Summer Travel 2011: Savannah, Georgia

It's always great to travel and to take a vacation and then I'm always happy to be back home again...really missed our cozy little Love Shack.  Now that I've had a few days after the long holiday weekend and another mini-trip to see family...I've got all the bags un-packed, the laundry done and I even had time to cook a bit today...so things are finally getting back to normal around here!

Since our summer vacation consisted of three different destinations, Savannah, GA...Daytona, FL...and Charleston, SC...I'm going to break up my blog posts into three different ones so as to not over-load you all with my photos and vacation details ;)

First up is Savannah...where we always like to stop for a day or two on our way down to our weekly time-share every summer in Daytona.  It takes over 10 hours, one-way, to drive to Daytona and we don't like to be completely exhausted once we arrive there...so we always break the road-trip up between Savannah and Charleston.   I wanted to share with you my view of the road-trip...

Yep that's my sweetie-pie DH...he usually does all the driving when-ever we take a road-trip...even if it's just to Charlotte for a day-trip. 

WHICH means that I have all the time in the world to do what-ever I want to do!  It's a great time for me to catch up on my reading or for purging my latest magazines.  Which is what I was doing on this part of the trip...so I snapped a photo of what the car floor looks like while I'm in this mode...lol

Totally trashed I know ;}  This time we stayed at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, right on the out-side of the historic district off of Martin Luther King drive.  I booked it through Travelocity and usually we have great luck with them...but I would not recommend this hotel to my friends/family and will not stay there again.  Mainly because the service was less than...starting with the fact that  we booked a king room and they put us in a handicap room with a shower that had the drain hole in the middle of the bathroom floor and a handicap chair in the shower...NOT exactly romantic.   They tried to be accommodating and moved us to a new room with a queen bed and NO refrigerator.  FINE...but then the next day we never received room service and they never offered us any compensation for the down-graded room...NOT even a free breakfast or parking...BAD SERVICE as far as I'm concerned.  Don't worry...I let the front desk know as well as Travelocity ;{

The BEST thing was that we did NOT let this affect our attitudes...we stayed positive about Savannah and this being the OFFICIALstart of our summer vacation.  Once we finally got settled into our room, we headed downstairs for a few cocktails and a quick bite to eat.  Then we grabbed a bottled of wine and sat outside on the pool deck, under the stars, and enjoyed a beautiful evening together.

The next morning we got up bright and early and had breakfast in the hotel dining room before heading out to walk the few blocks...or Savannah Squares...down to the Mercer Williams House for a tour.

photo credit

DH has an autographed copy of the book, Midnight in the Garden of the Good and Evil, which he got on one of our past trips from our favorite book store in Savannah, E. Shaver, Bookseller.  When touring the house museum you are only allowed to view the private courtyard and the bottom floor of the house...but it was so worth it!  Afterwards we took our time walking through several of the town squares, enjoying the many views from the park benches and of the monuments.

By this time we were hungry and we found our way to our favorite eatery...The Six Pence Pub...made famous from the Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid movie, Something to Talk About...but we go there because the food and atmosphere is great.  If you ever have the chance to go there...go at night and sit outside and order the Chocolate Eclair and a glass of Champagne.  OMG...I'm NOT a big sweet eater but their Eclair is home-made and large enough for TWO to share ;)

After lunch we continued to walk around and admire the architecture...had to do something to work off that lunch...lol

Then we headed back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool...

...this was my crazy view from my pool deck lounge chair...obviously I didn't get much reading done ;)

I needed some beauty rest since DH had reserved a private carriage tour for us at 8:30pm...he was wooing me...and guess what...it worked!

After the carriage ride, we walked back towards our hotel and strolled through the new Ellis Square park where a public water feature has been completed near the Market Square. (photo credit)

We enjoyed listening and watching a live band perform some classic easy-listening tunes while we enjoyed a great meal at the Cafe at City Market.  They offered great food and better prices...DH and I split a white chicken pizza, a greek salad and some great peach sangrias...perfect end to trip to Savannah.

Every time we go to Savannah we fall in love with it even more...and this time we decided to see it with different eyes...because in the past we have always compared it to our favorite Southern city, Charleston.  They really cannot be compared...they are like cousins...similar in that they are Southern cities full of historical charm...but very different on the inside.

We have stayed at grand places like the Mansion on Forsyth Park and then at some not so grand like the Hampton Inn on Bay Street.  The mansion was plush...but a little too far removed from all the historic sites and a little over-priced in our opinion.  Especially since the rooms were NOT sound-proof...which we found hard to believe considering ours had a soaking tub in the middle of the room...hard to be romantic when you can hear the baby crying next door ;)  The Hampton Inn was okay...that is if you like seeing the guests coming down to the free breakfast buffet in their pajamas...oh yeah!  Perhaps that is why we have never eaten at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady & Sons...we are just not into all you can eat buffets full of foods that I can cook for myself at home. So I was really excited to see that a brand new Holiday Inn Express had just opened up on Bay Street...just right for us as far as amenities and price point for our next trip to the Sister City.

Has anyone else had a wonderful experience in Savannah? 

Please share!  Fondly, Roberta 

Comments

[tonihammersley@columbus.rr.com]

Absolutely LOVE Savannah! My favorite US city. :)))

[Karen Griffin]

Hi,Roberta, from your AWOL Seattle friend! I had to laugh when I saw your magazine destruction on the floor of the car. That is exactly what my side of the car floor looks like when we go on road trips! God bless husbands who do all the driving, so we can do our clipping! May you have many more romantic road trips together. Warm regards, Karen

[Bonnie]

That pub looks so sweet! It looks like a lovely Town. Shame about the Hotel not offering any kind of compensation, they really should have with bad service like that!
By the way your side of the car floor looks just like mine when we go on holiday! I normally have my crochet, journal, mags, a bit of pottery and maybe even do a bit of baking..ha ha...just joking about the pottery and baking!
We off today for 4 days camping in the caravan. Will post pics on my blog when we are back, have an awesome weekend!

[Denyse@Crazy Beautiful Life]

I do the same thing when we go out of town...my front seat looks the same way...LOL...And, I wonder why my legs start to hurt...no room for them :-)

You guys looked like you had a great time...I've never been to Savannah and I would love to go...but, I have been to ATL (we should of had pics of that trip...LOL)...

I am also the same way about hotels as your are...just because I'm on vaca and trying to not go broke doesn't mean I want to stay in a hole in the wall...It's all about comfort!!!!

[Cortney Lyon]

Looks like you guys had a good time. I know Carl would have loved that Six Pence restaurant, he's always looking for good British food. I can't wait to see all the other pictures and stories from the rest of your vacation!