This Hotel Was Just Named the Best in Nashville — With a Swanky New Bar and a Rooftop Pool

The Joseph was voted the top hotel in Nashville by Travel + Leisure readers — and it just got even better thanks to a swanky new bar.

With its living green walls, gallery-worthy art collection, and midcentury Italian-inspired decor, it’s clear from the moment you arrive that The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, isn’t your typical Music City haunt. A favorite city among Travel + Leisure readers, Nashville is known for country music, comfort food, and the constant party taking place up and down Broadway on any given day. It’s a favorite destination for bachelor and bachelorette party trips, and for good reason: it’s a downright fun time. But beyond the main strip, the quickly growing city has a great art scene, new restaurants and cocktail bars, and diverse communities that feed the city’s vibrant spirit.

The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Resort

• For the second year in a row, The Joseph was voted the top hotel in Nashville by T+L readers.

• The hotel's design artfully combines midcentury Italian influence with subtle Music City touches.

• Seasonal tasting menus at Italian restaurant Yolan and the sexy new Four Walls cocktail bar make the hotel a culinary destination.

• The Joseph is located just a short walk from some of the city's top attractions, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the iconic honky tonks that line Broadway.

Just a short walk from Broadway’s honky tonks and iconic hot chicken and barbecue outposts, The Joseph was recently voted the No. 1 hotel in Nashville by T+L readers — for the second year in a row. The 297-room property opened in 2020 complete with a rooftop pool, refined Italian restaurant from chef Tony Mantuano, and the serene Rose Spa. Inside its art-covered walls, sophisticated nods to Nashville’s musical legacy are found in floral rugs that harken back to the iconic Nudie Suits once worn by country’s greats; warm wood furnishings reminiscent of an acoustic guitar; and a striking tooled-leather check-in desk crafted by luxury bootmaker, Lucchese. 

This month, the hotel’s new cocktail bar, Four Walls, opened, combining influences of Italy, the American West, and Nashville in an alluring, intimate setting tucked away on the second floor. With fringe dangling from the ceiling, fuzzy hide covering the walls, cowboy films silently playing in the background, and a deep-red marble bar at the center of the space, Four Walls takes some influences from retro Spaghetti Westerns and puts them in a moody, upscale setting.

When I first visited The Joseph in 2021, not long after its opening, I was impressed by the hotel’s beautiful design and incredible food and drink. Two years later, I returned, and Music City has changed a lot — more fantastic hotels and restaurants have opened, even more tourists seem to line the streets — but The Joseph remains one of my own (and our readers’) favorite properties in Nashville, made all the better by its newest addition.

Here’s what you need to know about The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel.

The Rooms

Guest rooms, ranging from deluxe king rooms to the over 2,000-square-foot presidential suite, feature marble bathrooms, in-room artwork from the hotel’s curated collection, and custom leather, wood, and denim fixtures that bring out that Nashville feel. The unique combination of midcentury Italian design and Americana is inspired by founder Joel Pizzuti’s Italian-American heritage, and his family history is woven into details throughout the hotel (The Joseph is named for his grandfather, and Yolan is named after Joseph’s wife, Yolanda).

I’ve stayed at The Joseph twice, so I’ve experienced two different room categories. Most recently, I stayed in a Deluxe King room, which is the base room category. It was well-appointed — with cute touches like a vintage-looking radio and geometric marble bathroom floor — and the bed was super comfortable. The first time I visited The Joseph, I stayed in a Corner Suite that looked out over the Nashville skyline, and it offered plenty of room to spread out, with a bedroom and a separate living area. I loved that both rooms had Nespresso machines, and the turndown service was a nice touch — I love coming back to my room to find my clothes neatly organized and slippers beside my bed.

Food and Drink

Chef Tony Mantuano and wine expert Cathy Mantuano are the husband-and-wife food and beverage partners who oversee the hotel’s four dining outlets. Yolan is The Joseph’s 90-seat upscale Italian restaurant serving up a la carte and multi-course meals featuring refined, seasonal dishes from regions throughout Italy. The Bar is your classic lobby bar, elevated. The menu ranges from breakfast pastries and espresso in the morning to light bites and plates of house-made pasta — plus inventive and delightful cocktails — in the evenings.

Denim is the hotel’s indoor/outdoor rooftop bar featuring a range of American and internationally inspired dishes and drinks. Hotel guests can enjoy poolside food and beverage service during the day and come back for a table-service meal with a view of Nashville in the evening.

At the recently opened Four Walls, a fantastic team of mixologists and bartenders serve up gorgeous cocktails that you won’t find anywhere else in Nashville. Paisano is a take on a martini that combines house olive oil vodka and manzanilla over a frozen flower made of green tomato, dotted with orange bitters and basil oil, while the “La Famiglia Negroni” portion of the menu offers nine variations of everyone’s favorite bitter cocktail.

A menu of elevated bar snacks includes cheddar farfalle chips, Nashville hot corn nuts, and bulgogi beef jerky. The new bar perfectly complements the rest of the property — it would be an ideal place for an aperitivo before dinner downstairs at Yolan — and adds something fresh and exciting to the Nashville bar scene.

Experiences and Amenities

A rooftop saltwater pool and a state-of-the-art fitness center with a city skyline view are among the hotel’s top amenities. As noted above, the hotel’s expansive, gallery-worthy art collection is on view throughout the property — it’s worth a look-around to check out all the pieces from the Pizzuti’s collection (some of the best works are in the lobby and on the eighth floor). The hotel also offers 22,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel's boutique, Perla, sells local gifts on the first floor. Room service can be easily ordered via your in-room tablet, and there is nightly turndown service.

The Rose Spa

Among the hotel’s top amenities is the serene Rose Spa and Salon, located on the 21st floor. The spa is outfitted with six treatment rooms, a full-service salon, relaxation lounge, and locker rooms with experience showers. Face and body treatments include full-body scrubs, a sleep-focused massage treatment, and customized facials using Biologique Recherche's Remodeling Face machine (which I highly recommend), just to name a few. Outfitted in creamy neutral tones and wood furniture, the space feels worlds away from the bustle of downtown Nashville over 20 floors below.

Accessibility

The property has elevators and the restaurants, fitness center, meeting areas, and spa are accessible. The pool entrance is accessible, and there is a lift to get into the swimming pool. Hearing and mobility-accessible rooms are available, with features such as roll-in showers, visual alarms, and more. Service dogs are welcome. For more details about the hotel’s accessibility including specific features, visit the Marriott website.

The Location

Located in the heart of Nashville’s SoBro (South of Broadway) neighborhood, The Joseph is within walking distance to many of the city’s top attractions. The hotel is under 10 minutes from Broadway’s famous honky tonks (Robert’s Western World and Tootsies Orchid Lounge are my recommendations), and it’s even closer to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bridgestone Arena, and Music City Center (the convention center). Other notable attractions within walking distance include the Nashville Symphony, the Johnny Cash Museum, the National Museum of African American Music, and Assembly Food Hall. Vanderbilt University and the Parthenon are a short car ride away, and rideshare services are readily available in the area if you don’t bring a car.

Parking is $60 per day.

Finding the Best Value

The Joseph is part of Marriott Bonvoy’s The Luxury Collection, so members can earn and spend points — and take advantage of Elite Membership perks, depending on your status tier — when you stay here. Room rates vary depending on the season and day of the week; keep an eye out for limited-time packages that offer more bang for your buck in the form of food and beverage credits and other amenities.

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