Atlanta is a huge city, with its metro area spanning some 8,000 square miles. While residents like me fan out into diverse neighborhoods, most leisure visitors and business travelers stay in three conveniently located ones: Buckhead, midtown, and downtown.
Buckhead is the height of style in Atlanta — an established tony neighborhood that resists datedness by regularly welcoming shiny new builds, upscale stores, and some of the nicest hotels in the city. Two designer malls anchor its reputation as a luxury shopper's haven, and trendy high-end restaurants make it my default for date nights or fancy nights out with friends. Buckhead Village is especially charming during winter holidays.
Midtown is the well-established heart of the city and one of my favorite parts — artsy with a lovingly tended gayborhood and landmark rainbow crosswalk at 10th and Piedmont; gorgeous, expansive parks; and diverse architecture. Hotels here keep you central to most of Atlanta's best outdoor spaces; authentic, accessible dining and nightlife; and historic attractions. This is where I always stayed before I moved here.
You'll want to stay in a hotel downtown if you want close access to the more commercial tourist sights, like Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN studio, a 200-foot Ferris wheel, and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. As the city's central business district, downtown has a certain polish in main-street areas.