Hilton Garden in at 321 West Bay also in the "Historic District"

I would def stay in the historic district. We stayed at the Back Bay Inn and the location was perfect!!! We didn't have any issues with crime while we were there, HOWEVER, we also didn't venture outside of the historic district after dark and kept to the "touristy" areas at night. We had rented a car but didn't use it until we went to Tybee for a day, walking got us everywhere.

Savannah is one of my favorite cities in the world!!! Have fun!!!!!

Have stayed at HGI on Bay street twice and really like it and can easily recommend it. For convenience and safety this is definitely the one to choose you can easily and safely walk anywhere in historic district from here.

"Midtown" is south of DeRenne Avenue and it would be stretching it to call it convenient to the downtown area.
On Bay Street from MLK (formerly West Broad) to East Broad, the boundaries of the Historic District, there is a dozen or more hotels and inns along the street. The Hilton downtown is okay and centrally located. Aviva has gotten great reviews on this Forum and is located on Bay St. with Ellis Square to the South. I'd check and see if you could get a good rate there.

Another vote for Aviva.

It's Avia
http://aviasavannah.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null

Midtown seems like it is in another city. If you want to be able to drink your coffee in the morning while watching container ships glide by you need to be downtown. If you would like to have a couple of adult beverages with a meal and not worry about driving, you need to be downtown.

Midtown is fine for commuting in and ticking some items off of your list, but it isn't like living in Savannah.

This week I stayed at the Hyatt. Lovely room. Very, very quiet. Other conference attendees raved bout the Aviva and the Grand Bohemian (Marriott).

Downtown is very walkable and has several free shuttles for tourists. There is a free watertaxi.

If you do want to save money, try booking a stay downtown during the week rather than on the weekend. Rates are often half price during the week.

Many years ago I stayed at the Hilton Desoto and found it very convenient. I didn't have a car and walked everywhere in the Historic District.

Thanks to everyone for all the help. I will stay downtown!

We stayed at the Presidents Quarters Inn this past July. It is directly in the historic district. The place was lovely though the beds in our room were just okay (harry truman) others looked nicer but we needed two double beds. The room was very big which was nice for four people. If you can I would recommend a bed and breakfast to get the true Savannah experience.