My girlfriend and I just got back from a long "gals" weekend in Savannah and we both loved it.
We got in to Savannah at about 5:00 pm on Thurs. Feb 2, after driving 4 hours in the pouring rain from Atlanta (found out later we could have flown to Jacksonville, FLA non-stop and it's only a 2 hour drive). It was wall-to-wall semi-trucks on the freeway with us - we could barely see the road it was raining so hard, and we were going 65-70mph but the trucks were cruising past us at at least 80-85. I also noticed that all along the side of the freeways, there's old tires and pieces of shredded rubber - I don't think you can go a mile without seeing rubber - must be a lot of blowouts or something.
We did take a break and traveled to Juliette, GA - about 8 miles off the freeway - and had lunch at the Whistle Stop Cafe (where Fried Green Tomatoes was filmed)-nothing fancy, but charming.
We were very glad to finally arrive in Savannah, although the rain was still coming down in sheets. Instead of renting a hotel room, we rented a 2bd/3 bath townhouse right by Forsyth Park in the Historic district - $175 a night (for 3 nights). Much cheaper and nicer than renting a standard hotel room. I'm going to do that wherever I go from now on - just type in "vacation rentals in Savannah" (or wherever you're going) and it'll pop up with a bunch of them. We both had our own bedroom/bathroom and it was nice to have washer/dryer/frig/balcony, etc.

We took a cab down to riverfront district and went in to RiverHouse Seafood cafe and got seated, but ended up leaving - it was just too stuffy for us. Walked down to the Dockside Seafood Restaurant and it was much more to our liking. Good food too.

On Friday, it was overcast, but not raining and a reasonably warm 67 degrees, so we took the free trolley to the City Market and stopped in at the Savannah Candy Kitchen, bought salt water taffy, glazed & praline pecans--Yum! For gifts of course, not for me.... Shopped along Broughton Street. Definitely stop in at The Paris Market, it's a beautiful store. Then we had our best eating experience - we ate lunch at the Savannah Tea Room - even if you don't like tea - go there! Food is great, very affordable & service is friendly.

Because I watch her cooking show all of the time, we went by Paula Deen's restaurant, "The Lady and Sons" a few times to see if we could get in there, if not to eat, then just to buy a cookbook and there was always a long line of people waiting to get in. I had to be happy with just getting my picture taken standing in front of it. Good luck getting in without a reservation! So we went over to Jen's and Friends - a martini bar on the next street over and had marvelous martinis!

We also took a tour of the Owens-Thomas house, it is worth going on at least one historic home tour, but that was enough for us. You can just walk along the streets in the historic district and get your eyes full of beautiful homes.
That night, in the cold and pouring rain, we went on a hokey "ghost tour" in a renovated hearse -- I wasn't impressed.
On Saturday, we headed out to Tybee Island and took pictures of the lighthouse and old fort down by the beach and then went over to Fort Pulaski -- didn't pay to go in - but still could see enough and took pictures. We ate at The Crab Shack - another place we loved! Very fun and unique, good food too. Ya gotta stop there, if only to see the alligators and cats!
On the way back, we stopped for a drink at Uncle Bubbas Oyster Shack, another place we thought was very fun and unique, and we saw Paula Deen's husband walk in! (at least I think it was him - because Uncle Bubbas is her brother's restaurant.)
I would have liked to have gone over to Beaufort, SC but there just wasn't time. And some people on the ghost tour said it wasn't worth it. Maybe next time.
All in all, we loved Savannah, wished we could have spent more time there and everyone we met there was so very helpful and nice. That good ol' Southern Hospitality.

Thanks for the report. It's good to know that you can enjoy a town even if the weather isn't so great.

Glad your enjoyed lunch at the Whistle Stop. I remember your asking about places to stop along the way. Wish you had asked about the hearse tour. None of us (the Savannah regular posters) have ever had good things to say about it. Come back to Savannah sometime soon!

