Savannah, GA

[quentina]

Love it there! We priceline the 4 or 4.5 star and always get the Hyatt (??) on the waterfront. Gorgeous hotel and best....I bid 79$ per night and actually get it!!!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Interesting and timely thread. We are driving from MD to GA this weekend to visit DS who is in training at FLETC in Brunswick. He wants to go to Savannah for the day Sunday so this will help.

 

[momof1princess]

we were in savannah in september of last year. we spent a day there-drove in from hilton head. i highly recommend the oglethorpe tour-LOTS of great info and the drivers are super nice. one of them even picked us up and dropped us off at non-stops (we promised not to tell on him ) if you're looking for a typical savannah home to visit, i highly recommend the mercer-williams house museum. it's the site of the shooting chronicled in "midnight in the garden of good and evil", and you actually get to stand in the study where the murder took place. oddly enough, the house is much smaller than i thought it would be, but it takes up an entire savannah block, which is obviously pretty small, lol. we ate at lady & sons and it was good, but not spectacular. we wanted to do a ghost tour too, but my in-laws have mobility issues, so they were pretty much done for the day after that. DH and i are going to go back and really see the city some time.

 

[castmemberb4]

Love it there! We priceline the 4 or 4.5 star and always get the Hyatt (??) on the waterfront. Gorgeous hotel and best....I bid 79$ per night and actually get it!!!

Is this the one in the middle of River Street or the one way down at the end ?

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Is this the one in the middle of River Street or the one way down at the end ?

I think that is the one just down the block from River Street Inn. You mentioned RSI being pricey, but anytime I have looked the prices were about the same as the Thunderbird Inn. I think we paid about $150 for the one night we stayed in Februaury. That is similar to what I come up with for April, except for the Rock and Roll Marathon weekend.

Lady and Sons is very sentimental for me, because my mom loved Paula Deen, and since she is no longer with us, I wanted to go back for that reason. And we loved the food.

I do NOT like shrimp anymore, since I got sick off some bad shrimp, the thought is stomach turning. I do love other kinds of seafood, though.

Suzanne

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Thanks for all the info.
We are going the end of the month.

Can you over nite park in the public parking structure.
Our hotel charges us $12 a nite to park, plus $12 for valet parking.
I'd rather park my car myself, but I don't want to leave it there, if there is no over nite parking. We are staying at the hotel across the street from the Welcome Center and the parking structure is about 2 blocks down form our hotel.

We were able to park in the one across the street from the River Street Inn, but I am not sure about any of the other parking structures. I don't even remember the cost. There just isn't much parking in front of the Inn, even though it is free. DH did find a spot early on Sunday morning and moved the car, since my mom couldn't walk very far.

I don't know where the Welcome Center is.

Suzanne

 

[msmayor]

Thanks for all the info.
We are going the end of the month.

Can you over nite park in the public parking structure.
Our hotel charges us $12 a nite to park, plus $12 for valet parking.
I'd rather park my car myself, but I don't want to leave it there, if there is no over nite parking. We are staying at the hotel across the street from the Welcome Center and the parking structure is about 2 blocks down form our hotel.

Is the hotel the Courtyard on Liberty Street? That one looks right over to the Welcome Center, and is near the Savannah Convention Center. If so, its only a flat $12 to park, not $12 + $12. We stay there every time we go down to drop off/pick up our daughter from college there.

 

[Ilivetogo]

Is the hotel the Courtyard on Liberty Street? That one looks right over to the Welcome Center, and is near the Savannah Convention Center. If so, its only a flat $12 to park, not $12 + $12. We stay there every time we go down to drop off/pick up our daughter from college there.[/QUOTE]

I'll be paying attention to this thread since I take my daughter to start at SCAD this fall. I'm sure I will also be dropping off/picking up quite a few times also! Always nice to know where to go, what to see, where to eat, etc.

Thanks for the info everyone!!

.

 

[tlbwriter]

I'm watching this thread because we've talked about taking a trip to Savannah with the ILs... is there anything for kids (11 to 17) to do? Kids who aren't particularly interested in historical buildings? And how long does it take to drive from Atlanta to Savannah?

 

[msmayor]

Is the hotel the Courtyard on Liberty Street? That one looks right over to the Welcome Center, and is near the Savannah Convention Center. If so, its only a flat $12 to park, not $12 + $12. We stay there every time we go down to drop off/pick up our daughter from college there.[/QUOTE]

I'll be paying attention to this thread since I take my daughter to start at SCAD this fall. I'm sure I will also be dropping off/picking up quite a few times also! Always nice to know where to go, what to see, where to eat, etc.

