A couple weekends ago, Jonathan and I traveled to Jackson, Mississippi for the wedding of our friends Janice and Joe. Though we spent less than 48 hours in the city, I fell in love with Jackson’s Southern charm! From the people to the food to the history, Jackson was the cutest Southern escape. Here’s my quick guide to the city:
Where to Stay – Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown
I usually prefer to stay in small boutique hotels or even shared homes when I travel to new cities. Something about smaller settings makes the stay experience is more personal. But the Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown was the perfect balance of a trusted national chain and a quaint hotel with tons of character. still had a very personal feel due to the size of the hotel, it’s Southern hospitality staff, and its history. The hotel was formerly the King Edward Hotel (built in the early 1900s), so the architecture is absolutely stunning, way prettier than that of other Hilton Garden Inns I’ve stayed in.
The Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown’s weekend breakfast was absolutely divine. The grits were so heavenly I regretted every single grits order I’d made in NYC over the past year. And I won’t order grits again unless it’s made by someone with ties to Mississippi. Everything else is a fraud. Besides the food and architectural details of the hotel, the staff’s Southern hospitality went far above that of any other hotel I’ve been in. The bartender at the King Edward Bar refilled my wine glass to the top when I mentioned I loved the Candoni moscato. AND then she didn’t charge me for it! If not for our early morning flight, she and I would’ve become really good friends!
Getting Around With Uber
To the surprise of even Jackson natives, Ubers were readily available everywhere in the city. And not just from the airport, but even at the random Guitar Center we checked out to rent lights for the wedding (Jonathan was the DJ!). Every. single. Jackson. Uber. driver. had the sweetest personality! The city’s Southern charm and hospitality really showed itself in the hearts of the people.
What to Do in Jackson – Music & Eats!
Though we weren’t around for very long, but we did stop by the Iron Horse Grill, a highly rated Southern cuisine restaurant with great live music and an even cooler website/story! If you don’t do anything else, I would definitely recommend going to a live music spot in Jackson. Both the music and the food in the city are FAR above average.
You’re probably wondering about our outfits! Our friend Janice is Nigerian, so we took the opportunity to wear matching ankara outfits. I’ve waited my whole life to be the fly young matching couple at an African wedding, and our dreams were brought to life for the first time with fabric we received at our own wedding!
Though it’s a bit difficult to get to from the Northeast, I’d definitely recommend traveling to Jackson, Mississippi if you’re looking for a quiet and charming Southern destination.
I live in Jackson also, and it’s great you had such a wonderful time here. You may have ran into my brother in law at the Hilton, he’s an employee there.
Oh nice! Thanks for shouting out your hometown!
No, I haven’t but just reading the blog adequate me feel like I were there. This is how you are supposed to feel when you go out of town. Southern hospitality and good food is a plus. I am not to fond of grits unless my husband cooks them because everybody can’t cook grits. If I get a chance to visit the city, I would give them a try. Love the outfits twins?
You have to try the Hilton Jackson’s grits! They might give your husband’s a run for his money!
I live in Jackson so its great to have such a positive light on our city despite all the negative opinions of MS as a whole! I’d have to say since you were downtown another great place to visit with loads of history and culture would be Johnny T’s bistro and blues. Its a small bar in the Farish St. district with tons of great people. So glad you enjoyed your visit down south!
I didn’t realize there was negative opinions of Mississippi – I really enjoyed it! I heard about Johnny T’s, we’ll have to go visit it next time!