Savannah Hotel Guide

When it comes to hotels, Savannah is like the chicken or the egg. Which came first? A small group of hotels and historic inns? Or did tourists and business travelers make the city so popular that more hotels had to follow?

In recent years, fueled largely by a best-selling book, Savannah has experienced a visitor boom. Today, there is an explosion of hotel construction in the area to the tune of 1,500 new rooms. Included in that number is a big chain hotel across the Savannah River from downtown, next to Savannah’s new convention center, which opened a little less than a year ago.

Savannah is the kind of place that has refused to give in to all big chain hotels; its character is what makes it popular. Naturally, Savannah offers Bed & Breakfasts and inns, some overlooking the river on, where else, River Street? But it also has big hotels for families and business travelers, smaller motels for singles and even nearby suburban chain locations for people who can’t find space downtown. The romance and charm of the inns and B&Bs even has filtered into some chain hotels downtown, as they offer afternoon tea.

Most of the action in hotels, restaurants and bars is centered downtown on River Street and Bay Street, divided into West Bay and East Bay. North-south streets empty into and circle around 22 traffic squares filled with fountains and benches, like the one used by Tom Hanks when filming “Forrest Gump” in Savannah. Many inns and B&Bs face the squares.

Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe, Savannah was home to the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney. It grew into a bustling port and center of the cotton trade, then was spared destruction during the Civil War by General William Tecumseh Sherman. But as cotton died down and other economies changed, Savannah was a shell of its former self. By the 1950s, if not for historic preservation, its Historic District would have been bulldozed over.

Preservation and construction continued into the 1980s and early 1990s. Many of today’s inns, shops and restaurants stand where shipping and cotton were once king. And many homes in the two-and-a-half-square-mile district became well ensconced as cozy and elegant B&Bs in and around the squares.

Then came “the book.” In Savannah that means “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil,” John Berendt’s bestseller about a sensational, tabloid-style Savannah murder. The book spent weeks and weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list, selling some 2 million copies. Tourists flocked to Savannah to see where the action took place. The movie version, directed by Clint Eastwood, brought even more tourists. The book recently came out in paperback, and again is a bestseller.

The hoopla turned Savannah into a semi-theme park. Estimates are it has pumped at least $100 million into the economy, with tourism and related spending reported up anywhere between 28% to 50%. Property values skyrocketed. As a result it’s often hard to find rooms.

“Savannah sells out every weekend,” says the operator of a toll-free reservation line specializing in Savannah B&Bs. He’s right. Even in sweltering summer heat or winter, rooms are hard to come by unless you plan ahead or are part of a group or convention. It may get even tighter; following on its tourist trade, Savannah is pushing conventions.

The worst weekend for hotels? It’s St. Patrick’s Day. Savannah is booked 110% and becomes a sea of green. Even restaurants that usually make a killing on River Street close, and hawk beer on the street. A spare room? You can’t find one within miles.

Even on a normal weekend, Savannah can seem overcrowded with tourists and tour vans. One is almost reminded of Albert Finney’s line in the 1981 movie “Shoot the Moon,” when stuck behind a San Francisco cable car, he says: “This town could die from quaint.”

Savannah can be like that. But there are hotels for every kind of traveler.

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