An honest review of a weekend stay at the South’s Grand Hotel—The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee—
including a visit with the Peabody ducks!
Written by Lauren
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When you think of Memphis, a few things probably come to mind: BB King and the Blues, Elvis and Rock n Roll, BBQ, the Mighty Mississippi, and the ducks at The Peabody Memphis hotel.
But how did the march of the ducks begin? And why?
Read on to find out how some Tennessee whiskey shaped the fate of the Peabody Memphis, and all about a weekend stay at the historic hotel.
You might just find yourself checking in next time you’re in Memphis.
Jump right to it …
The Peabody Memphis Experience
What you need to know
Parking and arrival
The room and room service
Let’s be honest we’re just here for the ducks
The Duck Walk: What you need to know
Location and deets
Costs
Other fees
Amenities and onsite restaurants
Event space
Peabody Rooftop Parties
The Peabody Memphis: A history
The Legend of the Ducks
Peabody Essentials: things you should absolutely do
Things to do near The Peabody Memphis
The Peabody Memphis Experience
What you need to know
The elevators suck. Request a room on the lower floors and take the stairs (instead of gasping up ten flights like we did when we didn’t have the time or patience to wait for the elevators).
Duck Walk @ 11am and 5pm everyday
Avoid the lobby from 10-11:15am and 4-5:15pm. The lobby gets packed around Duck Walk times with guests and visitors.
See the ducks in the middle of the day. The Peabody ducks stay in the fountain from 11am until 5pm. Go for a mid-day cocktail at the lobby bar and get a front row seat to all the splishing and splashing of our feathered friends without all the crowds and chaos that accompany Duck Walk times.
Parking and Arrival
Parking Entrance address (for GPS): 118 South 2nd Street South,
Memphis, TN 38103
Parking at The Peabody garage is “ridiculously easy” with very clear signage. You can also valet at the front entrance.
If you’re self-parking, park on the third floor to have direct access to the skywalk.
Don’t forget anything in the car because its a long, corridor journey to the lobby.
Check in is at 4pm, which is unfortunately timed near the Duck Walk. We had to fight our way through the crowd around the lobby bar to the elevators, with our luggage, to get up to our room on the tenth floor.
“We don’t know what’s going on”
Nothing was what we’d thought it be. Not in a bad way, just a surreal way.
First, The Peabody has a very Vegas feel with the ballrooms, convention center, and scented air. I also think our brains were primed for Vegas vibes upon seeing the Luxor-like pyramid when driving in to Memphis.
And then, we had such a time getting to the lobby—from the car to the skywalk (there was some confusion regarding following the duck prints shown above) and into the ballroom/convention area. We rode up in the elevator, only for the doors to *ding* and open on the opposite side of where we thought they were going to, as if to prove that we really did not know what was going on.
The journey continued on through the lobby of the convention area, back outside to the covered front of the hotel where Valet is, and then through the sliding glass doors and into the lobby.
The room and room service
We booked the Deluxe Double.
Most important things to note first, the bed and bedding are ridiculously comfortable. And the shades on the window are about as close to blackout as a girl could wish for.
Included in your Hotel Service Fee of $13.95 per night are the water bottles in your room.
Other perks included: the vanity area with seating and large closet, writing desk, and seating area.
We also enjoyed the Rorschach-inspired painting that prompted many a philosophical pondering’s throughout our stay—is it a Victorian-era woman with her hair piled so on top of her head? A leaf? A shell?
Whose to say? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Upon arriving back to our room around midnight on Friday night, after a night of Grind City Music Festival shenanigans and a late night walk back the hotel, Ashley had the genius idea to place our breakfast order that night so we would wake to room service the next morning.
Such luxury!
There was quite a bit of rigamarole in actually getting ahold of room service (their lines seemed perpetually busy). We ended up calling the front desk from our cell phone and giving them our order to relay to room service, since we could not get ahold of them.
So come 9am, fingers-crossed, we’d awake to chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, toast, sausage, potatoes, and a carafe of coffee.
The room phone is absolutely worthless unless room service is trying to get ahold of you at 6:30am to confirm your order. But apparently, I no longer know how to work landlines because for the life of me, I could not figure out which button to press to pick up the line.
Then, a knock at the door. A timid young bellhop stood before me (I had the wherewithal to put pants on before answering the door, but I was a definitely braless) with a note in his hand. Did I want bacon or sausage?
For the record, sausage. But we couldn’t figure out why it was so important that he know this at 6:30 in the morning, when breakfast wasn’t due until another two and a half hours.
Until, 7am, another knock at the door.
Another employee, breakfast cart at hand.
Oh. That’s why.
Long story short, we sorted through the timing issue, went back to bed, and breakfast magically arrived again around 9:30am.
Food was delicious, as was the coffee. (Though, do remember to ask for sugar when placing your order, because I had to journey down to the deli to apprehend some packets.)
Despite the miscommunication, it was such a treat to wake to breakfast in our room!
Let’s be honest, we’re just here for the ducks
The Peabody has fully embraced the ducks—duck-shaped soap (not to be confused with the duck-shaped butter), duck paintings, ducks embroidered onto pillows and charred onto burger buns. Ducks, ducks, everywhere!
