The Best Western Downtown Convention Center is in a good location if you're going to a convention or need to take public transportation, since it's near the transit center. And it's around the corner from the Hermitage, one of the nicest hotels in town. Otherwise, it is several blocks away from the action.

It is on the far north side of downtown, several blocks from the Ryman or Broadway or Music Row. A few blocks doesn't sound like much, but the blocks go up and down steep hills. We were out on a rainy day, and there's not much protection from the rain, either. The neighborhood becomes dicey at night, and if you find yourself out late, it's best to take a taxi back to the hotel.

As with many of the hotels in downtown Nashville, this one has been remodeled (it was a Ramada most recently) and was a nice building at one time. The room was dank -- cold and wet -- during our entire stay. Even in July, it was cold because the air conditioner didn't work well, and you either had cold air or no air, with 90-degree heat and 100 percent humidity. The beds were mushy and the air had the strong odor of Febreze, which seemed to be covering cigarette smoke.

There also were plumbing problems. When we arrived in our room, the toilet was flooding. The desk clerk wouldn't exchange the room, but sent someone to fix the toilet. It took more than an hour, and the floor was wet in the meantime. We had to have this done a couple more times in a three-day stay. The clerk explained that downtown has a lot of plumbing issues that weren't related to the hotel, but I can't imagine this happening at the Hermitage. At night, there was noise in an adjoining room, and this, too, wasn't resolved quickly.

It appears to be a family operation run on a shoestring budget. Everyone seemed to pitch in, but no one seemed particularly skilled at any of their jobs. And no one would admit to being the manager. I got them to come down $10/day on our bill after listing all the problem, and they did the same thing for the people who checked out after us.

The public transportation system in Nashville is not as bad as some of the reviews indicate. You can take a bus to the airport and to Opryland, and the drivers are friendly about getting you on and off the right bus. It is rather limited, however, if you intend to do a lot of sightseeing that's not on the main routes. I didn't rent a car because there is a huge rental tax on cars in Nashville that made the price quite a bit higher than the norm.

In the future, I'll either spring for a room at the Sheraton or stay at the Holiday Inn Express, which is much closer to the Ryman and Broadway.