Atlanta hotels
Apr 2nd, 2004, 05:59 PM
#2
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When you say Atlanta, what exactly do you mean? How familiar are you with the city and what are you planning to do there? Are you thinking of staying downtown, midtown, or maybe somewhere like Buckhead?
May 19th, 2004, 06:04 PM
#3
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I know nothing about Atlanta and am open for ideas. We are there for 3 nights before thanksgiving and then heading up to Tennessee to see friends for Thanksgiving. What is the best area to stay in Atlanta?
May 20th, 2004, 04:13 AM
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Shar...Don't know what 1st class hotels you want, but right off the bat I would say Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton downtown or Ritz Carlton Buckhead.
The Buckhead area would be good because the hotels are either right at or very near Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza.
So, just off the bat...I would say...JW Marriott at Lenox (connects to the mall), Grand Hyatt Atlanta or Westin Buckhead (fomerly Swissotel). There's lots of good restaurants in the Buckhead area also.
Where you headed in Tennessee?
The Buckhead area would be good because the hotels are either right at or very near Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza.
So, just off the bat...I would say...JW Marriott at Lenox (connects to the mall), Grand Hyatt Atlanta or Westin Buckhead (fomerly Swissotel). There's lots of good restaurants in the Buckhead area also.
Where you headed in Tennessee?
May 20th, 2004, 04:40 AM
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I prepared this list of things to do in Atlanta for a colleague of mine a while ago. Some of it may be outdated, but it will give you some ideas:
Downtown:
Cyclorama -- in Atlanta Zoo. 360 degree historical painting of Battle of Atlanta with audio explanation.
World of Coke -- 3-story advertisement for Coke. Interesting historical info and global tasting of products.
CNN Center -- Tour of their newsrooms, etc. Can often see filming of one of their talk-style shows.
Centennial Park -- Built for Atlanta Olympics.
Underground Atlanta -- I'd skip it. It's an underground mall. Most stores closed.
MLK Center -- I think the Park Service has also now built centers at his home and at Ebeneezer Baptist church that you can visit in addition to the King Center itself.
The Varsity -- world's first or largest drive-thru (I can never remember -- but they also have inside seating). Interesting historical info inside and tasty greasy food. DO NOT go during a Georgia Tech home game. They have their own ordering lingo. Be sure to get a fried peach pie and a frosted orange.
Little Five Points -- a neighborhood known for interesting bars, restaurants, head shops, crystal shops, etc. Atlanta's East Village.
Midtown:
Margaret Mitchell House -- has burned several times, so check to see if it's still open. Where she wrote "Gone with the Wind."
Piedmont Park -- nice park, occasional festivals, orchestras, etc.
High Museum -- art museum
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Virginia-Highlands -- cute neighborhood with interesting shops, restaurants, bars, art galleries. If Little Five Points is Atlanta's East Village, this is Atlanta's Greenwich Village. They have a summer festival in June.
Buckhead:
This is mainly a neighborhood that is known for two things: upscale homes and bars/restaurants/shopping. You will find nice malls, nice restaurants and lots of interesting bars and live music venues. There is a fun piano bar where they have "dueling pianos." Sounds corny, but it's pretty fun because they do all kinds of songs, poke fun at the audience, change the words of songs, encourage audience participation, etc. I can't think of the name of it.
Slightly outside of Atlanta:
Stone Mountain -- a large park whose centerpiece is a granite mountain into which is carved a relief of General Lee and others Civil War figures riding on horses. You really have to see this to believe it. They also have laser light shows at night (if you like that kind of thing) and lots of festivals during the day.
Jimmy Carter Center -- historical center, library and small museum just east of downtown. It is also some kind of organization for peace and social change.
