Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel: Reviews

Overall

A very important thing to consider when reading reviews about this hotel is who wrote it. So, I’ll start by explaining that I’m a 29 year-old graduate student from Michigan and I went with my boyfriend who is a HUGE music fan and also lives in Michigan. We like kitschy things and thought the Heartbreak Hotel would be a fun adventure, bad reviews aside. It was easy to find the hotel, which is just beyond a shuttered Phillips 66 gas station, nested between a Chinese Buffet and the Graceland parking lot. We were welcomed by very friendly staff members at the hotel and check-in was quick and easy and free parking in a guarded lot was a plus. The hotel seemed just okay the day we got there, but after living with it for two days we’d rate it below okay. I travel a lot for work and have stayed in many hotels. Although the hotel wasn’t exactly dirty, it wasn’t exactly clean either. Our nonsmoking room had surely been smoked in a lot and smelled bad. You can’t open windows to air it out and the air conditioner is also saturated with smoke-stink and makes the problem worse when turned on. I expected a bit more with the decorations, but there was a fun Elvis picture above the bed and the curtains and bedspread were sort of different. A description I read on the web described blonde 50’s furniture, but it actually seems more like regular hotel furniture from the 80’s. I also read that the walls were painted beige. Why is that a bonus? How does that set this hotel aside from other hotels? Quite dull. Simply painting the walls a color would have made it seem more special. The carpet was well worn and in need of replacing. I don’t recall it being special at all other than the huge wrinkle it had in the middle of the room. It certainly felt more worn in than a hotel that was built in 1989 and renovated in 1998 by the Elvis Presley Corporation. The free breakfast was nice. Plenty of coffee, juice, bagels, muffins and you can make your own waffles. There was some fruit too, mostly apples and bananas. Not bad compared to other free breakfast options I’ve seen. The dining room was okay, but not as funky or “Elvis” as I thought it might be. The Jungle Room cocktail lounge was no more than a slightly decorated corner of the dining room. The photographs I’ve seen on the web of the lounge and entry areas have a much more fun feel than the real thing. We didn’t use any of the shuttles the hotel offered, but drove ourselves to the city, which is about 15 minutes away. Parking wasn’t that bad, about $1 per hour. Not that I exercise while on vacation, but the workout area only had a broken treadmill, a bike and a weight machine. In the defense of the hotel, there was a sign explaining that “This does not profess to be a gym, but a place to stay toned during your visit…” ??? The historical sites and music history made Memphis enjoyable, but this hotel didn’t supply the usual relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere that I like to return to after a day of touring. It was neither a kitschy-Elvis experience nor a cozy place to kick back.

Service

Cleanliness

Location

Value

Thank you for sending in your review. The community appreciates your feedback.