It’s tea-time in the poshest perch in Memphis, but all eyes are on the duck rather than the tiered cake stands and porcelain plates. A live duck, that is, one of five splashing joyously in the elaborate marble fountain centrepiece of the impossibly grand lobby of the Peabody Hotel.
The Peabody, unlikely lynchpin of a city made famous by Elvis and the rise of blues, rock and soul, is famous for getting its ducks in a row. For nearly 80 years a few lucky birds have been lodged in a penthouse pool at this institution celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
Ceremoniously marched down to the lobby at 11am for their day in the fountain and up again in the lift at 5pm prompt, a liveried duckmaster tends to the feathered inhabitants — and presumably trains them to walk their red carpet in format.
This is the year to see the waddling parade in person, as the Belz family, Jewish owners who saved the Peabody from the wrecking ball in the 1970s and reopened it in 1981, celebrate the hotel’s anniversary with knock-down room rates.
It’s also the bicentenary of Memphis itself, where the hotel provides a rare oasis of luxury in a gritty city only slowly regentrifying.
Modern it is not, and even the Peabody seems stuck in something of a timewarp — except for its perfectly functioning plumbing, high tech entertainment system and free wi-fi. “This is what I call a hotel room!” sighs my other half happily, fed up of stylish but pokey boutique hostelries.
Our bedroom is huge and richly upholstered, big enough for a velvet console at the foot of the bed from which to watch the 42 inch flat-screen TV, another 21st century concession.
Meanwhile, carved headboards and a Hollywood-style bathroom with dressing area give a sense of being catapulted into a 1950s MGM musical.
The hotel’s fine dining choice bills itself as possibly the only French restaurant in the world without duck on the menu, plus there’s a grill and a deli, but it would be a shame to miss Catherine and Mary’s, a trendy industrial-style eatery occupying the ground floor of another historic hotel a 10-minute stroll down Main Street.
Make time as well for the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art also on the revitalised Main Street.
There’s a special series of events, Memphis in May, to kick off the city’s own bicentennial celebrations too. A perfect time to visit before midsummer mugginess makes this Mississippi city too humid even for ducks.
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