Hotels: Depends on what you like. The Brown is fancy and old-school. I like the Marriott, which is much more modern and has 2 restaurants.
Dining: Excellent, underrated dining city. There are a bunch of non-chain restaurants near the major downtown hotels, and also east on Market, and especially on Bardstown Rd. (near Seviche). There also are a number of desert places that specialize in pie. You really can't go wrong if you just check the reviews.
Non-distillery Activities: There's a lot to do, depending on your interests. The ever-expanding waterfront park on the Ohio River, cruises, the excellent minor-league baseball stadium, the museums near the Louisville Slugger Factory (history, science, glass blowing, Muhammad Ali), Churchill Downs, Six Flags, live music, dance.
This is just off the top of my head.
Last edited by Big Mo; Aug 4, 2009 at 3:21 pm