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| image from Hilton |
Date: October 2015
Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn
Brand: Hilton
Elite Status: gold
# of travelers: 4
nights: 1
Hotel: Making the Decision
To be completely honest, I did not make the decision for this hotel. It was chosen for me, but it was a good excuse to go visit my baby nephew. So why not?
Getting There
We drove to Savannah, because flying would be a pain.
Here's why we drove:
• We live an hour from the airport.
• We didn't want to pay for parking.
• We would have to get to the airport 2 hours early.
• The flight would be maybe 30 minutes?
• The drive itself is only 4 hours.
Make sense?
If you did decide to fly in, Hilton Garden Inn is only one mile away from the airport and they provide a shuttle bus. Definitely contact the hotel before arrival to make sure they will be available to pick you up though!
In most cases driving to the hotel is probably the better of the two options, even with the shuttle bus. Hilton Garden Inn does not offer a shuttle to historic Savannah or Tybee Island, both locations are definitely a short drive (20-40 mins depending) away. Plus, the hotel offers free parking.
If you choose this hotel and live close enough where you are trying to decide between driving and flying … drive. Even with gas prices, it will probably still be cheaper. (Flying into Savannah airport can be expensive!!)
Checking In
After the long drive, I was a little impatient. We had traveled once again with my parents to Savannah and the two of them plus my husband immediately bolted to the restroom upon arrival. (Wonder why?!) Rather than wait on any of them, since I had made the reservation, I approached the front desk and laughed with the customer associate about how my family couldn't seem to get their act together enough to check in. He noted my status as a gold and placed us in a room with a view. (Totally acceptable in my book!) We also got extra points (or a drink from the bar), 2 free water bottles, and some candy. Then it was time to start bringing our belongings in.
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| from Hilton |
Room, View, Amenities
When we finally got up to the room, we were impressed with a beautiful view of a sunset over a lake. While this hotel is pretty much located in the middle of nowhere near a million other hotels, restaurants, and shopping areas, don't let that dissuade you from asking for a room with a view. There is at least one room like that: and we got it!
The room was decent sized with a desk, ergonomic chair (to go with the desk), and a comfy living room style chair to just relax in. The bathroom was your typical hotel bathroom – tub with shower, toilet, and sink. Perfect for an overnight adventure.
Our main complaint with the room ended up being that the air conditioning wasn't working. I don't sleep well in 70º temperatures, so, needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. :( The hotel, when we told them the next morning, comped our breakfast. So that was good. :) They also sent an electrician up to fix the AC and offered to move us to another room if we decided to stay a second night. (And give up my view? No thanks! … We didn't stay a second night.)
The hotel offers free wi-fi, a pool, a bar, a restaurant, a gym, a business center, and laundry service. In the rooms you will find a mini fridge, a microwave, a Keurig coffee machine, shampoos, soaps, and lotions. And, just in case you want it, you can get free fruit flavored water in the lobby and, at night, cookies. (They weren't great cookies though, so I wouldn't recommend going out of your way for them.)
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| Beautiful lobby! |
Restaurant & Bar
My family decided to take advantage of the restaurant at the hotel. That night we had dinner just off of the hotel lobby. The waitress seemed uninterested in helping us and the entire staff had fallen behind on cleaning tables. To be honest, I'm not really sure why we stayed. We did though. My husband and I shared a steak with salad and garlic potatoes while my parents each got soup and salad. The steak was pretty good albeit expensive. The salad was typical and the potatoes were so-so. If you get to this hotel and don't have a car, the dinner options aren't terrible.
One thing to note – the restaurant is not entirely separated from the lobby. You will see people coming and going. There isn't a view from the windows … except to the parking lot. Overall the restaurant is just … well, in my opinion, it can barely be called a restaurant. It's not set up like one and just … it's sub-par. There's not much I can say about it that is really good. Even the bar is more like a breakfast bar type area in your kitchen and more about where the servers swipe your credit card than where you drink and enjoy. Not highly recommended. :( They will give you 500 points for telling them your name and room number though, so that's nice. :)
We decided to try the restaurant one more time for breakfast the next morning. They offer a few items for $5 (like oatmeals, bagels, waffles, etc…), but if you want anything hot at the buffet, it costs an additional $10 (on top of the original $5). The hot menu items included sausage, eggs, bacon, omelets, french toast, and potatoes. You had the option of water, orange juice, or coffee to go with your meal. When you end your meal, make sure to pay attention to your receipt! My mom and I both took the $5 option while my husband and dad did the $15 buffet option yet both my mom and I were charged the full $15 price! Yes our breakfast ended up being comped but we wanted to make sure the hotel knew they were comping us for $40 worth of food and drinks rather than $60. (Side note: breakfast isn't worth the cost. I don't recommend getting it.)
Location
This hotel is kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It's close to the airport, but that's about it. As I've said in other Savannah hotel reviews, I recommend staying in historic downtown rather than any of these suburban areas. Parking can be difficult in downtown Savannah. It is worth mentioning though that the price for this hotel is a bit cheaper than what you will pay for a historic Savannah hotel, so if you want cheaper, this might be the way to go, especially in the heavily visited summer months.
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| The pool looked lovely after nightfall! |
Overall Review
★★★ (average)
Despite all of the problems we encountered, the front desk, electrician and manager seemed to be on top of problem-solving. They wanted to create a fantastic atmosphere to encourage clients to return. This, in my opinion, is exactly what the hotel needs considering their out of the way location. Servers and bartenders, on the other hand, weren't so enthusiastic about client retention … or doing their jobs, for that matter. The restaurant food was expensive and the employees were slow to bring us food and our bill. I did appreciate the gold status recognition, the extra points just for dining with them, the free cookies and water, and, most of all, the view from our room! With a little more focus on clientele, better servers, cheaper food prices, and maybe even a shuttle to downtown Savannah, this could be a great hotel. In the meantime I can only give it an average rating. More than likely, I will not be staying here again.
Your Turn
What do you think about hotels on the outskirts of towns and cities? Are they a bargain or a waste of time? Would you consider staying at an airport hotel even if it takes 20 minutes to get downtown?
