My mom and I just returned from a 5 day stay at the Hamilton-Turner Inn. Having never been to Savannah, we didn't really know the "lay of
the land" or furthermore where to stay. We originally booked our stay
at the Mansion on Forsyth. However, after some research, and reading several negative reviews of the property, we changed our reservation to the Hamilton-Turner Inn. We are SO GLAD we did!

The Hamilton-Turner is a beautiful and peaceful inn located on Lafayette Square and is within walking distance of ALL Savannah attractions. You are a short walk to Forsyth Park, the river, City Market, and Braugthon Street which has many good restaurants like A Vida and Il Pasticcio as well as late night ice cream at Leopold's. Colonial Park Cemetery is a block to your north, and the bells of The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which is literally next door on Drayton Street, chime throughout the day. The "main" street running north and south through the city's most famous squares is Bull Street and is only two short blocks west of the inn.

The staff was great, especially Todd who checked in with us each morning before we left wanting to know about our day's plans and giving us suggestions. The first day, he helped us book a few tours including one through Old Savannah Trolley Tours. A trolley picked us up at the inn and took us to where the tour oficially starts. I recommend paying a few extra dollars for the on/off pass. Ride the trolley around the city one full time - the tour guides offer so much
historical information about the city, and you can get a feel for where everything is located. After the once around, you can ride it for the remainder of the day (until 4:30) and get on and off at your leisure. My mom and I actually rode it around the city three times, getting on and off at various locations. Each tour guide has a unique perspective of the city. Some focus on historical facts and others will give you insight into famous movie locations (Forrest Gump, Midnight in the Garden, Something to Talk About). Our second guide was a lifetime Savannahian, so he had a TOTALLY different take on things than the other guides. We enjoyed taking a leisurely ride around the the city and hearing different stories. In no way is this a "canned" presentation or tour. If you want to see something special, make sure you tell them when you get on the trolley. They will do their best to accomodate you and satisy your interests and curiosity.

OK - back to the inn. Yes, it is formally decorated. But in no way did it ever feel stuffy, pretentious or uncomfortable. The staff (Todd, Susan, and Jim, the owner) were nothing but helpful and accomodating. Each day we were served breakfast in the dining room (fresh fruit, wonderful pastries, stuffed french toast, eggs benedict), and after a long and hot afternoon of walking we came back to sweet tea and lemonade in the parlor. Nothing felt forced or awkward. It was like coming and going in your own home.

We stayed on the top floor of the inn, which is a LOT of stairs, and I wouldn't suggest it if traveling up stairs is difficult for you. See if you can choose another room closer to the ground floor. Our room had two double beds and overlooked the square. By the time we returned from breakfast each morning, our room had already been serviced. Everything worked, and it was very clean and comfortable. If you want to tip the staff at the end of your stay, put it all together in one envelope. Tips are split equally among the staff members.

If you are interested in the architecture or furnishings of the home, Jim is more than happy to tell you about it. He seems to enjoy and take pride in his inn. I wish we would've asked more questions about the history of the inn - I have only read about it in books.

Personally, I would highly recommend staying here if you have a few days to spend in this charming city. Both my mom and I will be back and plan on taking our husbands next time!

Wow! Where do I start? This was a last minute booking as my husband and I were not happy with the B & B that we were originally staying in, so we changed on our last night in Savannah.

The staff could not have been more accommodating. We felt like VIP's from the moment we walked in the door. The room was immaculate. It truly felt like we were the first guests to ever stay in it.

It was so nice at the end of the evening to return to the room where the bed was turned down with robes on it, cookies were waiting for us and we had a glass of port from the parlor before soaking in the tub and going to bed.

Breakfast was elegant and delicious! Staying here was a treat. Not only is the inn breathtaking from the outside, but the inside is beautiful as well. It was not uncommon to walk outside and see tourists taking pictures of the building or wanting to talk to us about what it was like to stay there.

I would urge anybody to stay at the Hamilton Turner. I cannot think of one thing about our stay that I would have changed and we will definitely be back often. Our only regret is that we did not discover it sooner.

I stayed here as part of a wedding at the hotel. The management/ owner at the front desk informed me that even though I was staying there, I could not go up to see my friends in their room until the three o'clock check-in time. I was not asking for my room early, just to go to their room. The wedding was at one, and at the cake ceremony directly after, I was only allowed to have water, because I was not checked in yet. The free lemonade in the room next door was out of my reach because even though they had already billed my credit card, they didn't care about me as a customer at all.
After I finally checked in, the power in our room kept going out. They moved us to another room after about seven hours of no power. This room had no a/c, and when I informed the owner of this, she yelled at me saying that I shouldn't have touched anything.
If you do not want to be treated like a child, and you want to have a pleasant stay, go elsewhere. It is a pretty hotel, but in no way worth the money.

We stayed in the Juliette Gordon Lowe room from June 8th to June 10th, 2007, and we wish that our stay could have been longer. We truly enjoyed everything about our experience at the Hamilton-Turner Inn, which was very beautiful and well-maintained. The breakfasts were great and gave us an opportunity to talk to the owners, who were such nice, down-to-earth people. All of the staff members were very helpful, especially Todd who went overboard to help us line up a carriage ride followed by dinner on Saturday night. They also have a young gentleman there (I'm sorry...I forgot the name) who is very knowledgeable about the inn and the area in general, and we enjoyed hearing about a lot of the history from him. My husband is generally not the "inn" type, but he also enjoyed everything about the stay, especially the informal gatherings in the parlor (he loves to talk). We look forward to returning again in the future.