voco Hotel Napoleon

voco Hotel Napoleon reopened in downtown Memphis in November 2025 under KingsLane Group, the only voco in the Memphis area. It occupies the Scimitar Building at 179 Madison Avenue, built in 1902, and has 58 rooms and suites. The stone facade stayed, the interiors were redone, and The Archives Bar & Bistro sits on the ground floor.

The place

The building stands at Madison Avenue and Third Street, steps from Beale Street and the Mississippi riverfront.

The concept

Napoleon Hill, a Memphis merchant and part owner of the Evening Scimitar newspaper, commissioned the building, and his initials are still carved into the facade. Local architects August Chigazola and William Hanker drew it in a mix of Beaux-Arts and Romanesque Revival, five storeys on a raised basement, with stone veneer, a Tennessee marble lobby and lion heads below the roofline.

The newspaper, later the Press-Scimitar, took three floors, and its presses could be seen from the street. Memphis Light, Gas and Water had its headquarters here from 1937 to 1970, after which the building held offices as the Winchester Building. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.

An investor bought it in 2014 for 1.26 million dollars. It reopened in 2016 as Hotel Napoleon, an independent-style Ascend Hotels member with 56 rooms and a redesign by UrbanARCH that won design awards.

In November 2025 it changed flags again. voco, IHG's premium brand launched in 2018, converted it with KingsLane Group, a Raleigh company founded in 2019 that oversees more than ten hotels and over 850 rooms. IHG's listing counts 56 rooms and 2 suites, KingsLane 58 rooms and suites, the same total.

The renovation kept the facade and architectural details and redid the interior with modern decor and new social spaces. Bedding uses sustainable materials, and the operator cites energy efficiency and responsible sourcing.

Dining & wellness

The Archives Bar & Bistro is run by chef Phillip Dewayne and takes its name from the building's past as the home of the Memphis Press-Scimitar. It serves Southern-inspired breakfast and lunch and turns into a bar in the evening. The hotel has a 24-hour fitness centre.