As soon as I booked a wedding in Nashville, a city we’d always wanted to visit, I knew exactly where I wanted to stay – The 404 Hotel. I don’t recall where I’d first read about The 404, but after seeing its repeated mentions in all of my favorite travel magazines, there was no real question in my mind about where we’d stay.

Located in the trendy Gulch neighborhood, The 404 is known for its amazing onsite restaurant, five impeccably designed minimalist rooms, and its invisible service, a feature we’d not experienced in a hotel yet, but one we truly enjoyed. (This is a fantastic read about the rise of hotels with invisible services, highlighting The 404.)

We both loved the design of our room – the clean, light palette that made the wall art shine, the high ceilings, the tall sliding barn door, and every last detail of the boldly bright bathroom that blended the traditional and modern so perfectly. The restaurant, which we’ll cover in our future post about the city of Nashville itself, turned out to be a very strong contender for our best meal of the trip.

Traveling to a hotel, particularly for any Map & Menu feature, we’ve found that we typically depart having made a new friend – someone at the front desk or a manager who made our stay even more memorable – and although I thought I might miss this connection by staying at a hotel where you literally don’t see or meet a single member of the staff, I have to say, it was a bit liberating. We came and went using an access code given to us prior to our stay, and although we usually enjoy getting to talk to hotel staff about some of their favorite local haunts, we didn’t have any trouble getting through our own list of Nashville must-visits. Staying in an invisible service hotel is somewhat akin to having a well-designed apartment in whichever city you’re visiting.

If you’re looking for a stylish, inedpendent change of pace in your next Nashville hotel, look no further than The 404.

Photos taken by Meredith Perdue for Map & Menu.