The Savannah Vacation Chronicles: The River Street Inn

Entrance at the River Street Inn

The River Street Inn

When Bruce and I decided we should visit Savannah, I carefully researched all of our many lodging options. Advice abounds on the Internet that one should stay in the historic district. I selected for us The River Street Inn for a view of the river, its links to the past and its walking proximity to historic downtown Savannah.

The Cotton Exchange 1817

The River Street Inn is part of the 1817 Cotton Exchange buildings that line the waterfront of Savannah. The front side of the inn on Bay Street is two stories high which is an addition made to the three story structure facing River Street in 1853. So the lobby of the hotel is on the fourth floor, at its entrance on River Street. The hotel is part of the Historic Hotels of America National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Take Fire Escape to Get to the Room

Our room was on the fifth floor with a river view. After arriving in our room, I noticed that it was not the king bed I had paid for on Expedia. A second trip to the desk generated us a room with a balcony as well as a king bed. As we were switching between rooms, the housekeeper told us to just go through the fire escape as it was quicker than going back to the lobby. Subsequently, we never learned the correct route to our room, and took the three steps up and down the fire escape to travel in and out. It is not that we did not try to find the right route, but it seemed rather silly to be asking. Traveling within the hotel was a labyrinth of inaccessible staircases and card activated elevators, hard to explain, but even harder to navigate.

Ghost At Lower Left?

No Ghosts?

Savannah is considered likely to be the most haunted city in the United States. I asked the desk clerk Stan about hotel ghosts, a topic I wanted a heads-up on if our room was haunted. He told me that in the section we were staying there were reports of children running and playing in the hallways at about three a.m.. Stan attributed this activity to slave children ghosts. Another part of the hotel had a room where a man with a monocle appears, typically while you are taking a shower.

You Cannot Get There From Here, Fifth Floor Looking Down

I took a fair amount of photos of our hallway, looking for signs of the ghost kiddies, but without ever seeing any. Word from Murray Silver, the unofficial mayor of River Street (more to come on Murray) was that we could expect the ghosts to be stirred into action on Friday night of our stay. Friday had the largest fireworks display ever done in Savannah put on by a pyrotechnics convention, across the Savannah river near the Westin. Also on Friday was a full moon, the perfect combo for hauntings in the city.

No Space To Open A Drawer

The River Street Inn was about a seven on a scale of ten for us. I loved its ambience and quirkiness. Our room had a balcony that I am sure in California would be condemned (only Bruce was brave enough to venture onto it). The Feng Shui of the room was wrong: you only have about two feet between the dresser and the bed, making using the dresser next to impossible. The air conditioner was the best I have ever had in a hotel for rapid cool downs. My husband hated it. There was not anything that special about the place otherwise.

View From Our Room of River Street Waterfront

River Street is action packed, filled with restaurants, pubs, shops, street vendors and tourists. At four o'clock each day, a street performer would start his show below our windows and continue until late at night. For two days we had a B student trumpet player who played television theme songs, over and over, stopping at random points to start a different tune. Another two days we had a solo singer, who wasn't too bad and never lasted the whole evening. One evening a singer and the trumpet player got into an argument with someone yelling at the trumpeter that he was terrible and could not play. Somehow, I don't think it was news to him. The music was always clear in our fifth story room where we listened as we read or drifted off to sleep to our River Street Savannah serenades.

Cool Details and Ambiance

Room Humidity Seemed High

Would I recommend The River Street Inn? Probably not. Would I stay there again? No, I would want to stay someplace different. Did I like The River Street Inn? No, I loved it!

Channeling Ricky
Savannah Chronicles