The Beat Goes On at These Hotels That Embrace Music Culture

Do you crank up the radio when you’re driving? Sing in the shower? Whistle a tune while chopping vegetables? If so, it sounds like you prefer life with a soundtrack — and the places you visit should celebrate your groove. Whether you like classical operas and concertos, rock anthems, R&B crooners, country twang or another genre, you’ll find much to love at these hotels that embrace music culture. 

As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip. 

Mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection in Japan 

With a name derived from the verb “mesmerize,” Mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection aims to engage all five senses, beginning with an auditory welcome. In your hotel room, a digital piano will serenade you with the hotel’s signature melody — a perfect theme song for the sparkling Tokyo waterfront views. Alternatively, you can play the piano or use its Bluetooth capabilities to stream any music you choose.  

The hotel lounge features performances from accomplished musicians, with its gleaming grand piano positioned so you can absorb the music while gazing at the Tokyo Skytree twinkling in the middle of Tokyo’s skyline. 

The Elizabeth Hotel, Autograph Collection in Fort Collins, Colorado 

Colorado has long been a favorite stop for touring musicians, and lively college town Fort Collins is one of the state’s key hubs of music culture. The Elizabeth Hotel, Autograph Collection, located in historic Old Town, stocks guest rooms with Crosley record players and vinyl selections from Fleetwood Mac to AC/DC and offers an array of sonic options in the vinyl library.  

For visiting musicians — from amateur to pro — The Elizabeth’s Music Lending Library beckons. You might just want to stay in and jam all night once you find out the hotel is equipped with guitars and keyboards, as well as stringed instruments key to Colorado’s fervent bluegrass and jam band scene, including a tenor ukelele, a top tension banjo and a Collings mandolin. 

Fenway Hotel, Autograph Collection in Dunedin, Florida 

Music has animated Fenway Hotel, Autograph Collection since it opened in 1924, with the first radio station in Pinellas County broadcasting out of a third-floor studio in 1925. In the roaring ’20s, the sprawling stucco hotel attracted guests seeking to cut loose to big-band jazz under swaying palm trees with Gulf of Mexico views.  

Fenway Hotel honors its Prohibition roots with a speakeasy, Room 27, which guests access with a password to enjoy jazz, vintage cocktails and 1920s memorabilia (and you can still see the entrance to the original underground speakeasy in the lobby).  

Room 27 accommodates 12 visitors at a time, but if you can’t snag a seat, there’s plenty of room in the rooftop bar, Hi-Fi, to enjoy cocktails and views of Caladesi and Honeymoon islands. 

Hotel Blackhawk, Autograph Collection in Davenport, Iowa 

Davenport, Iowa, was so much fun in 1915 when Hotel Blackhawk, Autograph Collection opened that it was once scolded as the “wickedest city in America.” During Prohibition, Davenport teemed with speakeasies, brothels and clubs that attracted traveling musicians and Dixieland bands who entertained on the riverboats cruising the Mississippi.  

This scene inspired Davenport-born jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke, influential cornetist and composer whose spirit is honored throughout Hotel Blackhawk, from its Bix Bistro to the hotel’s signature Bix’s Black-Tie Bourbon, which you can enjoy on-site. Hotel Blackhawk is the perfect place to look out on the Mississippi and toast its tradition as an American music highway. 

Hotel Carmichael, Autograph Collection in Carmel, Indiana 

The Great American Songbook Foundation, headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, aims to preserve and promote the vibrant tradition of American popular songs, showtunes and jazz standards made famous by such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Judy Garland.  

Hotel Carmichael, Autograph Collection embraces this mission by honoring one of the musicians who contributed to the Great American Songbook every day at 4 p.m. in its Adagio Lounge. The host shares the story of the influential musician, leads a Champagne toast and cranks up the self-playing Steinway Grand Piano to play the honored musician’s songs. 

The Oaklander Hotel, Autograph Collection in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

The Oaklander Hotel, Autograph Collection was built on the site of the former Syria Mosque, a concert venue that drew throngs of Pittsburgh-area music fans to listen to Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker during its heyday.  

The Oaklander pays homage to this legacy through its regular open mic nights for local musicians, guest talks about Pittsburgh music history, and the Rock ’n’ Oak Recording Studio, where you can book a session to lay down original tracks with the help of a sound engineer and leave with a vinyl record of the performance. 

The Otis Hotel Austin, Autograph Collection in Texas 

Walking down the streets of Austin, you can often hear live music pouring out of concert venues, lounges and bars, so why should the soundscape go quiet when you arrive at your hotel?  

The Otis Hotel Austin, Autograph Collection features custom record players in every room and a vinyl library in the lobby where guests can pick out albums to borrow. Vinyl Ambassadors offer expert guidance, acting like sommeliers to pair each guest with their perfect soundtrack.  

The Otis also creates custom playlists of local musicians and keeps the vibe going with curated music in the Otopia Rooftop Lounge.  

Grand Universe Lucca, Autograph Collection in Italy 

Located in the hometown of famed “La Bohème” composer Puccini, the Grand Universe Lucca, Autograph Collection has attracted artists, philosophers and musicians since it first opened as the Hotel Universo e Tosca in 1857.  

Opera composers Puccini and Pietro Mascagni came here to unwind in the late 1800s, and in the 1960s, incomparable melancholy jazz crooner Chet Baker loved to book Room 15, perch on the windowsill and warble his trumpet.  

Centuries of music appreciation are evident in the notation-inspired names of the rooms (from Piccolo to Allegro) and the Symphony Lounge, with a grand piano at its heart and its signature mimosalike cocktail, the Puccini.