Trip Report | Nashville
“What Lifts You” mural in the Gulch
Overview
As our kids are getting older, we try to align family vacations with school breaks whenever possible. Our kids’ school has a mini fall break right after Halloween, so when we were contemplating where to go this year, we had the following criteria: a short flight away (it was our last trip using two Southwest Companion Passes before they expired), a fun place to explore as a family, and somewhere we’d only need a few days to experience. We landed on Nashville because - in addition to checking the boxes above - it was somewhere I have always wanted to go!
Multiple people told us it’s not the best city for kids, but we didn’t let that sway us. We ended up having an awesome time (with the exception of one part, read on to find out)! Is it a different type of trip with the kids in tow? Of course. But was it still fun and worth the visit? Definitely!
Here’s a day-by-day look at where we went and what we did. At the end, we will summarize how we saved over $4,000 on our flights and hotel by leveraging our beloved points and miles!
Our Itinerary
Day 1: We kept things light since we arrived at 4pm. Walked down Broadway and grabbed some dinner before heading back to the hotel.
We flew from Pittsburgh to Nashville on Southwest Airlines and landed at about 4:00 p.m. local time. We dropped our bags at the Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville and checked into our 1 King Suite room, which was stunning.
The week prior to our stay, the hotel manager emailed me to see if we were celebrating any special occasions. Our youngest happened to be turning five a few days after our stay, so I mentioned that. She asked me for his name, favorite color, and favorite show or theme. She said that they “go all out” for birthdays and would love to surprise our little guy with something special.
Imagine our shock when we walked into the living room area of our suite being decked out in Bluey decorations, balloons, gift bags full of snacks and treats, and a personalized birthday card just for him! Our minds were blown! A million thanks to Kendra at the Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville for making our stay so special. She and the team really went above and beyond.
To top it off, the location of this property is perfection. We were a short five-minute walk to Broadway - just far enough away to not be caught in the madness, but close enough for a quick walk. We were also close to tons of restaurants and sights like the Johnny Cash Museum, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Ryman Auditorium. We couldn’t recommend this hotel enough.
We took a brief walk down Broadway the evening of our arrival and spotted tons of bars with live music bellowing outside, then we landed at Assembly Food Hall for a fun dinner experience. This place is like a food court on steroids with 30+ restaurant options, dessert spots, and bars. It was a little loud and chaotic, but so is our crew, so it was perfect!
We grabbed chicken finger meals from the well-known Prince’s Hot Chicken for our three kiddos (mild, of course), while Mark and I nabbed some true southern grub from Honeyfire Barbeque Co. He went with the brisket platter and I chose the smoked chicken sandwich, both of which hit the spot.
We made a quick trip to a nearby Sephora for our girl and then Uber’d back to the hotel because a big storm was rolling through! Luckily, we were able to see Broadway and take some photos earlier in the evening without the rain ruining our fun. Our kids are currently infatuated with hotel fitness centers, so we stopped by there before turning in for the night.
The birthday boy with his surprises
How cute is this personalized card? (He’s not in kindergarten yet, but we loved the sentiment.)
All decked out in Bluey decorations
The kids on Broadway
The parents on Broadway
Assembly Food Hall
Getting their workout in
Day 2: One sick kiddo and a slower-paced day.
Traveling with kiddos is always an adventure, isn’t it? You never know what craziness is going to present itself. For example, on day 2, Louie woke up sick and ended up spending the whole day in bed. Poor little man!
We had planned to experience the city on an Old Town Trolley Tour, so I ventured out with the big kids while Mark stayed back with Louie. We missed them bigtime, but made the most of our day of exploring.
I would definitely recommend a trolley tour in Nashville if you want to see all parts of the city. It was a super easy and enjoyable way to learn some history, and we explored the biggest sights without having to Uber everywhere. We “hopped off” at the expansive Nashville Farmers Market to enjoy some shopping and snacks, then rode over to Marathon Motor Works, a historic automobile factory turned quaint shopping area. Next up, we visited Centennial Park to see the replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Who knew that Nashville is coined the Athens of the South?! Not me (prior to this trip). Lastly, we swung past the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was a short walk away from our hotel. We didn’t venture inside yet because we hoped to visit later during our trip with Mark and Louie. There were 13 total stops where you could hop off, but we chose to keep riding through some of them because we loved our tour driver so much (shoutout to Drey!).
The kids and I grabbed a late lunch at the hotel’s eatery, Ella’s, which was delicious, and then returned back to our room for a bit. They, of course, wanted to visit the hotel gym again, so I tapped Mark in for that.