Thanks for the info everyone!!

.

That's where my daughter attends...she's a sophomore this year.

Let me tell you that this location is really PERFECT for that initial drop-off weekend. I'm going to PM you with information.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I'm watching this thread because we've talked about taking a trip to Savannah with the ILs... is there anything for kids (11 to 17) to do? Kids who aren't particularly interested in historical buildings? And how long does it take to drive from Atlanta to Savannah?

We took my cousin's daughter, she was 7 or 8, all I remember doing with her was going to the Build a Bear in the mall. She was even really excited to eat at Lady and Sons.

I don't know of anything else, but as I say it has been 4 years since we have been (wow, time sure does fly)

I would say you are still about 4 hours away, but you take I-75 to I-16 straight into Savannah. We are in AL, but right at the stateline at Columbus, GA.

I really, really wanted to stay at Disney's Hilton Head Resort, but they aren't offering the Military discount like the WDW resorts and I don't really want to spend $200 a night when we will be out exploring the area.


Suzanne

 

[mdsoccermom]

My only argument for going to Mrs Wilkes over the Lady & Sons is that it was opened in 1943 and the Lady & Sons was opened in 1989. I feel like Mrs Wilkes is a Savannah landmark while Paula ahhmmmm "borrowed" the idea..

For me, it's all about the experience, besides the fact that it's a Savannah institution. I mean, the servers who told us to start eating because our food was blessed already, the family style, the unpretentious, amazing food (seriously, that fried chicken!).

Every so often, we start reminiscing about our meal there.

 

[castmemberb4]

I think that is the one just down the block from River Street Inn. You mentioned RSI being pricey, but anytime I have looked the prices were about the same as the Thunderbird Inn. I think we paid about $150 for the one night we stayed in Februaury. That is similar to what I come up with for April, except for the Rock and Roll Marathon weekend.

Lady and Sons is very sentimental for me, because my mom loved Paula Deen, and since she is no longer with us, I wanted to go back for that reason. And we loved the food.

I do NOT like shrimp anymore, since I got sick off some bad shrimp, the thought is stomach turning. I do love other kinds of seafood, though.

Suzanne

You know, thinking about it now everytime we've satayed at RiverSt Inn DH booked it instead of me. They were always anniversary trips and we had a King room with a balcony, roses, wine waiting in the room......
Maybe it was just my perspective that it was expensive. I'll have to go and look it up. $159 at Thunderbird Inn is for a king suite, but I have to admit that for our two trips this Summer we are staying on Groupons that we paid $45 for. It says it's for any room and I requested the Suite we had before by room number, can't wait to see what they actually give us.

I have a similar situation with that particular seafood and can only stomach it fried now. I think I ended up eating BBQ or something non seafood at Crab Shack

 

[msmayor]

Lady & Sons...meh...all the trips we've made to Savannah and have no desire at all to go there. Seemed like many of the locals we've spoken with are perfectly happy to let the tourists have that place to keep much better spots available for them.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

You know, thinking about it now everytime we've satayed at RiverSt Inn DH booked it instead of me. They were always anniversary trips and we had a King room with a balcony, roses, wine waiting in the room......
Maybe it was just my perspective that it was expensive. I'll have to go and look it up. $159 at Thunderbird Inn is for a king suite, but I have to admit that for our two trips this Summer we are staying on Groupons that we paid $45 for. It says it's for any room and I requested the Suite we had before by room number, can't wait to see what they actually give us.

I have a similar situation with that particular seafood and can only stomach it fried now. I think I ended up eating BBQ or something non seafood at Crab Shack

I can no longer stand the smell or to even look at it without getting queasy.

Lady & Sons...meh...all the trips we've made to Savannah and have no desire at all to go there. Seemed like many of the locals we've spoken with are perfectly happy to let the tourists have that place to keep much better spots available for them.

To each his own. More for me!

 

[simba20]

Lady & Sons...meh...all the trips we've made to Savannah and have no desire at all to go there. Seemed like many of the locals we've spoken with are perfectly happy to let the tourists have that place to keep much better spots available for them.

Ummm, locals do eat there, but won't admit it. Odd too, because her start was based on LOCAL business. She started her restaurant out on the Southside, very far away from tourist traffic. It was locals who said "This woman can cook." Then she moved downtown, and the locals still came.....

