In April, I booked a simple beach week for our family trip this year. We've done several big trips since 2020 and we needed a smaller, more affordable trip. I found a great place to stay right on the beach in Gulfport, MS and we planned several free excursions. Then, for Owen's 8th birthday we decided to surprise our Elvis Lover with a stop at the Guesthouse at Graceland and Graceland Mansion on the way home.
Up first, the Guesthouse at Graceland. Our overall review 3/5
If you click the above link, you'll see that the Guesthouse is advertised as a "Luxury Elvis Hotel." We beg to differ. In our travels, we have stayed at several other Four Diamond hotels which have been INCREDIBLE so we had very high expectations for this hotel as well.
Pros: It is an easy walk, or extremely short drive, to Graceland. If you're just in Memphis for Elvis then the location is perfect. It is in a bit of a rundown area so we really appreciated the guarded parking lot ($10 for the night). There are four restaurants and we ate dinner at EP's Grill which was fantastic and also grabbed a morning coffee which was fine. The highlights were the included nightly movie (ours was "Viva Las Vegas") and 9 PM PBJ bar. The service was exceptional.
Cons: It really is not as special or luxurious as other hotels at this price point (our room was $230 before fees thanks to a First Responder Discount). Our room was larger and the bathroom was larger than your average hotel but they were not nearly as "Elvis" as we had hoped for. Our other Four Diamond hotels have been historic which maybe gave them the more special luxurious feel. The lobby is not very large, very basically decorated, and yet they want everyone to gather there for nightly music so it was quite crammed night and day. The kids were also very disappointed that the beautiful pool is outdoors and not useable year round.
Owen has always been a huge Elvis fan and just couldn't believe we were taking him there. Mark was the only of us who had been and assured me it was worth the detour.
What did I expect? I expected a very overpriced (roughly $45/kid and $80/adult for tickets) trip to a possibly run down house surrounded by a certain kind of music fan.
I could not have been MORE wrong! Our visit to Graceland was an experience I never knew I needed!
First of all, the home is lovingly maintained by a staff who cares tremendously for Elvis's family and work very hard to keep the home beautiful. It has quite obviously been well cared for despite the half million visitors who walk through it each year. Our tour included the first floor, basement, carport, backyard, several outbuildings that served as offices and gymnasium, as well as a sentimental stop at the Presleys' Meditation Garden. We were surrounded by true Elvis fans who felt such a quite reverence for the man, the music, and the house. It was one of the quietest and most respectful tours we have ever been on.
After our house tour, we spend the afternoon at the museum across the street. Here we saw some of Elvis's cars, planes, music, jumpsuits, and so much more. After Elvis died, his family remained in the house and within five years it was opened to the public for tours. Since the family still owns everything, there has been such incredible care about maintaining everything for the next generation.
I was so thankful that Owen has such a love for Elvis and that Mark pushed for us all to go. We all enjoyed our day there tremendously. Graceland was a 5/5 for all of us!
**Traveler's Tip: Parking is $10 at both the Guesthouse and Graceland. If you stay at the hotel, it's a quick under five minute walk so leave your car there and save the Graceland parking fee. We felt quite silly that we had prepaid both as we definitely wasted $10.
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