Restaurants:
It's been a while since I've really known what are the "in" or event new restaurants in town. I can get you more info if you like. But these are the ones I remember enjoying:
Zocalo -- midtown, mexican
South City Kitchen -- midtown, upscale Southern
Horseradish Grill -- Buckhead, upscale Southern
Dante's Down the Hatch -- Buckhead, fondue and live music
Atlanta Fish Market -- Buckhead, fresh fish
Surin of Thailand -- Buckhead, Thai
Mellow Mushroom -- multiple locations, pizza
City Grill -- downtown, upscale dining
Mary Mac's Tearoom -- midtown, old-style Southern
The Vortex -- midtown, great burgers
Prince of Wales -- midtown, English-style pub
Fat Matt's Rib Shack -- Buckhead, great BBQ
Downtown:
Cyclorama -- in Atlanta Zoo. 360 degree historical painting of Battle of Atlanta with audio explanation.
World of Coke -- 3-story advertisement for Coke. Interesting historical info and global tasting of products.
CNN Center -- Tour of their newsrooms, etc. Can often see filming of one of their talk-style shows.
Centennial Park -- Built for Atlanta Olympics.
Underground Atlanta -- I'd skip it. It's an underground mall. Most stores closed.
MLK Center -- I think the Park Service has also now built centers at his home and at Ebeneezer Baptist church that you can visit in addition to the King Center itself.
The Varsity -- world's first or largest drive-thru (I can never remember -- but they also have inside seating). Interesting historical info inside and tasty greasy food. DO NOT go during a Georgia Tech home game. They have their own ordering lingo. Be sure to get a fried peach pie and a frosted orange.
Little Five Points -- a neighborhood known for interesting bars, restaurants, head shops, crystal shops, etc. Atlanta's East Village.
Midtown:
Margaret Mitchell House -- has burned several times, so check to see if it's still open. Where she wrote "Gone with the Wind."
Piedmont Park -- nice park, occasional festivals, orchestras, etc.
High Museum -- art museum
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Virginia-Highlands -- cute neighborhood with interesting shops, restaurants, bars, art galleries. If Little Five Points is Atlanta's East Village, this is Atlanta's Greenwich Village. They have a summer festival in June.
Buckhead:
This is mainly a neighborhood that is known for two things: upscale homes and bars/restaurants/shopping. You will find nice malls, nice restaurants and lots of interesting bars and live music venues. There is a fun piano bar where they have "dueling pianos." Sounds corny, but it's pretty fun because they do all kinds of songs, poke fun at the audience, change the words of songs, encourage audience participation, etc. I can't think of the name of it.
Slightly outside of Atlanta:
Stone Mountain -- a large park whose centerpiece is a granite mountain into which is carved a relief of General Lee and others Civil War figures riding on horses. You really have to see this to believe it. They also have laser light shows at night (if you like that kind of thing) and lots of festivals during the day.
Jimmy Carter Center -- historical center, library and small museum just east of downtown. It is also some kind of organization for peace and social change.
Restaurants:
It's been a while since I've really known what are the "in" or event new restaurants in town. I can get you more info if you like. But these are the ones I remember enjoying:
Zocalo -- midtown, mexican
South City Kitchen -- midtown, upscale Southern
Horseradish Grill -- Buckhead, upscale Southern
Dante's Down the Hatch -- Buckhead, fondue and live music
Atlanta Fish Market -- Buckhead, fresh fish
Surin of Thailand -- Buckhead, Thai
Mellow Mushroom -- multiple locations, pizza
City Grill -- downtown, upscale dining
Mary Mac's Tearoom -- midtown, old-style Southern
The Vortex -- midtown, great burgers
Prince of Wales -- midtown, English-style pub
Fat Matt's Rib Shack -- Buckhead, great BBQ
May 20th, 2004, 04:00 PM
#8
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thanks for all the suggestions. iceeu2, we are visiting some friends in Signal Mountain. They used to live in Healdsburg, CA but moved to Tnn.for business reasons. This will be our second visit to them on Thanksgiving.
May 26th, 2004, 07:28 PM
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It's an inn rather than a hotel. Rather elegant, from all reports (I've never stayed there, because I lived in Atlanta, but have seen the lobby and have heard raves from visitors.) I think it's technically considered Buckhead, but it's a bit before you enter the main business district, so I tend to think of it more as outer midtown.
