First Look: The Chloe Nashville

Nashville’s leafy intown neighborhoods—walkable enclaves full of good food, great music, and friendly residents—continue to lure travelers beyond the bright lights of Broadway. “You’re near the party but not in the party,” says the hotelier Róbert LeBlanc of the Chloe Nashville, a charming new nineteen-room boutique slated to open this month in historic Hillsboro Village. 

At the Chloe, you’ll hardly miss downtown’s revelry—not with an on-site restaurant, three bars, regular live music, a sunny pool deck, lush gardens, and a beautifully designed space that celebrates Nashville’s present while also paying homage to the revamped buildings’ storied past. The two reimagined Craftsman buildings that comprise the bulk of the hotel complex once housed Asylum Records and Spirit Music, where everyone from Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and George Jones to contemporary headliners Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs have recorded. But if you just can’t resist the pull of Lower Broadway, you’re mere minutes from a cold PBR at Robert’s Western World or a rousing set by the next Combs or Stapleton at The Stage.

LeBlanc runs the New Orleans–based hospitality group LeBlanc + Smith, whose first Chloe Hotel opened on an Uptown stretch of St. Charles Avenue in 2020. As he began scouting locations for a second hotel, Nashville topped the list. “My wife and I started visiting the city ten or fifteen years ago, at least once a year,” LeBlanc says, “and it has very similar cultural pathways to New Orleans. They take care of people well. They love food. And they love music, albeit their heritage is more country/bluegrass while New Orleans is centered around jazz.” 

Settling on the right neighborhood and property was paramount, which meant the search took time. “We always want to make sure we’re creating something that’s additive to the community,” LeBlanc says, “that we’re adding something new and different.” In the end, the team appreciated the architectural bones and musical history of the 1920s property as well as the parallels between Hillsboro Village and Uptown New Orleans. (Both neighborhoods are situated near prominent universities, lending vibrancy and culture to the communities.)  

LeBlanc tapped interior designer Sara Costello, who also designed the Chloe New Orleans, to bring the Nashville hotel to life. Rooms and buildings that feel “of a place” are a hallmark of Costello’s aesthetic, LeBlanc says. “And it was important that the Nashville property wasn’t a carbon copy of the Chloe New Orleans.” To that end, spaces “reflect the city’s evolving style,” highlighting the work of local makers and artists with touches like Chris Coleman artwork on the walls and Imogene + Willie–designed uniforms. But Costello and her team also preserved historic details like the building’s coffered ceilings, salvaged wood floors, and original brickwork.  

The combination of the hotel’s robust food and beverage program (helmed by Chef Matt Regan, formerly of Sylvain in New Orleans’ French Quarter) with community spaces like the lobby, pool deck, and gardens (designed by the Nashville landscape architect Gavin Duke) is meant to ensure Nashville residents feel just as welcome as out-of-towners. So, too, will programming like the Chloe’s Artist in Residence series, which invites local creatives to stay on property, hosting fireside chats and happy hours. “We want to create a place that locals will come and use too,” LeBlanc says. “To come have coffee meetings or sit by the pool or lounge in the gardens. A place they feel comfortable celebrating occasions or just sneaking away to read.”