Also, we went in a couple of the historic inns - Kehoe Inn and Mansion on Forsyth and were able to look around inside at no charge - which was nice. I'm sure most of the inns will allow you to do that.
And another mistake we made, although it depends on what you like, we went to the Keller Flea Market. Yeah, aside from spending time looking at the little puppies for sale (which depressed me afterwards because I'm thinking they probably came from puppy mills instead of reputable breeders)we didn't see anything of interest to us at all.
I did buy two different kinds of Georgia wine - even Scuppernong variety.
I would like to spend more time going to the other islands next time besides Tybee.
Maybe next time I'll go with my husband, since it really is such a romantic city -- except later in the year when it's a tad warmer and stays lighter later in the day.
Thanks for your help and input - it really made a difference in our trip!

By the way, I didn't buy the wine at the flea market!

Just wanted to tell you that you probably did see Paula Deen's husband, Michael, at Uncle Bubba's. Last year (Feb. 05), my husband and I were in Savannah for a weekend and ate there. I saw the husband first, then the 2 sons, and then Paula herself!! I was so excited and actually got to meet her. Better than that--she hugged me, cracked the crabs on my plate for me, and took a picture with me. What a gracious and sweet lady. The way she comes across on her show is how she was in "real" life too; very down to earth, charming, and sweet. Can you tell I'm a fan??

Savannah is really a romantic city and I highly recommend you go back with your husband. My husband and I have been twice and stayed at the President's Quarters. I would love to get back to Savannah again (although we'll probably try a different B&B next time), but it's going to be a while--we're expecting a baby in 8 weeks!

I'm jealous that you saw & met ALL of them! I would have loved that. We'll definitely have to go back. My husband just couldn't believe that I didn't eat in her restaurant!
Congrats on your impending arrival!

hollifitz,
Can you tell us which vacation rental property you chose? I've considered staying at one of the Luxury Living properties, but am a little hesitant without feedback from another traveller.

good info! My hubby and I will be in Savannah for 2 nights in early March. We'll have to check out Paula Deens place. I also want to do a ghost pub tour, did you hear anything about it? We got a great rate at the Green Palm Inn a few blocks from the riverfront. Looking forward to a relaxing trip!

Hey again hollifitz,
You will just have to take your husband and go back to Savannah so you can meet Paula Deen too! When we were there last year, we ate at her restaurant (our 2nd time there) and had the buffet. We thought the food was good and really enjoyed eating there. One tip--don't plan on eating much after that for the rest of the day--you will be so full! It's also best to go on a fairly empty stomach, in my opinion, so you can sample all the buffet items. Anyway, while there, Paula was not there.

The first time we had gone to Savannah (a year before that), she actually stopped at our table and talked to my husband--while I was in the restroom! I was so jealous and he didn't even really know who she was--he actually just asked her for more tea!! So, it was very exciting to me when I met her at her brother's place this year. Oh, and I thought the food was good at Uncle Bubba's! Of course, I was probably going to love just about anything since she was so sweet to me.

We stayed on Gaston Street right across from Forsyth park - we found it on savannahgetaways.net -- here is the listing: http://www.savannahgetaways.net/listings.cfm
They were very nice on the phone and sent us a bunch of stuff on savannah, maps, tour book, etc. We rented #1001 -- had to walk upstairs with our heavy suitcases and the people next door partied late on Sat. night, but other than that we couldn't complain. Although there's tons of listings so I'd look at some of the others too - they book up pretty early tho - we booked about 3 weeks in advance.

I'm not sure about the ghost tours - like I said we went on the hearse tour and I thought it was dumb and I heard the trolley one was too. I wouldn't go on one again - if I did - it would be the walking pub tour.

I remember seeing the Green Palm Inn sign but I can't remember what it looked like now.

I really should have called and made reservations at Paula Deen's restaurant "The Lady & Sons" - we should have gone there on Thurs night for dinner when we first arrived - maybe the tour buses aren't stopping there during the week so much. Like I said, I watch her show (and have made tons of her recipes, which are all really good) and on her TV cooking show, she often times spotlights different sites/shops in Savannah - the tea room, candy shop, davenport house, the river, etc. So I felt a sense of familiarity right away.

Great report-glad you enjoyed your trip! We visited Savannah for the first time for a family reunion last April and fell in love...also visited Tybee Island and The Crab Shack-loved that place...great cocktails. However, the birds kept dropping crackers on us-it took us a few minutes to figure out where they were coming from...they swoop down and get them from the baskets and then drop them, not gently, on customer's heads!