Review: Westin Memphis Beale Street

I booked a four-night stay at the Westin Memphis Beale Street while attending TravelCon 2022, which was taking place in town that weekend.

Prince of Travel team member Josh would be joining me for this stay. Indeed, my own stay was just three nights, while Josh would spend an additional night at the hotel to wrap up some Memphis sightseeing before heading back.

Westin Memphis Beale Street – Booking

We booked our stay using the cheapest available cash rate, which at the time was US$197 per night.

Despite Memphis’s modest stature and size, the city’s hotels were all relatively busy this weekend with TravelCon, a music festival, and the NBA playoffs all taking place.

For this reason, hotel rates at mid-range properties were fairly elevated across town, and we felt comfortable securing our four-night stay for what amounts to a very reasonable cash rate in a North American city. 

As a Marriott Bonvoy property, points redemptions at this property range from 30,000–40,000 Bonvoy points per night. As per our Points Valuations of 0.9 cents/point (CAD), paying cash was a marginally better deal. 

Since I’m already well on my way to retaining Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite status at 75 qualifying nights this year, I was happy to let Josh book out of his account to earn a total of eight qualifying nights from this stay thanks to the Double Elite Nights promotion that was running at the time.

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Westin Memphis Beale Street – Location

The Westin Memphis sits in the heart of Downtown Memphis, on the corner of George W. Lee Ave and B.B. King Street, with the front entrance on George W. Lee Ave.

Immediately next to the hotel is the FedExForum. Many events are hosted here, so it can get quite busy in this area, especially during basketball games. The street is often closed during these times, making it difficult for cars to access the front of the hotel.

Besides this slight inconvenience, the Westin Memphis has a prime location, as it’s just a block away from Beale Street, one of Memphis’s foremost attractions. You’ll arrive on the famous street in just a couple minutes, with the city’s best bars, blues music, and BBQ food trucks concentrated on this main drag.

Other popular stops within walking distance include the Memphis Rock n’ Soul Museum and the National Civil Rights Museum, both within a 15-minute walk. 

If you’re exploring further afield, both the Memphis Zoo and Graceland – the home of Elvis Presley – are within a 15-minute drive.

You can also navigate the city via local transportation. The Second @ Lee bus station is just a two-minute stroll from the Westin, while the Downtown Memphis Trolley is also easily accessible. Bird scooters offer another fun and convenient, if relatively expensive, means to get around. 

Lastly, the Memphis International Airport is an 18-minute journey by car from the hotel. Uber and Lyft do operate in the city, though there aren’t too many vehicles, so you may need to wait a while for your ride and be prepared to face higher prices than you might be accustomed to elsewhere.

Overall, the Westin’s central location is one of its prime features, making it one of the best places to stay in town for exploring and experiencing all that Memphis has to offer.

Westin Memphis Beale Street – Check-in

Following renovations in 2021, the hotel lobby has a refreshed look with a simple but elegant design. As you enter, three check-in desks are located at the back, while to the left is a waiting area with long plush couches and armchairs. 

We were welcomed upon arrival by a friendly associate who embodied Tennessean warmth, helping us out with a smooth and swift check-in process.

Unfortunately, no suite upgrade was forthcoming despite our best efforts to “suite-talk”, as the hotel was indeed quite full that weekend with all the events happening in town.

We were offered our breakfast vouchers as part of the welcome amenity: four separate vouchers for four mornings, each good for US$30 per person at the hotel’s Bleu restaurant.

With that, we grabbed our keys and headed up to our room on the eighth floor.

Westin Memphis Beale Street – Traditional Guest Room with Two Queen Beds

We booked a Traditional Guest Room with Two Queen Beds for this stay, and the room certainly lived up to its “traditional” moniker in terms of the overall design identity.

Warm tones with blue touches were accompanied by metal accents, patterned flooring, and a handful of wooden furnishings, creating a businesslike and functional look. 

In between the two queen-sized beds was a single night table with two lamps. Each side of the night table was equipped with USB charging ports.

On the wall opposite the beds was a flat-screen TV, and a storage console below. To the right were an ergonomic work desk and chair with a large gold feature mirror.

There was also a reading chair, desk, and lamp placed in the corner of the room near the window.

The bathroom was fairly spacious compared to the rest of the room, featuring a single vanity and mirror, a bathtub, and shower, with good water pressure.

Our views from the room overlooked the FedExForum outside, so we at least got a good look at the hordes of basketball fans pouring out of the arena after one of the playoffs games that weekend.

The Westin also has rooms overlooking the Mississippi River on the other side of the building, and I’d recommend trying to secure one of those rooms with better views if you’re staying here. 

For Josh and I sharing the room, this Traditional Guest Room with Two Queen Beds was more than good enough, especially for a weekend conference where we wouldn’t be spending much time in the room.

Most importantly for our stay, things like the desk, chair, and charging ports were reliable and worked well for both of our productivity needs.

Westin Memphis Beale Street – Breakfast

Each breakfast voucher entitled us to a US$30 daily allowance, including tax and tip. Once those are factored in, the allowance is good for roughly a main and a side from the à la carte menu, along with coffee and juice.

We helped ourselves to quite a few of the breakfast items over the course of our four-night stay. Some of the breakfast items were great, while others were a bit lacklustre.

The chicken and waffles, a Southern staple, were certainly a highlight – although it was fairly heavy in addition to all the Gus’s Fried Chicken we also had in Memphis.

The croissant sandwich and omelette were also pretty tasty. However, certain items like the avocado toast fell flat, and looked as though the avocado was squeezed from a tube.

Overall, the breakfast offering was still quite generous, especially for a North American chain hotel where you often don’t know what kind of breakfast you’ll get.

Many hotels have been cutting back on their breakfast offerings, but in this case, the Westin Memphis continued to deliver a solid meal in the mornings for Marriott Bonvoy elites.

Westin Memphis Beale Street – Other Facilities

The hotel’s bar and lounge is located in the lobby, and was certainly buzzing at night when we passed through, sometimes with a live music performance too.

The gym facility is open 24 hours, with cardio equipment facing large windows. Free weights and strength equipment are also available.

Lastly, the hotel also offers an interesting guitar check-out program in keeping with Memphis’s strong music heritage. Guests can borrow a guitar from the hotel’s display case, and return it at the end of their stay.

Although we didn’t make use of this for a sing-along ourselves, it sounds like it’d make for a fun way to spruce up what’s otherwise a fairly cookie-cutter hotel experience.

Conclusion

When staying in Memphis, it’s hard to go wrong with picking the Westin for your accommodations, especially due to the convenient location on Beale Street. While the rooms aren’t overly luxurious, they’ll probably be sufficient for your needs, whether you’re in town for pleasure or business.

Having seen what I needed to see during my visit to Memphis, I don’t see myself in a hurry to return. However, if I did happen to be in Memphis again and wanted to be close to Beale Street, the Westin would continue to be my hotel of choice.