I am a former Savannahian (still consider it my home) and as a local, I had my rehersal dinner at her restaurant. My husband and I for our first 5 years of marraige went back every year for our anniversary. There are plenty of locals standing in that line outside.

Our rehersal was held in her old building a few blocks away before she moved to her new location. Her new location, is in what used to be an old hardware store -- The White Hardware building which has a personal connection to me. When we moved to Savannah when I was a child, my dad retired from the military. His first civilian job was working at White Hardware in the basement doing tool repair. Now, she holds special event dinners and has a special dining room, in the basement. We were the first couple to ever choose Paula to have a rehersal dinner at her restaurant. We were married in 2002, just as she signed with the Food Network and started filimg her show. When we walked into the L&S to inquire about having our rehersal dinner there, she was there, came downstairs, sat us down, got someone to bring us hoecakes, biscuits, and tea while we planned the deatils. We did somethign small with about 20 people, but Paula and my MIL were great in planning every detail. The night of our rehersal dinner, the entire restaurant broke out in "Going to the Chapel" and another couple, who was there celebrating their anniversary bought us a bottle of wine. I still have the cork.

Also to a PP who said Paula "stole" the idea from Mrs. Wilkes.....ummm Southern cooking is southern cooking. Everybody has a family fried chicken recipie. Although Paula's celebrity has bloomed, many are very proud of her. Mrs. Wilkes was and still is a Savannah insitution long before Paula.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Ummm, locals do eat there, but won't admit it. Odd too, because her start was based on LOCAL business. She started her restaurant out on the Southside, very far away from tourist traffic. It was locals who said "This woman can cook." Then she moved downtown, and the locals still came.....

I am a former Savannahian (still consider it my home) and as a local, I had my rehersal dinner at her restaurant. My husband and I for our first 5 years of marraige went back every year for our anniversary. There are plenty of locals standing in that line outside.

Our rehersal was held in her old building a few blocks away before she moved to her new location. Her new location, is in what used to be an old hardware store -- The White Hardware building which has a personal connection to me. When we moved to Savannah when I was a child, my dad retired from the military. His first civilian job was working at White Hardware in the basement doing tool repair. Now, she holds special event dinners and has a special dining room, in the basement. We were the first couple to ever choose Paula to have a rehersal dinner at her restaurant. We were married in 2002, just as she signed with the Food Network and started filimg her show. When we walked into the L&S to inquire about having our rehersal dinner there, she was there, came downstairs, sat us down, got someone to bring us hoecakes, biscuits, and tea while we planned the deatils. We did somethign small with about 20 people, but Paula and my MIL were great in planning every detail. The night of our rehersal dinner, the entire restaurant broke out in "Going to the Chapel" and another couple, who was there celebrating their anniversary bought us a bottle of wine. I still have the cork.

Also to a PP who said Paula "stole" the idea from Mrs. Wilkes.....ummm Southern cooking is southern cooking. Everybody has a family fried chicken recipie. Although Paula's celebrity has bloomed, many are very proud of her. Mrs. Wilkes was and still is a Savannah insitution long before Paula.

I have heard her tell alot of the stories of her beginnings and the locals. I have even read a portion of her book. She even lived over here in Columbus when the boys were younger. I believe she spent most of her childhood in Albany. She is southern through and through.

I don't believe she "stole" anything from anyone, her Bag Lady services were started long before her restaurant days, which, if I remember correctly began in the kitchen of some hotel.

Well, I'm southern by birth and can't fry chicken as good as hers.

Suzanne

 

[stczt]

Love this!! we are going to Savannah soon too. Thank you op and all who posted

 

[tlbwriter]

Also to a PP who said Paula "stole" the idea from Mrs. Wilkes.....ummm Southern cooking is southern cooking. Everybody has a family fried chicken recipie. Although Paula's celebrity has bloomed, many are very proud of her. Mrs. Wilkes was and still is a Savannah insitution long before Paula.

Thanks for saying this, because I was confused about what idea she might have stolen... the idea of having a restaurant?

 

[Robinrs]

I'll be paying attention to this thread since I take my daughter to start at SCAD this fall. I'm sure I will also be dropping off/picking up quite a few times also! Always nice to know where to go, what to see, where to eat, etc.

Thanks for the info everyone!!

My son wants to go to SCAD next year when he graduates. He wants to go to the one here in Atlanta, though.