---
title: "Inside Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel: Nightly Songwriter Shows and a Museum of Her Life"
description: Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel opens September 29 in Nashville, pairing nightly songwriter shows with a museum of her life. Reservations open September 14.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-09-09T09:17:41.946Z
canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/dolly-parton-songteller-hotel-nashville
categories: Smart Travel
content_type: Feature
region: Nashville
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

On the top floor of the SongTeller Hotel, a room called Jolene's fills each night with performers still making their name in Music City. The bar pours cocktails, the kitchen sends out small plates and desserts, and the singers and songwriters on the bill are the rising acts a visitor to Nashville usually has to go hunting for across town. Here they are one elevator ride from the room key, which is much of the point of the Dolly Parton SongTeller Hotel: it gathers the city's songwriting culture into a single downtown address and lets a traveler step into it without a plan.

The hotel opens on September 29, 2026, in downtown Nashville, a partnership between Dolly Parton and Herschend, the company that runs the Dollywood theme park with her in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It holds 245 guest rooms and suites, two live-entertainment venues and a café. For a traveler weighing whether it earns a trip, the useful thing to know is how the building is organized, because the music and the museum are stacked floor by floor.

## Two Floors Are Set Aside for Live Music and Craft

Jolene's, on the top floor, runs nightly performances alongside its cocktail and small-plate menu. A floor down, Parton's Live sits closer to where the songs get made. Its programming is built around writers' rounds, songwriter sessions and rising-star showcases, the format in which Nashville writers trade songs and talk through how they were written. For a visitor who knows the city mostly through its radio hits, the second floor is where the craft behind them becomes visible.

## The Museum on the Third Floor Starts in Her Childhood Cabin

The museum, Dolly's Life of Many Colors, takes up the entire third floor. Created by Dolly Parton Productions, it walks a visitor through her life by way of interactive exhibits and rarely seen pieces from her own collection. It was filmed earlier this year using technology that lets Dolly herself guide guests through the story as they move through it. The walk begins with a recreation of the small cabin where she grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains, then follows the people, places and moments that shaped what came after. A traveler sorting through things to do in Nashville can treat the Dolly Parton museum as its own visit, one floor that stands apart from the music above it.

## Reservations Open Two Weeks Before the First Guests Arrive

Guest reservations open on September 14, 2026, ahead of the September 29 opening. The programming in between leans on Dolly's family and the emerging artists the hotel is built to feature. Her cousin Richie Owens performs at Parton's Live on September 16. Her niece Jada Star begins a twice-weekly artist-in-residence run on September 17. For anyone timing a trip, those opening weeks are when the building's whole idea, family and new voices sharing the same rooms, is on clearest display.

## FAQ

**Q: What is Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel?**
It is a 245-room hotel in downtown Nashville, created by Dolly Parton with Herschend, that combines guest rooms and suites with two live-music venues, a café and a museum of Dolly's life.

**Q: When does the SongTeller Hotel open?**
It opens on September 29, 2026. Guest reservations open on September 14, 2026.

**Q: What is the Life of Many Colors Museum?**
It is a museum on the hotel's third floor, created by Dolly Parton Productions, that walks visitors through Dolly's life with interactive exhibits and rarely seen items from her collection, opening with a recreation of her childhood cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.

**Q: How many rooms does the hotel have?**
The hotel has 245 guest rooms and suites.