The Memphis trolley (a bus now as the trolley is under service a while) runs right by this nice grand old landmark. We timed our visit for the 11 am marching of the ducks getting to the lobby bar 35 min ahead of time so we could get a good seat. The nice bar lady made a good Bloody Mary and Mimosa and we sat back to watch the crowds build. Thing is you want a view of the fountain and the path between it and the elevator so you can see the ducks come in and hop in.
They are very strict about folks standing around; you have to get a seat or kids can be on the floor next to the elevator doors. Thus folks would come in at the last moment and try to stand and they would get the bum's rush off to another seat or the upper balcony. The "Duckmaster starts the show early and builds the shtick of the moment where foul will walk the floor.
The buildup is bigger compared to the event as the whole thing is over in seconds. However, we are glad we went. Watching the Duckmaster, the whole show of ducks walking and the grand setting of the hotel is a great way to enjoy a drink in Memphis.
In all the lobby is nice to see, the service is great and the show is unlike what you may see in most any other hotel. Oh, we asked a concierge where we could buy deodorant, he asked men's or woman's and disappeared and returned with one of each for us. Wow, we were not even guests (of course he did not even ask). What class! This is the type of people who work here. Wish we had stayed here.
American Steam Boat Company, the tour we had booked, had noted this place on the web site. However, when we got our booking paperwork, we got assigned to the Sheraton Memphis way uptown; a place with much less class.