Hotel News
The Guest House at Graceland will open in October 2016. A full service hotel, it will be just a short walk from Elvis Presley’s Graceland, the beautiful mansion Elvis and his family once called home.
Elvis Presley fans will soon have a stylish new hotel to stay at when making pilgrimages to his hometown, Memphis, Tennessee.
The hotel will have 450 rooms and 19 specially designed suites, whose designs were surprised by Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s daughter. All rooms will have king or double-queen size beds.
There will also be two full-service restaurants, spaces for meetings and events, a large outdoor swimming pool, and a 464-seat theater for live performances and movies.
“When Elvis had friends and family visit Graceland, he would have them stay at a hotel nearby,” Priscilla says.
“He would have been thrilled to have had his own hotel where they could stay. Lisa and I, and our entire family, are excited that visitors from around the world will soon get to experience our unique resort hotel – The Guest House at Graceland.”
Graceland
Located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard, Graceland is a Colonial Revival style mansion, which was built atop a hill in a grove of oak trees in 1939. Elvis acquired the property on 19 March 1957.
Measuring 17,552 square feet, Graceland is a two-storey house with 23 rooms, including eight bedrooms.
Elvis enlarged the house to include a den, which he called “the Jungle Room”. It was converted into a recording studio, and most of the music on his final two albums was recorded there.
Elvis died at the estate on 16 August 1977. He is buried in the gardens of the estate along with his mother, father, and grandmother. There is also a memorial gravestone for his stillborn twin brother, Jesse Garon.
Graceland was opened to the public as a museum on 7 June 1982. It was declared a National Historic Monument on 27 March 2006. It attracts 650,000 visitors a year,
Elvis Presley’s Birthday will be celebrated at Graceland from 5 to 8 January 2016.
Elvis Presley Week
Each August, Elvis fans from around the world descend on Memphis, Tennessee, for Elvis Week, a weeklong celebration of Elvis, his music, and his movies.
Events include the Elvis Fan Club Presidents Event, Graceland Insiders Event, and Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. Special concerts, panel discussions, dances, and many other activities fill out the week’s agenda.
A highlight of the week is the Elvis Candlelight Vigil, which begins on the evening of 14 August and lasts well into the morning of the following day.
Tens of thousands of Elvis fans gather on Elvis Presley Boulevard and listen to music and leave memorials along the street. Many fans also walk up the driveway to Meditation Garden holding a candle in quiet remembrance of the king.
Transport
Memphis International Airport has nonstop service to several cities in the Eastern and Southern United States and four cities in the West: Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.
Airlines include Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and several commuter air carriers.