The 1930 Noel Hotel reborn as an independent boutique, with the Rare Bird rooftop and Makeready dining a block off Broadway.
Noelle is downtown Nashville's design-led boutique in the restored 1930 Noel Hotel, once the city's tallest building. Book its 87 rooms for Art Deco character, the Rare Bird rooftop, Makeready dining and a walkable Arts District location by Printers Alley. Note it left Marriott's Tribute Portfolio in 2022 and now runs independent, with no pool.
HotelsForKings aggregate 9.0/10, scored on Room & Design, Service, and Location. One editorial opinion, not a user-review average. See our methodology.
Book Noelle when you want a genuinely Nashville hotel with real history rather than a generic downtown tower. It occupies the original Noel Hotel, which opened in 1930 as the tallest building in the city, and the restoration that reopened as Noelle in December 2017 kept the Art Deco bones, the period detailing and a mezzanine library called the Archives that holds artifacts from the building's past. The result is atmosphere no new-build can fake.
The location seals the case. Noelle stands at 200 4th Avenue North in the downtown Arts District, with Printers Alley directly behind it and Broadway a block away, so the Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena and the honky-tonks are all walkable. It is a small, characterful hotel that puts you in the middle of Music City without surrendering to it, which is why it earns strong Room and Location scores.
No, and this is worth stating plainly because many listings are out of date. Noelle opened in 2017 as a Tribute Portfolio hotel under Marriott, but at the end of 2022, on its fifth anniversary, it went independent. It is now operated by the Dallas hospitality group Makeready and owned by Rockbridge, and it no longer participates in Marriott Bonvoy.
In practice the building, the rooms and the restaurants are the same or better; what changed is the flag and the loyalty program. We flag it because it matters for anyone hoping to earn or burn Bonvoy points, and because the independent status is part of what gives the hotel its distinct, un-chain-like personality today.
Noelle is an 87-key hotel made up of 75 studios and 12 suites, so it stays intimate. The studios are open-plan and generously sized, dressed in a cool, minimalist palette with marble bathrooms, crisp linens and blackout blinds, and they are a step above the usual boutique studio. The 12 suites add separate living space and are the rooms to book for a special stay or a little more room to spread out.
Because this is a 1930 building, floor plates are irregular and room shapes vary, which is a feature as much as a quirk: it means real character, but it also means it pays to ask about a specific layout or view when you book. The upper floors give the best light and the quietest nights, a meaningful consideration given how close the nightlife sits.
The food and drink program is a genuine reason to stay, not an afterthought. Rare Bird, the rooftop bar named for Noelle's blue heron motif, is the headline: cocktails with sweeping views over downtown and the river, and one of the livelier rooftops in the city. At street level, Makeready is the lobby restaurant serving an all-day menu, and Drug Store Coffee handles the morning ritual with pastries and espresso.
Tucked away below is the Hidden Bar, an intimate speakeasy-style room for a quieter nightcap when the rooftop is buzzing. Taken together, the four concepts mean you can spend a full day and evening at the hotel without repeating yourself, and they draw locals as much as guests, which is usually the sign of a hotel bar worth sitting at.
Noelle is a strong, characterful downtown pick, but it is not the right fit for every traveler.
Noelle wins on character, history and location, and gives ground to the city's larger hotels on amenities like pools and spas. Here is how it lines up with the hotels ranked around it.
| Hotel | Style | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Noelle Nashville | 1930 Art Deco boutique, independent | Design, history, Rare Bird rooftop |
| The Joseph Nashville | Art-forward Luxury Collection tower | The city's finest rooms and art program |
| Virgin Hotels Nashville | Playful design hotel with rooftop pool | A social scene and skyline pool |
| 1 Hotel Nashville | Biophilic sustainable hotel | Wellness and a rooftop meadow |
Pick Noelle for boutique character and a walkable base; step up to The Joseph for the finest rooms in the city, or choose Virgin Hotels for a rooftop pool and party energy. All appear on our full Nashville ranking.
From $250/night. Independent review; we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
More exceptional options in the same city.
A ranked shortlist, a special offer worth booking, and the overpriced stay to skip. Straight from the editors.