Saturday morning, after breakfast in our room, we moseyed on down to the elevators to catch the infamous Duck Walk.
A fun trick at the Peabody: get on the elevator no matter which direction it’s going. Sometimes it’s faster to go up before going back down.
Coffee in hand, and with time to spare, we found ourselves riding up to the rooftop. We wanted to know, what was the penthouse duck palace we’d heard talk of all about? Could we, perhaps, catch a peep of the ducks before they made their grand entrance?
Alas, we did not. We didn’t know it at the time, but to get to the duck “palace” one must walk all away around the corner to the left. And sadly, the “palace” is not much more than a sunroom with a little pool in it for the ducks. (I was envisioning something much more grand, like a conservatory.)
However, fate was with us that morning, because as the two of us were waiting to catch the elevator down to the lobby, we were joined by none other than the Duck Master himself, Kennan Walker, in full ring leader regalia!
We also had the privilege, as one does when riding with the Duck Master, of overriding the entire system and going straight to the lobby (hahaha, so long suckers!).
The Duck Walk: What you need to know
Inside scoop from the Duck Master himself: aside from the front row seats around the fountain, the best seats in the house are on the mezzanine level across from the elevators.
Kids are allowed to sit along the red carpet from the elevator to the lobby.
Arrive early. 10am for the morning show, 4pm for the evening one. Even earlier than that if you can.
The Duck Walk ceremony happens with much pomp and circumstance—red carpet, ring leader, music, and all.
As I get into detail below, the original Duck Master came to the Peabody from the Ringling Brothers Circus, where he served as an animal trainer. And the spirit of the circus is alive and well here at The Peabody.
The ceremony starts with the Duck Master giving their ten minute spiel of the history of The Peabody and The Peabody ducks.
And then, after introducing any Honorary Duck Master’s present that day—Our Honorary Duck Master was Harper, celebrating her ninth birthday—the Duck Master’s will make their way up the elevator to collect the ducks and bring them back down.
The crowd waits.
And then, the music swells.
The elevator doors open. And out come the ducks, waddling their way down the red carpet to the fountain with much fanfare and glamour.
Once the ducks are in the fountain, that’s pretty much it and the crowd disperses.
The Peabody ducks stay in the fountain from 11am until 5pm. So go for a mid-day cocktail at the lobby bar and get a front row seat to all the splishing and splashing of our feathered friends without all the crowds and chaos that accompany Duck Walk times.
As for the ducks themselves, the quintet is made up of one drake (male) with iconic green head and white collar, and four hen (female) North American mallard ducks. Each group is raised by a local farmer and only serves at The Peabody for three months before returning to the farm to live out their days in the great outdoors as the wild waterfowl their little feathered hearts long to be.
On our second morning, we arrived back at the lobby from brunch just after Duck Walk time. We saw three police officers and figured, hey, they must pop in every now and then to see the ducks too. Everyone loves a feathered friend.
But apparently, as we were told by one none-too-happy grandmother at the bar where we were ordering another round of post-brunch mimosas, they had been called in to assist with two gentlemen who had came to blows near the elevators, the brawl landing on the kids sitting along the red carpet.
Honestly, guys! The kids!
Think of the ducks!
Location and deets
149 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
The Peabody Memphis
(901) 529 – 4000
The Peabody is centrally located in downtown Memphis, just blocks from Beale Street and the Main Street Trolley
Walking distance to the Civil Rights Museum, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame Museum
Costs
Rooms start at $200 / night
Suites start at $620 / night
For two nights (including self parking), I paid $1212
Other fees
Hotel Service Fee – $13.95 per room, per night
Room Tax (sales and occupancy tax) – 23.25% per room, per night
Tourism Improvement Fee – $2.00 per room, per night
City tax – 5% per room, per night
Valet Parking – Daily rate: $35.00, plus taxes
Self-Parking – Daily rate: $26.00, plus taxes
Amenities + onsite restaurants
◦ Gift shop
◦ Feathers Spa — massages, facials, manicures and pedicures, hair treatments
◦ Peabody Athletic Club — indoor heated pool and hot tub, weights and cardio equipment
◦ The Peabody Deli & Desserts — coffee + grab and go fare
◦ Chez Philippe — fancy French restaurant with a southern flare
◦ Capriccio Grill — Italian steakhouse
◦ Lobby Bar — “the original social network”
◦ The Corner Bar – Jack Daniels inspired fare
Event space
80,000 square feet of ballrooms and breakout rooms, including the Tennessee Exhibit Hall, Peabody Executive Conference Center, and Skyway that can host gatherings from ten to several thousands.
Peabody Rooftop Parties
Kick off your weekend with live music, drinks, and sunset skyline views over the Mighty Mississippi
Thursday nights
April – August
6 – 10pm
21+ only
$15 for general admission
$30 for VIP (tickets available for purchase at the door)
Guests get in free before 7pm
The Peabody Memphis: A History
The Peabody, in its current reiteration, was rebuilt on the corner of Union and Second Street in 1925.
