Mary

Planning a Christmas time trip to Savannah, would like to be in the historic section of town. Currently i have reservations at the Hyatt, but I've been told that it is in need of a renovation. Is the Marriott any better? I'm also interested in the Westin, I'd like to know if anyone has stayed there and found it a pain to be across the river.

Thanks for your input!

Brian in Atlanta

Haven't stayed at either, but note that the Marriott is slightly off center. It's a bit of a walk to the "center" center.

xxx

Have stayed at both. Not crazy about the rooms or interior of the Hyatt, but it is the most convenient. The Marriott is down the street from the Hyatt and an easy, short walk along the riverfront. My preference over either one of these is the old Coca-Cola Bottling building which is now the Mulberry, a nice, but not cheap, Holiday Inn. It is across the street from the riverwalk. I like the hot tub, outside on the roof which neither the Hyatt or Marriott have; the complimentary tea or cocktails in the afternoon, and great breakfasts. You won't go wrong with any of these three.

CMcDaniel

I wasn't even going to read this post as I'm a biased, my husband having been the GM of the Hyatt until we were transferred 4 years ago. I don't know when the person you spoke with was there Mary, but they did a complete "soft renovation", which was almost totally finished by the time we left November '96. This included all carpeting in hallways and rooms, all drapes, bedspreads and dust ruffles, recovering all chairs in rooms etc. All carpeting in restaurants and public areas, and all lobby and restaurant seating was also redone at that time. The front entrance has been totally reworked since we left and is beautiful!

All public restrooms in the lobby area were completely redone with marble floors, and vanity tops. Light fixtures were replaced (ahem...I was the decorator on that side after my husband got frustrated with his designer gt;) Baths in the rooms were also redone using marble flooring and granite vanity tops and new light fixtures (not my design gt;) installed as well.

I can't imagine it has deteriorated that seriously in this time frame as they were using quality goods...Axminster carpeting etc.

Of the 3 it is certainly the most convenient. It is right at the head of Bull St. (we lived "in" so I know the area intimately), which is probably the prettiest of walks through the historic district, and certainly has the most ornate squares.

Marriott is a newer hotel, but it is older than our renovation. It's just slightly less convenient, but still a good location. In truth, Hyatt was known as the best of the two of them, service, decor etc. That said, there's a new guy in town and I imagine the Westin is giving everyone a run for their money. It was completed this past January and I haven't seen it, but hear it's lovely. It will certainly have a gorgeous view looking back at the historic district. I know they run water taxis from the hotel over to Savannah and it shouldn't take too long. But if it were me, I think I'd miss not being able to walk right out my door into the midst of everything.

You will find all the squares decorated for Christmas. Decoartions are furnished by the city then the residents of each square get together and put them up, deciding how they want to handle the material supplied. As we lived in the hotel, the chair of the event asked if we'd mind doing one of the commercial squares, Wright Square (the one with the post office,) and we had such fun doing it, and were quite proud to see our contribution admired by all. However, I'll never make another one of those bloody bows as long as I live!

Hope you enjoy your trip. Have you considered any B&Bs? There are some wonderful ones...if you are interested I'll be glad to give you some more names.

Obviously it means nothing to me if you stay at the Hyatt, but I did want to express my surprise at your comment, having intimate knowledge of the last renovation. Oh...there is also a Hilton in town in the historic district. It's quite an old hotel, but that too was undergoing a renovation as we were leaving so should be in pretty good shape now. It is off the river though, if that was important to you, and the river traffic is fascinating.

CMcDaniel

I meant to add too, as xxx said, the Mulberry is a VERY nice Holiday Inn. I love their very traditional lobby area...have never seen the rooms so can't comment.

I have had breakfast buffet there, however, and perhaps we were late comers, but it was overcooked, cold, and greasy with some items never refilled despite our arriving well within their time frame. Never tried it again after that, but you can get breakfast anywhere and if the inn works for you otherwise, I wouldn't let that deter you.

Betty Ann

I have stayed at the Mulberrry and enjoyed it.

Have you ruled out the small inns or B&B's? I highly recommend the Foley House Inn on Chippewa Square. Absolutely lovely and very in keeping with the atmosphere of the city.

Anne

I had to suppress a giggle as I read your post. I brought back memories of a trip to Savannah in 1994 (just as the hooha was starting on the book "midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"). My girlfriend and I had been travelling for several months around Canada and the US. We were trying to save money where possible and when we got Savannah we decided to stay in the Youth Hostel. It got a fab write-up in Frommers or Fodors(?). The YHA guy picked us up from the airport and took as to the place. It was only $10 a night but what a dump! We paid our money, went upstairs in silence. Had a look around the dirty bathroom and stained mattresses and in silence went downstairs and outside. We both looked at each other and said "I can't stay there, if we can't find somewhere else to stay, we're catching the next flight out". We wandered down to the waterfront and saw the Hyatt. While I should counter my following comments with my view that I think the Hyatt building is ugly and totally out-of-place in a beautifully historic town like Savannah, it was at that time a godsend. We walked straight it and got a deal on a suite for $70 a night. What a bargain, the room was huge and clean etc. We caught a taxi back to the YHA, snuck in, grabbed our bags and tried to sneak out. But we were caught. We pushed past the guy, telling him to keep the money we had paid and yelling "You can take the girl out of 5th Avenue, but you can't take 5th Avenue out of the girl" and jumped in the waiting taxi back to Hyatt. We had a very enjoyable stay in Savannah. Would highly recommend Mrs Wilkes breakfasts if they are still on. Also, I left my camera in a bar one night, didn't realise until I was leaving the next day and thought that it was gone forever. But someone had found it and handed it in to the bar staff. Am very grateful for the southern hospitality.

Anne in Australia

charlie

Just stayed at the Hyatt in August. Had a corner riverview room on the 4th floor that overlooked the south end of River Street. Small room, nicely appointed. Clean hotel. Extremely convenient. All waterside windows overlooked industrial looking riverfront. Westin is new but across the river. What a pain to take a watertaxi if it rained or whatever. Marriott is a much farther walk from everything. We weren't impressed much with Savannah. Seemed very dirty and industrial. Charm only goes so far. Highlight of our 3 day stay was dinner at "Lady and Sons" near market. We did all the tourist stuff. Tours, carraige rides, historic walks, shopping. Ehh.

Sal

Have you looked into the Gastonian Inn? If you can get reservations, it's a wonderful place to stay. It's in a great location in the historic district. You can look it up at www.gastonian.com