatre and Bijou Theatre, both on Gay Street. You could see Scott Miller, Iron & Wine, Hanson, 10 Years, Seether, Bright Eyes or AA Bondy.
There’s ice skating in the winter, a fireworks display on the Labor Day weekend, free outdoor movies and outdoor concerts, not to mention art galleries, museums (including the Knoxville Museum of Art adjacent to World’s Fair Park and East Tennessee History Center on Gay Street), ice hockey games, roller derby games, a Regal movie cineplex, riverboat cruises (departing Volunteer Landing on Neyland Drive), frat parties, and football and basketball games by something called the Tennessee Vols and Lady Vols.
Being bored in downtown Knoxville means someone has locked you in a closet.
Shopping is also plentiful. You’ll uncover lots of gift shops, stores selling home furnishings, thrift clothing, art prints, fair trade items, cigars, wine and spirits, costumes — you know, the usual. There are also a couple of malls within driving distance, one in West Knoxville and one in the northeastern part of town.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
RSSPlease download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or enable JavaScript for your browser to view the video player.
Comments
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.