Standing at 13 floors tall, the 464 room hotel featuring a grand two-story lobby with the iconic travertine marble fountain was (perhaps still is?) “the living room of Memphis”—the place to see and be seen by the who’s who of the city, the South, even the entire country.
The original hotel was built back in 1869 in the post-war boom town along the Mighty Mississippi on the corner of Main and Monroe to the tune of $60,000. The “social center of the south” was the brainchild of Colonel Robert Campbell Brinkley as part of his dream to revitalize downtown Memphis. The hotel was named after his friend, George Peabody.
The Peabod
The Peabody’s edgier alter ego comes out at night
The Legend of the Ducks
“Back in the 1930’s Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Tennessee sippin’ whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain.
Three small English ducks were selected as ‘guinea pigs’, and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Thus began a Peabody tradition which was to become internationally famous.”
The Duck Walk began when Edward Pembroke, a bellman and the first Duck Master, (formerly of the Ringling Brothers Circus) trained the original five North American mallard ducks to take the elevator down from the rooftop and walk the red carpet to the fountain everyday at 11am and back up at 5pm every night. He held the position for fifty years.
Elvis signed his first major record deal with RCA here in 1955.
The Peabody fell on some hard times and closed its doors in the 1970s. The historic site was rescued by the Belz family of Belz Enterprises. Five years and $25 million later, the Peabody, restored to its former glory, reopened its doors in 1981.
Learn more about the history of the Peabody here
Or take a history tour with a Duck Master next time you’re in town.
Tours run daily at 11:30am for $10 per person.
Peabody Essentials: things you should absolutely do
◦ See the ducks!
◦ Take the elevator to the rooftop to see the views and the “duck palace”
◦ Get cocktails at the lobby bar and request duckies
Things to do Near The Peabody Memphis
◦ Eat at Rendezvous BBQ in the alley across the street (be prepared to wait in line)
◦ Take the trolley down Main Street ($1 for one way, $2 all day, exact cash only)
◦ Beale Street — from the hotel, take a left on Second for a block or two, and then a right on Beale (you can’t miss it)
Francesca Peabody Presley and Jessica Beale hit the town for brunch at the Arcade Restaurant
X marks the spot
Frequently Asked Questions
The Peabody is a historic hotel in Memphis, Tennessee that is known for the Peabody ducks, five mallard ducks that live in their Royal Duck Palace on the rooftop and make their famous Duck Walk to the lobby fountain everyday at 11am. They stay in the fountain all day until they make their return march back up to their rooftop palace (via the elevator) at 5pm.
The Peabody is also known as being the Hollywood of the South, attracting many celebrities throughout the years.
The 1993 mystery/thriller The Firm starring Tom Cruise was also filmed here.
Besides for being a historic building and architectural gem in its own right, The Peabody might be best known for the Peabody Ducks!
Since 1930, the iconic fountain in the Peabody Hotel’s lobby has been a favored splash pad of the Peabody ducks.
The quintet is made up of one drake (male) with iconic green head and white collar, and four hen (female) North American mallard ducks. Each group is raised by a local farmer and only serves at The Peabody for three months before returning to the farm to live out their days in the great outdoors as the wild waterfowl their little feathered hearts long to be.
They live in their Royal Duck Palace on the rooftop when not in the lobby fountain.
Yes! The tradition, with much pomp and circumstance (and a red carpet!), has been going strong since 1940.
11am and 5pm everyday
The lobby gets packed with guests and visitors. Arrive early. 10am for the morning show, 4pm for the evening one. Even earlier than that if you can.
The middle of the day.
The Peabody ducks stay in the fountain from 11am until 5pm. So go for a mid-day cocktail at the lobby bar and get a front row seat to all the splishing and splashing of our feathered friends without all the crowds and chaos that accompany Duck Walk times.
Absolutely! It is centrally located in downtown Memphis, just blocks from Beale Street and the Main Street Trolley.
It’s within walking distance to the Lorraine Motel and the Civil Rights Museum, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame Museum.
The Belz family of Belz Enterprises.
Rooms average $200-$280 per night, not including fees.
While the grandeur and opulence of the wood-paneled and painted interiors reminded me a lot of the Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles, unlike the Hollywood Roosevelt, The Peabody Memphis, like Memphis itself, feels stuck in time.
Also, like Memphis itself, The Peabody Memphis is a unique blend of historic, Southern, and theatrical.
If you don’t mind the crowds that accompany Duck Walk times, The Peabody Memphis is an excellent choice for a first time stay in Memphis. It is centrally-located and within easy walking distance to Beale Street, Main Street, and many museums. The beds are also to die for.
Remember to request a room on a lower floor to avoid the elevators.
And don’t forget to request some duckies for your drinks!
Until then,
To the Peabody ducks!
The Memphis Collection
About Lauren
Reader, writer, traveller, itinerary-creator & mapmaker extraordinaire
Detroit-born, Nashville-bent, everywhere-bound, some of her favorite things include drinking coffee, eating in roadside diners frequented by locals and truckers alike, reading entire guidebooks front to back, visiting local bookshops, spirit questing in New Mexico, watching wildlife documentaries, listening to unapologetic amounts of Taylor Swift, and sitting in aisle seats. To name a few.
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