Upon our arrival, we were a little bit skeptical about the location of the Iris. We got into Nashville late and we couldn't really tell if we were close to the places we wanted to be close to, but we were very pleasantly surprised! There's a great walkable coffee shop two minutes away, the nearby Vietnamese, Thai, and burrito places are KILLER, and it's a quick 3 mile Lyft ride into the center of downtown. If you're into bars, we found some great bars that were not exactly walkable but were easy and cheap to get to with rideshare. The neighborhood behind the motel is mostly recording studios and doesn't have a ton of sidewalks, but it's still pleasant to walk through and explore.
Our room was perfectly clean and efficient, the porch was a great place to catch some firefly and bird action, and the room was surprisingly quiet for how popular the motel is. If you're looking for an off the beaten path and out of the bright lights but still comfortable and retro chic kind of place, the Iris is for you. It was also extra fun listening to our Lyft drivers talk about the history and past life of the motel. I'd definitely stay here again!