Nashville's best bathrooms vie for national honor

Tucked away in a dark corner of The Hermitage Hotel is one of Nashville's most renowned and unusual tourist destinations: the men's restroom.

Longtime residents know we're not joking. The restroom's sleek Art Deco design, with eye-popping stripes of black and lime-green tile, was a striking local photo-op long before Instagram existed.

• It was even named America's best bathroom back in 2009.

Flushforward: After a multiyear redesign wrapped in 2021, the historic hotel unveiled an opulent counterpoint to the men's room. The refurbished women's restroom features some of the same design motifs, filtered through rose-colored glasses.

• The new restroom features marble walls and floors striped in blush and bashful shades of pink, rose gold-framed mirrors and bright pink faucets. (Barbie would approve.)
• You can visit the restrooms at Drusie & Darr, one of The Hermitage Hotel's restaurants helmed by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

What's happening: The upgrades are getting national attention, and The Hermitage Hotel's bathrooms are once again vying for the title of America's best bathroom. The Cintas Corporation announced the 10 finalists this week.

• You have until Aug. 11 to vote for the winner. Surely Nashville can best the bathrooms at the Baltimore airport.

Don't forget: While you're there, check out the stunning lobby, and take in some of the hotel's history. In 1920, pro-suffrage leaders descended on The Hermitage Hotel to encourage state lawmakers to ratify the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.