What is the best area to stay near Nashville, TN off 24? (Murfreesboro: hotels, construction)

[stryboy]

Going from Orlando to Chicago. We were thinking about stopping around Nashville. I have been through there before and didn't have a very good experience. Any suggestions?

[think365]

Unless you actually want to be in the city of Nashville, I would suggest Murfreesboro.

[nashvols]

Avoid Trinity Lane (just north of downtown) or anything on Murfreesboro Rd just south of downtown.

There are several clusters of hotels in Rutherford County (Murfreesboro, Smyrna) that should be fine. The only caution I would throw out there is if you plan on staying on a weeknight, that is a very busy stretch of interstate, and wouldn't be fun to navigate around rush hour. If you are travelling on a weekend, or you get later starts (say, leaving after 9am), then you should be fine. That's not a good spot to be if you want an early start.

[skyblueNashville]

When I have a choice, I like Hampton Inns. There's one with great reviews in Smyrna, TN, which is just before you get into Nashville coming from Orlando. There are several places to eat in that area. As mentioned above, you don't want to be heading west from that location on I-24 during rush hour though.

[artemis]

I would go just beyond Nashville & stay in the Springfield, TN area. You wouldn't have to worry about rush hour.

[GWoodle]

May not be too far out of your way to go over to Brentwood off I-65 & Old Hickory & Franklin Road. THen you can get back on I-65 into downtown & rejoin I-24 there.

There is another cluster off Briley near the airport from the Elm Hill exit near I-40. Briley will be a great choice to bypass the downtown loop.

[artemis]

Have you thought about taking I-65 North into Indiana, and then cutting across I-74 to I-57, then North to Chicago?

[CountryGirl2b=]

I second GWoodle . . the Maryland Farms area of Brentwood is a nice place to spend a night. Exit 74B off of 65. You can even go on a surface street from 24 to 65 but do NOT drive that route at rush hour! (Exit 59 off of I-24 - head west on Rt. 255).

If you decide to go that way, I will list hotels for you. Lots of places to eat around there.

[MetropolitanTN]

Smyrna or Murfreesboro.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by GWoodle

There is another cluster off Briley near the airport from the Elm Hill exit near I-40. Briley will be a great choice to bypass the downtown loop.

I do like this suggestion. The airport/Donelson/Opryland area has the largest number of hotel rooms in the metro, and there is a lot to choose from in terms of variety and price. Briley does provide a great option to bypass downtown (which, even outside of rush hour, is nice because of construction on 65/24 north of downtown has narrow lanes and big trucks).