When we were planning our Memphis trip months ahead of when we'd actually travel for my birthday, our hotel options always boiled down to one clear choice: The Peabody.
I'd heard of it from a friend who'd stayed there several years ago for a work conference, and who'd been delighted by the daily duck parade. That was enough to seal the deal for me.
But then I also realized that it also fit the theme of my destination birthday celebration—that is, Elvis, whose manager Colonel Parker closed a record deal for the rising star with RCA Victor right there in the lobby in 1955. (The budding performer had previously visited the Peabody to attend his senior prom there.)
The hotel itself dates back much further than that—to more than 100 years ago, in fact, when it moved to its second location in this spot in 1925. By then already known as the "South's Grand Hotel," it had originally opened in 1869 on South Main Street and Monroe Avenue—just around the corner from its current Downtown Memphis location.
The ducks came later—in 1933, after the hotel's general manager had gone out duck hunting and drunkenly brought some live decoys back to the hotel as a prank. To the hotel management's surprise, the guests loved seeing the ducks swimming in the fountains—so a small flock moved in as permanent residents.
The internationally famous "Duck March" was inaugurated in 1940, when hotel bellman Edward D. Pembroke—a former animal trainer for the circus—offered to care for the ducks.
He eventually taught them how to ride the elevator down at 11 a.m. and up at 5 p.m. for their twice-a-day ritual—and became a bit of a local (and even national) celebrity for it.
Pembroke retired in 1991—but the role of "Duckmaster" (like "ringmaster," get it?) has continued. Current Duckmaster Kenon Walker has carried on the tradition since 2019, stewarding a small flock of ducks (one male, the rest female) that rotates every three months.
His duties range from maintaining the hotel rooftop's Royal Duck Palace to serving the ducks their meals on a silver platter—and leading the daily Duckmaster Tour of The Peabody (which usually goes to the roof but it was closed for renovation during my birthday trip).
During the tour, he shared his personal story with us as well as much of the history of the hotel, from the Elvis-worn designs at the Lansky Bros. flagship store that's now off the lobby...
...to Chez Philippe, probably the only French restaurant anywhere that refuses to serve duck à l'orange.
They do, however, serve a white chocolate duck dessert, filled with chocolate ganache—a hotel specialty that you can also order at the lobby bar (alongside a rubber ducky-garnished cocktail, as long as you tell them to "Make it ducky").
Chez Philippe's opulent dining space, which recalls a French opera house, dates back to the hotel's grand reopening in 1981...
...and if you head upstairs to the mezzanine...
...which, like the much of the rest of the hotel, is in the Italian Renaissance design...
...you'll find the French-inspired banquet facilities of the Louis XVI Room, one of several ballrooms for special events.
The mezzanine level also houses a small museum, called The Peabody Memorabilia Room...
...which displays artifacts and ephemera from the hotel's long history...
...like a sign from the hotel's former bar/restaurant at the west end of the lobby, The Creel...
...and circa 1924 tile sections that were removed from the inside of the travertine fountain during a restoration in 2024.
While the public areas of the Peabody lean a bit old world...
...the rooms are a bit more modern, with duck shaped bars of soap...
...and ducks marching across contemporary linens.
Honestly, it was the perfect place to celebrate my birthday, with adjoining rooms that made my first "girls trip" ever feel like a slumber party.
I only wish we'd had a chance to see the ducks' home on the roof, which was closed for renovations during our visit.
Are there other bird-themed hotels I should visit? Other hotels with resident animals (besides cats)? Or daily parades?
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