Places to Stay — and Play — for Music Lovers

Whether it’s jazz, rock or classical, there’s a hotel for every traveler marching to the beat of their own drum. Hands-on fun, like Fender guitars, jamming DJ sets and priceless pianos all beckon from Mexico to Budapest.

Opened just in December, Melody Maker Cancun is already getting headlines for its headline-grabbing acts like Afrojack and David Guetta. Guests at the 679-room resort enjoy complimentary access to concerts during their stay at this “Vegas meets Cancun” experience, with all-inclusive luxury looking out over the Caribbean Sea or the Nichupté Lagoon. There’s 24/7 entertainment in the form of Delirio Day Club and Clandestino Night Club, along with five international restaurants, a luxury spa and beachfront access.

Hard Rock Hotels just enhanced its tune-themed Sound of Your Stay offerings with Wax, an in-room turntable offering in partnership with Crosley. Hard Rock’s “team of music experts” curated a collection of 10 iconic records for in-room enjoyment. Sound of Your Stay also includes Fender guitars for in-room jam sessions with amps and headphones and the resorts cataloged playlists like artists on the edge to classic love songs to stream into resort rooms.

It only makes sense the live music capital of the world would have a hotel named after the patron saint of music and poetry, Hotel Saint Cecelia. Each room comes with a turntable, sound system and lending library of rock biographies and vintage LPs. The hotel concierge can also arrange both guitar loans and private vintage vinyl LP shopping at Gibson Guitars or Austin’s all-vinyl Breakaway Records store.

Hotel Aria. Courtesy of Library Hotel Collection

Lauded several times over as one of Europe’s highest-rated hotels, Aria Budapest goes so far as to employ a full-time musical director. Each evening the hotel’s Music Garden courtyard hosts live entertainment for a complimentary wine and cheese session. The hotel has a rare Boganyi Piano (only three are known to exist), and each of its four weeks is themed: jazz, opera, classical and contemporary. Rooms feature iPads loaded with thousands of songs from each genre.

Billing itself as Europe’s first music hotel, Berlin’s nhow offers electric guitars to be borrowed for no extra charge, and two professional recording studios. There are also weekly concerts and DJ sets, with DJs available for in-room performances upon request. The hotel is also just a short walk from MTV Berlin.

You can’t beat New Orleans for jazz, and the Ace delivers big-time. The hotel’s Three Keys venue features an intimate vibe with free performances for guests (and to the public with special RSVPs). Suite guests can riff on acoustic Martin guitars and try their hand at spinning on in-room turntables.

Beatles fans can rejoice stepping back in time at The Edgewater Hotel in Seattle, home to musical legends like Jimi Hendrix. Guests can sleep in the same room where the Fab Four cast a line in the “fishing out the window” photo, in what is now called the Beatles Suite, featuring portraiture and memorabilia. A wall of fame at the hotel includes a display of the famous rock stars who stayed there over the years, including Emerald City native sons Pearl Jam, along with the Rolling Stones, the Village People and Led Zeppelin.

Hotel Aria. Courtesy of Library Hotel Collection