A Champagne Vending Machine + 9 Other Genius Amenities Worth Traveling For
Hotel guests these days are looking for far more than a high thread count. We searched for some of the most interesting, luxurious, and over-the-top hotel amenities you can enjoy around the South. Image: Facebook / Hotel Saint Cecilia
Updated September 2026 by Rai Mincey
That feeling of finally walking into a delicious-smelling hotel lobby after a long journey is unmatched. Once you’ve got your room keys, it’s time to kick off your shoes, knock out the unpacking (or let someone else do it for you … more on that later), and see what your hotel has to offer. Free bikes and guest happy hours have become commonplace, but some Southern hotels are taking things a step further. From thoughtful little extras to unexpected perks, these unique hotel amenities across the South might just become your favorite part of the stay.
Don’t Forget To Pack Your Plants
Lexington, KY’s boutique hotel, Elwood Hotel & Suites, encourages you to bring your beloved plant babies to the world’s first plant-friendly hotel experience.
Book the Gardener’s Premier Room, which includes a selection of Instagrammable in-room greenery from a local greenhouse, locally made botanical toiletries, specially designed botanical door hangers, and other plant-centric perks like a Garden Mojito cocktail special at the downstairs Fiddletree Kitchen & Bar.
Put Your Records On
In-room record players are found in many hotels these days, but some places truly turn the listening experience up a notch. Hotel Saint Cecilia honors Austin’s musical roots with a lending library of music history books and vintage LPs to spin on your room’s Rega turntable. Can’t find your perfect tune? A personal shopper will get it for you at Breakaway Records, and Gibson will even loan you guitars.
Highlander Mountain House in Western North Carolina also has retro Marshall speakers or Victrola record players in each room for high-quality listening.
The Central Station in Memphis leads the vinyl game with its world-class music experience. The Listening Lounge showcases legendarily crafted EgglestonWorks speakers, curated playlists, and an expansive library of 500+ vinyl records (more music than guests could listen to in eight hours per day for 100 years!).
Daily DJs spin records from a redesigned DJ booth creatively constructed from an old church organ — nicknamed “Elmertha” after Booker T. Jones’s piano teacher.
Channel Your Inner Rock Star
Hutton Hotel in Nashville provides a selection of guitars, basses, and ukuleles to play throughout your stay. Your musically influenced visit includes writers’ sessions, state-of-the-art sound equipment, intimate in-house concerts at Analog, and lobby performances. Plus, choose from one of two incredible studios designed by Dierks Bentley and Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) to lay down a track inspired by your trip for an unforgettable memento.
Stargaze With Professional Astronomers
As night falls on Virginia’s Primland Resort, head to its fully equipped observatory for an out-of-this-world journey. Primland’s altitude atop the Blue Ridge Mountains, combined with the remarkable clarity of the night sky, makes for an incredible viewing of stars, planets, nebulae, and other celestial objects.
This year-round, weather-dependent guest experience might be your once-in-a-lifetime chance to have Celestron CGE Pro 1400 and CPC 800 telescopes at your disposal. Sip Moonrise or Stargazer Mocktails and snack on macaroons during your observatory experience.
Hit The Champagne Vending Machine
Lennox Hotel in Miami has an automatic dispenser of the finest French bubbles. Once you purchase your champagne tokens in the lobby, you’ll be given gorgeous flutes to take out to the courtyard, where a gold-rimmed Moët & Chandon vending machine awaits. Take your perfectly chilled pick back to your room, or head to Lennox’s picture-perfect swimming pool.
In-Room “Glamping” With The Kids
Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans has roomy suites for families to spread out and find some zen within the buzz of the Big Easy. Request an in-room tent with string lights and a camping lantern for your little explorers. It also comes with the cutest Bayou camping cooler filled with local soda, gummy frogs, and trail mix cookies.
Teenagers can get a taste of New Orleans with a mocktail flight amenity of sparkling beverages, flavored syrups, and fruit garnishes. (While Mom and Dad have the real stuff, of course.)
Hit The Town In Style
Dallas’s dreamy Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek has partnered with Lexus to let you take some of the luxury car maker’s zippiest new models out for a joyride or two. Or, let the hotel’s drivers take you anywhere within five miles in the Rosewood’s fleet of Lexus vehicles.
Similarly, The Dewberry in Charleston has a fleet of dedicated Volvos, and the 1 Hotel in Nashville is going green with all-electric Audis available for test drives and rides.
Ring Your Personal Butler
Many hotels are taking the guest experience to stratospheric levels with a personal butler service. At the St. Regis in Atlanta, for example, guests can enjoy a 24-hour on-call butler for everything from shoe-shining and ironing to packing, unpacking, or serving breakfast in bed. You’re on vacation, after all!
A post from The Spectator Hotel in Charleston (the only Charleston hotel to offer butler service to all guests) claims, “No detail too small, no request too large,” regarding the upscale amenity. Meanwhile, The Lodge at Sea Island is one of the leaders and originators of hotel butler service in the South.
Call for a rose-petal-drawn bath after a day full of golf, tennis, or beach lounging. They even have a dedicated Tie Butler for the forgetful gentleman.
Bring Along Man’s Best Friend
Salt Ranch in Nashville knows guests’ furry friends are as treasured as any family member. The property boasts a built-in dog park with plenty of space for your beloved pet to roam. Enjoy the securely fenced, off-leash optional space where your good boy or girl can feel free to enjoy the getaway. Dogs are also welcome in the public courtyards.
Indulge in the Arts
Savannah’s riverfront-perched Hotel Orielle has turned itself into a walkable gallery, anchoring the lobby with a three-panel mixed-media installation by SCAD alumna Lillian Blades. Channeling the Lowcountry marsh landscape, the gallery is paired with an abstract floral painting by fellow SCAD alum and former professor Katherine Sandoz.
From there, the collection gets more eclectic still — salon-style gallery walls and digital steampunk pieces lead up to a 33-foot custom mural on the rooftop.
An hour down the coast, on the Isle of Palms’s Wild Dunes Resort, you can channel your inner artist with expert-led lessons in centuries-old Lowcountry crafts like sweetgrass basket weaving and oyster art — swapping a souvenir shop trip for a keepsake made with your own two hands.
San Antonio’s Hotel Contessa hosts a monthly art night, featuring a rotating lineup of talented local artists and makers. Stroll through the river-level atrium while meeting the artists behind the work as part of the property’s exhibit series.
While this list doesn’t even scratch the surface of cool and unusual hotel perks, we hope we’ve inspired you to book your next room with fun amenities in mind!
This article contains hotel affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a reservation after clicking on one of these links.
**********
Want to discover more great Southern spots to visit? Subscribe to StyleBlueprint!
Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint freelance writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant since 2012. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.
