The Stuck at the Airport team spent the weekend exploring Nashville International Airport (BNA) and testing out the airport’s brand new BNA PASSport gate pass program from our base at the new Hilton BNA Nashville Airport Terminal.
The hotel is on the plaza between the terminal and the covered parking garage. Just outside the hotel is an aviation-themed playground, a large fenced area for dogs, chair swings and other spaces to hang out before or after a flight.
Our corner room was super comfy and quiet. And it provided a great perch to watch airplanes coming and going from the gates.
The hotel has a lovely restaurant and a lobby bar that features occasional live music. On the 9th floor, there’s a well-equipped fitness center with views of downtown and the airport. And, on the 10th floor, the hotel’s best feature: the BNA Sky Pavilion. The rooftop has a pool, a fire pit, indoor and outdoor seating, a bar and great views of the runways, the downtown skyline and the surrounding area. While we were there, we even spotted fireworks off in the distance.
The BNA PASSport program
BNA debuted its guest pass program, called BNA PASSport, on July 1 and is issuing 75 visitor passes a day to non-ticketed passengers.
We used our pass on Friday evening to explore the airport’s restaurants, bars and shops.
We had dinner and stopped to listen to live music on at least four stages in various airport restaurants and bars. The airport’s ‘drinks to go’ policy meant we could easily mosey with our cocktails from one stage to the next. And the fact that bottles of really great Tennessee whiskey are sold in seemingly every airport gift shop made us a wee bit sorry we were traveling with only carry-on luggage.
Stay tuned for the story of the surprise in-store event some passengers were treated to during our BNA visit.
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