New hotels in East Nashville

East Nashville is the part of Nashville on the east bank of the Cumberland River, directly across from downtown and reached by the Woodland Street Bridge. It is residential first: Victorian and bungalow streets, a few commercial knots, and a long riverside greenway. Hotels are almost absent. We track one, Urban Cowboy Nashville, which opened in March 2016 and is the oldest property in this guide.

The lay of the land

The neighborhood runs out from the river along three lines worth knowing. Woodland Street is the one that matters for visitors: it leaves the bridge, passes through the old Edgefield streets and arrives at Five Points, where Woodland meets 11th Street and Clearview Avenue. Gallatin Pike is the long commercial road farther north that carries the main WeGo bus line out toward Sumner County. Between them sit the residential grids, which are quiet at night in a way the Broadway side of the river is not.

The distances are short but real. The hotel puts itself 3.5 miles from Broadway, which is a few minutes by car outside rush hour and longer when a stadium event or a bridge closure reroutes traffic. There is no walking connection to the honky-tonks worth planning around. People who stay here accept a ride each way, or take the bus.

Historic Edgefield

Edgefield is the oldest part of East Nashville, and its historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 13 July 1977. The listed buildings date from 1850 to 1874 and from 1900 to 1924, so the streets mix antebellum houses with the Queen Anne and bungalow stock that followed. Walking them takes an hour at an unhurried pace. Nothing here is a museum: the houses are lived in, and the interest is architectural.

Five Points

Five Points is the commercial center, at 1101 Woodland Street. Its modern history starts in the 1970s, when the Metro Development and Housing Agency offered low-interest loans that drew businesses into the district. In 1998 a tornado badly damaged the area, and the rebuilding that followed in the early 2000s turned it into the cluster of shops, restaurants, bars and arts spaces it is today. A second tornado hit East Nashville in the early hours of 3 March 2020 and again caused serious damage around Five Points.

That double history explains a lot about the place. Many of the storefronts are younger than the streets around them, and the neighborhood's sense of itself is tied to having been rebuilt twice.

Along the river

Shelby Bottoms Greenway runs along the Cumberland on the neighborhood's northern edge, a paved, flat route through park and wetland that suits walking, cycling and bird-watching. It is the practical answer to the question of how to get outdoors without leaving East Nashville. A bicycle also covers the distance to downtown in reasonable time, though the bridge approaches are shared with fast traffic and are not for nervous riders.

Where to stay in East Nashville

The choice is one property.

Urban Cowboy Nashville occupies an 1890s Queen Anne mansion at 1603 Woodland Street, in the Edgefield part of the neighborhood. The group is Brooklyn-founded, and this was its second property. The house holds eight suites, each named and designed separately by Cowboy Creative, each with a clawfoot tub. A freestanding cabin sits behind the house and has a private balcony over the bar; the hotel also lists a penthouse for up to six guests, and offers the whole homestead for private rental. Rates start from $195 according to our records.

Two bars share the grounds. Public House occupies the carriage house out back, opened in November 2016, with a garden patio and fires in the cooler months; it has no servers and takes no reservations, so guests order at the bar. Parlor Wine Bar is inside the mansion, with fireplaces and a wraparound porch. A grab-and-go breakfast is included, and each room has a stocked mini fridge.

Several practical limits apply. There is no elevator, and some rooms are reached by stairs only. Guests must be 21 or older, and the restaurants and bars are 21 and over after 8 pm. Parking is limited and first come, first served, on the 16th Street side of the house, with street parking nearby. Dogs are accepted in rooms for a $50 fee, two per room at most. The hotel also says openly that the house is lively: quiet hours begin after the bars close, not before.

Which hotel for which trip

The stay suits travelers who want to sleep in a residential district and who do not plan to spend their nights on Broadway. It does not suit anyone who wants a lobby, a gym or a front desk staffed around the clock, and it excludes families. For a first visit built around the downtown honky-tonks, Downtown Nashville or The Gulch put the music within walking distance. SoBro sits closest to the bridges back toward East Nashville.

For the city as a whole, start with Nashville.

Frequently asked questions

Is there more than one hotel in East Nashville?

Not among those we track: Urban Cowboy Nashville, at 1603 Woodland Street, is the only one, with eight suites and a freestanding cabin.

How far is East Nashville from Broadway?

About 3.5 miles, according to the hotel, which means a short drive or rideshare, a bus on the Gallatin Pike line, or a longer bike ride across the river.

Can children stay at Urban Cowboy Nashville?

No: guests must be 21 or older, and the on-site bars are 21 and over after 8 pm.

Does Urban Cowboy Nashville allow dogs?

Yes, in guest rooms for a $50 fee, with a limit of two dogs per room.

Where is Five Points?

At Woodland Street, 11th Street and Clearview Avenue, about five blocks from the hotel on Woodland, and the neighborhood's main cluster of shops, restaurants and bars.