by cowdery » Mon Feb 13, 2006 12:08 pm
It depends on what you want. In Bardstown, for a clean, comfortable place to sleep, the Talbot Tavern or General Nelson (Best Western) are good choices because they (especially the Talbot) are in the center of town so you can walk everywhere. If you want something a little more special, Bardstown has many extremely nice bed-and-breakfasts. Everything is listed on the Bardstown-Nelson County tourism web site.
In Louisville, unlike Mike I suggest staying as far away from the Galt House as possible. I find it irredeemably tacky. Louisville's gem is the Seelbach. The Brown also is very nice. For something more modern but also nice, the Hyatt. All of these are right in the center of town. For clean and comfortable but nothing special, there is a cluster of hotels just east of downtown. In the suburbs, I like Red Roof Inns.
I don't know the Frankfort/Lexington lodging scene as well as I do Bardstown/Louisville, but all of the usual suspects are there, either in town or on the fringes.
As you might guess, you're going to be driving regardless. You're not going to stay particularly close to any distillery. Barton is right on the edge of Bardstown, an easy walk from the aforementioned hotels, but Barton doesn't give tours. Buffalo Trace is pretty close to downtown Frankfort, but not walking distance.
Be sure to take a ride down Glenns Creek Road to see the ruins of Old Taylor and Old Crow. It's a little hard to find but essentially the same road as Woodford, only closer to Frankfort.