Cambria Hotel Nashville Midtown, the sophisticated sister property to Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown, provides a mellower alternative, though it is just as striking. Visually and structurally, it takes a quieter approach to surrounding Nashville visitors with a tangible sense of place. Home-grown Americana combines with Italian aesthetics to create a look and feel that matches the more easygoing neighborhood near Music Row and Vanderbilt University. According to architect Nicola De Pellegrini, founder of Anidride Design, the overall concept is intended to capture the “Nashville lifestyle through a more elegant and refined atmosphere.”

© Elyse Glickman

Owners and co-founders Dan and Paul Patel bring their 30 years of hospitality experience and love for their city to the table. Tile murals depicting the city’s music, distillery and cultural icons, as well as a pipe installation evoking sound waves greet guests, as does a check-in counter shaped like the state of Tennessee. The color scheme in public areas is cooler and calming, and the rest of the lobby is made up of airy lounges anchoring its new Church & State grab-and-go concept. Starbucks drinks and breakfast items are served with a smile. Beyond the tangible assets, staff members are bright, cheerful and embody Tennessee hospitality.

© Elyse Glickman

The 159 guestrooms (in standard king, two queen bed or suite configurations) are all appointed with stylish accents and creature comforts equally appealing for leisure and business stays. These include Italian-made furnishings that complement the seating in the public areas and premium bedding. Spa-inspired bathrooms feature tiled, standalone walk-in showers and Cambria’s exclusive LED bathroom mirrors with built-in Bluetooth speakers allowing guests to stream music — including tunes you may have just downloaded at National Museum of African American Music or Country Music Hall of Fame.

© Elyse Glickman

Business travelers will appreciate the laptop-friendly workspace, ergonomic desk chair and separate seating areas in some rooms.

The Rux, the hotel’s indoor-outdoor, full-service rooftop restaurant, is also designed to multitask for business and leisure travelers, as well as those living in the neighborhood. The ambiance combines the prevailing Italian-flavored aesthetic with conversation-starting, downtown skyline views; a photo booth; and three playful, swing-style seats.

© Elyse Glickman

While the menu at first glance reads as a “greatest hits” of comforting Southern fare, the owners slipped in Indian and European influences to give the American classics a cosmopolitan flair. Menu highlights are highly sharable, with appetizers including Heritage Board (a signature approach to a charcuterie board, with hot honey-glazed ham, pimento mousse, pickled okra, peach preserves, sorghum butter and cornbread blini); cornbread and hot honey; country ham sliders; and sweet potato croquettes. In addition to The Rux’s take on hot chicken sliders (because we’re in Nashville, naturally), shrimp and grits and the Rux burger make an impression, as does the giant salted caramel banana pudding.

While bartenders regularly whip up highly creative bourbon and whiskey cocktails (such as the Bumbleberry Whiskey Sour, made with Four Roses Bourbon, honey and thyme syrup, lemon juice, and dehydrated lemon), they are just as thoughtful with white spirits-based cocktails. Among the deservedly popular white spirits selections are Grapefruit Lotus (Hendricks Gin, grapefruit juice, fermented chili honey, sparkling water and bruised mint); Rosé Garden (with Tito’s Vodka, strawberry reduction, lemon juice, Champagne, a lemon twist and fresh thyme); and Mumbai Mule (Tito’s Vodka, spiced ginger syrup, Apologue Saffron Liqueur, ginger beer and lime juice).

Cambria Midtown Nashville

1612 Church St.

Nashville, TN 37203

tel 615 931 0777