For the evening, I had reserved a bowling alley at a cute place called Pinewood Social, so we were committed to doing that for some dinnertime fun. Unfortunately, Louie still wasn’t feeling better, so Mark took the big kids bowling and I stayed in the room with Louie. They had the best reviews of Pinewood Social, so I would highly recommend if you’re in Nashville with kiddos.
Nashville’s “Old Town Trolley Tour”
Cookies at the farmer’s market
Bubble tea at the farmer’s market
The historic Marathon Motor Works
The Parthenon replica
Country Music Hall of Fame
Johnny Cash’s star on the Walk of Fame
Brunch at Ella’s in the Hyatt Centric
Pinewood Social
Pinewood Social
Day 3: Sightseeing “Lite”
Luckily, Louie was feeling better when we woke up this day, so we ventured out for some sightseeing! We started by visiting Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge which is a Nashville classic, and enjoyed some awesome live music. Bars on Broadway are open pretty early in the day and completely family-friendly in the morning. We also swung by Casa Rosa (Miranda Lambert’s bar) and played in the green space outside the Country Music Hall of Fame. Pro tip when traveling with kids: build in time for playgrounds or green spaces so they can burn off some energy!
Our little guy was dragging a bit at this point, but the rest of us wanted to keep going. What’s a mom to do? I pulled up Instacart and ordered a cheap stroller for Louie, of course! Desperate times call for desperate measures. The stroller was picked up from Target and delivered directly to our hotel, then we were off to the Gulch!
The Gulch is a super cute neighborhood in Nashville full of restaurants and shops. We went to Emmy’s Squared Pizza for some Nashville Hot Chicken and (you guessed it) pizza for the kids, which was excellent and we would definitely recommend! We stopped by some cute boutiques and grabbed some ice cream at Van Leeuwen’s before making a final stop at Uncommon James for some delicate jewelry before heading back to the hotel. Shoutout to my sister-in-law for this recommendation - Elise and I loved it! Plus we have our necklaces to remind us of our trip to Nashville.
Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa
Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge - the only purple bar in Nashville (so we just had to stop)
Broadway
Park at the Country Music Hall of Fame
Had to stop for a pic with the prettiest tree
“What Lifts You” mural
At the cutest boutique
Emmy’s Square Pizza
A much-needed drink for mom and dad at dinner
Ice cream shop
Taking a break with their ice cream
Day 4: Our Last Day
Because our itinerary got a little mixed up due to Louie being sick, we quickly evaluated the “must-do’s” our our list and prioritized those things before leaving for the airport. Things that made the cut: breakfast at the Pancake Pantry (so delish and the service was chef’s kiss), the Johnny Cash Museum gift shop (made me want to watch Walk the Line again), more live music (this time at Morgan Wallen’s This Bar), more playtime in the green space outside the Country Music Hall of Fame, and one last stop at the hotel gym. Then we grabbed our suitcase and Uber’d to the airport for our flight home.
Overall thoughts on Nashville:
I 100% want to return! Amazing city, and the live music aspect is so unique. It’s also super walkabout when you stay downtown.
We would have loved to do more to enjoy the city and sights, but alas, sickness…
When the kids are a little older, I would love to explore the museums. For this particular trip, it just wasn’t worth trying to pack that in.
If we go back for an adults-only trip, I would explore more restaurants, visit Broadway at night, and soak in all the museums and country music history. It would be a very different trip!
Johnny Cash Museum gift shop
Posty’s (Post Malone’s bar)
Park at the Country Music Hall of Fame
She’s a natural
Lots of fun photo ops around the city
Heading back home
Points & Miles Breakdown
Accommodations:
Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville: Booked a 1 King Suite for 3 nights using 96,000 Hyatt points (32,000 points per room/night). Cash price would have been $2,457 ($703/night).
Flights:
Southwest Airlines: Paid just 18,000 points per person, roundtrip. We also leveraged two companion passes and only paid points for three tickets. Total taxes and fees were $56 ($11.20/person). The cash price would have been $1,555 ($311/person).
Total Savings:
By using points and miles, we saved a total of $4,012!
How could you say no to a long-weekend family adventure for next to no money at all?!
Earning Points
We accumulate Hyatt points mainly by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt, and we accumulate Southwest points mainly by opening Southwest credit cards through Chase.
If you are interested in learning more about racking up points and miles to take a fun trip with your family, let me know! I’d love to help strategize credit card welcome bonuses with you and I’m happy to answer any questions.
