JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District ★★★★★

The Power Station That Lit Savannah, Now a Hotel

From 1912 until the middle of the 1950s the building at 400 West River Street generated the electricity for Savannah and the country around it. The turbines went quiet, the brick shell stayed, and the whole western end of the riverfront was rebuilt around it. What opened in its place is not a conversion in the polite sense: the industrial volumes were kept at full height, the machinery halls became public rooms, and the hotel took the plant as its subject rather than trying to hide it. Three buildings now sit under one roof, the Power Plant, the Three Muses and the Atlantic, each with its own character.

Why It Works

Most large city hotels ask you to go elsewhere to find something worth seeing. Here the lobby is the destination. Oversized geodes, fossils, an Ice Age bear skeleton and a 135 foot chrome dinosaur called Miss Chromina Joule occupy the main hall, and the effect is closer to a natural history museum with a reception desk. Underneath the spectacle the operation is a JW Marriott, which means the service, the beds and the breakfast behave predictably. That combination, a genuinely strange building run to a chain standard, is rarer than it sounds.

Why This Location

The hotel occupies the western end of River Street, where the cobbles run out and the Plant Riverside District begins. Everything at this end is new and walkable: restaurants, the riverwalk, the District Live music venue powered by Live Nation, and the boat that crosses to Hutchinson Island. The Historic District squares are uphill and a little further, which is the trade off for waking up on the water. If the point of the trip is the riverfront and live music, nothing else in Savannah puts you closer.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Industrial, theatrical, riverfront

• Rooms: 419 across three buildings, the Power Plant, the Three Muses and the Atlantic

• Best For: Riverfront stays, travellers who want live music and dining without a taxi, guests arriving with a dog

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: Miss Chromina Joule, the chrome dipped dinosaur that runs the length of the Power Plant hall above the fossils and geodes

• Dining: Stone and Webster Chophouse in the old plant, Baobab Lounge, Graffito, Savannah Tequila Company, plus the Myrtle and Rose Rooftop Garden and the Electric Moon Skytop Lounge

• Amenities: Spa and wellness centre, fitness centre, on site private parking, shuttle service, dogs welcome, District Live next door

• Attractions: River Street and the riverwalk at the door, the Plant Riverside District, City Market and the Historic District squares uphill

Three Buildings, Three Moods

The Power Plant rooms sit closest to the industrial fabric and are the ones to ask for if the architecture is why you came. The Three Muses leans European, with marble and a softer palette. The Atlantic takes its cues from the port and the shipping that made Savannah. They share the same service and the same rate structure, so the choice is genuinely about mood rather than budget, and it is worth naming a preference when you book instead of leaving it to the allocation.

Eating, Drinking and the Two Rooftops

Stone and Webster Chophouse is the anchor, installed in the plant itself, and it is the reservation to make on the first night. Baobab Lounge, Graffito and the Savannah Tequila Company cover the rest of the week without leaving the building. The two rooftops do different jobs: Myrtle and Rose is the garden, Electric Moon is the late one, and both look straight down the Savannah River. Arrive at either before sunset if you want a rail seat.

Before You Book

This is a large property and the walk from the far end of the Atlantic to the chophouse is a real one, so ask for a building rather than accepting the first key offered. The Historic District is a climb up from the river, gentle but present. Parking is on site and private, and the shuttle covers the short hops. Dogs are welcome, which is unusual at this scale.