JW Marriott

A wheelchair accessibility review of the JW Marriott Nashville, a 34-story luxury hotel in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

JW Marriott Nashville — official hotel website

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Entrance and Lobby
Wheelchair Accessibility of the Elevators
Wheelchair Accessibility of the Room
Wheelchair Accessibility of the Bathroom
Room Amenities and Service
Location

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Entrance and Lobby

The porte cochère at the JW Marriott Nashville is covered, which made getting out of the car and into my wheelchair easy regardless of weather. From there, a rotating door leads into the lobby. If you’d rather not roll through a rotating door, there are two powered doors right next to it. Every entrance I used into the hotel had power openers, so getting in and out on my own was never a problem.

The lobby itself is gorgeous — chandeliers, fireplaces, and a very modern design throughout. It’s a genuinely nice space to roll through, not just a pass-through to the elevators.

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Elevators

The elevators require a key card to operate, and once you tap in, you select your floor on a touch screen rather than physical buttons. From a seated position, the touch screen can be a bit hard to reach for the top floors. There’s an accessible keypad mounted below the main screen for anyone who finds the screen too tall to reach comfortably.

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Room

We had reserved a wheelchair accessible room with a roll-in shower. When we got to the room, though, it had a tub instead. There were multiple conferences in town that week, and the roll-in shower standard rooms were all taken. To make it right, the hotel upgraded us to a Griffin Suite with a roll in shower, which was wonderful.

The suite was on the 32nd floor with sweeping views over the Cumberland River, Honky Tonk Highway, and Nissan Stadium. The layout has a guest bathroom, kitchen, and living room combined in one room, with a separate bedroom that has a large en suite bathroom. The bed height was 25 inches, which made getting in and out a little harder than usual. The blinds were powered, both the sheer and the blackout curtains, which was a nice touch for adjusting light and privacy without having to reach for anything.

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Bathroom

The toilet height was 19 inches. As noted above, the room we were upgraded to had a roll-in shower. Because it was a suite, the bathroom also had a large tub, dual sinks, large flow-through areas, and a separate mirror vanity. It was extremely spacious.

Room Amenities and Service

Housekeeping came by a few times during the day to clean and freshen the room, and the staff were lovely every time. The suite also had an automatic Nespresso machine, which was a nice convenience. Overall, it was a very comfortable stay.

Location

The hotel’s central downtown location put me within easy rolling distance of the Music City Center convention center, Country Music Hall of Fame, Bridgestone Arena, Honky Tonk Highway on Lower Broadway, The Gulch, Nissan Stadium, and the Frist Art Museum. The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville’s historic “Mother Church of Country Music” and museum, was also an easy roll away.