Our first stop on our 14 day (7 days for the cruise) road trip was Chattanooga. Just a pit stop before Memphis. We stayed at the Holiday Inn~Chattanooga Choo Choo. Here they have a train named for the actual train which ran from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, beginning in 1880, offering the first through passenger service to the South. The unusual part was where they had converted actual train cars into hotel rooms. They are a site to behold.
The Station House Restaurant offers great food and singing servers. They have a band and the servers are your entertainers so don't be surprised while you're eating and they join you at your table for a solo. The gift shop has great souvenirs from other parts of Chattanooga that you may not visit. If you're looking for a quaint place to relax over night, this would be your stop.
You can also catch a ride on the Chattanooga Choo-Choo around the complex. Your stops are at the hotel buildings, the restaurant and the lobby of the hotel. They have a great bar area and a sitting room with a real fireplace. There are many small shops for shopping with a wide variety of items available. When we left the next morning in route to Memphis we took I24, however, at the earlier part of our drive we actually crossed over into Georgia for about 3 miles and then right back into Tennessee, go figure.