Ever visit Chattanooga?

You’ve probably been to Rock City, Ruby Falls or the Tennessee Aquarium, but have you stayed downtown?

Since the 1990s, Chattanooga has reclaimed its downtown river front district and transformed it to a great place to visit.

With the holidays finally over, we got to slip away for a weekend and stayed at the Historic Read House on Broad Street downtown. It was easy to find and convenient to Interstate 24, which is often our path for our travels.

The Read House is now a Sheraton and a major renovation has been recently completed. What a wonderful job! The historic character of the hotel has been maintained with the addition of all those modern niceties we expect like high speed Internet access, plush comfortable beds and excellent service.

As usual, Betty Lou was dubious. Chattanooga didn’t sound like her kind of getaway. But one look at the hotel lobby started to sway her. It’s a real lobby, spacious with comfortable chairs ... a place where guests meet and converse.

“Just like the movies,” she said.

We had a beautiful room near the top of the hotel with a nice view of downtown. The room was nicely appointed with a comfortable couch, a big ottoman, two TVs, a desk and what Betty Lou described as “the most comfortable bed in the world.”

The hotel, like most modern ones, had a big workout area and a very, very nice indoor pool. It’s a no-edge pool with three waterfalls. There’s also a large whirlpool-spa style pool.

The hotel is also home to a big Starbucks (that’s a plus) and one of Chattanooga’s nicest restaurants, Porter’s Steakhouse. It’s a Chicago-style steakhouse that’s posh and romantic. The chef’s specialty is the Pepperloin, a whole-beef tenderloin marinated for 48 hours and covered with a peppercorn and herb mixture. (www.porterssteakhouse.com)

The Sheraton Reed House is also a very popular venue for weddings and receptions. The Silver Ballroom is beautiful with a classic look that takes you back to glorious times.

The rooms were quiet ... a fact we greatly appreciated. When we were there, a major college basketball tournament was underway. At least two college teams, Wayne State and Murray State stayed there along with their fans, but everyone was quiet and friendly.

One of the greatest advantages of the Read House is that has a stop on the amazing Chattanooga Electric Shuttle. Emission-free, the shuttle is quiet and handicapped accessible. You could ride from the Chattanooga Choo Choo to the Tennessee Aquarium FREE. The convenience was amazing.

We found ourselves hating to leave the Read House.

Betty Lou gave it her highest complement:

“I could live here.”

You should have seen her collection of real estate magazines!