Aloft Nashville Music Row Unveiled

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

The Nashville hospitality market continues to run red-hot; it’s no surprise as the grand opening of the Music City Convention Center is just a little over six months away. And just 12 blocks from the convention center, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has unveiled the newest hotel to operate under Starwood’s Aloft Hotels brand: Aloft Nashville Music Row.

Located at 1719 West End Ave., the 139-key Aloft Nashville Music Row marks the Aloft brand’s debut in the Nashville market. Formerly known as Hotel Indigo Nashville Music Row, the property is the first non-Starwood-owned Aloft conversion hotel to open. It’s also the brand’s first conversion from an existing select-serve or boutique hotel.

“We see two types of opportunities as ideal candidates for an Aloft conversion: older hotels in need of a major renovation or unique, independent boutique hotels seeking a stronger brand point of view and the ability to utilize Starwood systems,” said Simon Turner, Starwood’s president of global development, regarding the company’s expansion strategies. Aloft Nashville Music Row falls into the second category of rebranding, as the property itself was in good shape, but it was caught in long-lasting legal battles and legal scandals between hotel developers Mark Lineberry and Keith Worsham. As previously reported here, the property went into foreclosure after developer West End Holdings and operator 1719 West End Operations defaulted on a $21 million loan from Archon Group LP. Archon, a consolidated global investment management firm, purchased the property at a July foreclosure auction, paying $18 million or $122,000 per room. The hotel was taken under the Aloft umbrella about a month ago.

The property was built in 1970 and was originally an office building. It opened as Hotel Indigo Nashville Music Row in 2008. Aloft Nashville Music Row features 139 rooms in the highly desirable vicinity of the Tennessee State Capitol, Vanderbilt University and the historic Music Row. Hotel amenities include four smart tactic rooms with 2,470 square feet of meeting space and the 832-square-foot re:charge® fitness center. Aloft’s signature w xyz bar and re:fuel by Aloft grab-n-go pantry can also be found at the location.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc is a leading fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences  with 1,112 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.

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