The Alida, Savannah, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel ★★★★★

Named for the Woman Who Saved Savannah’s Houses

Alida Harper Fowlkes ran an antiques business, bought threatened buildings and campaigned for the preservation ordinances that kept the Historic District standing. Naming a hotel after her sets a standard, and the Alida largely meets it. The building is by Gunn Meyerhoff Shay, a Savannah practice, and the interiors were commissioned from local makers rather than specified from a catalogue. The result is a contemporary hotel that could not be picked up and dropped into another city, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds on a riverfront site with 173 rooms.

Why It Works

The art programme is the clearest example. Instead of buying decorative prints, the hotel partnered with the Savannah College of Art and Design and hung work by named artists, among them Juliana Lupacchino, Jocelyn Desisto, Will Penny, Amiri Farris and Paige Russell. The Keep Shop downstairs carries goods by SCAD alumni and stays open around the clock. These are small decisions, but together they mean the building has a point of view. Behind them sits a well run Marriott affiliated operation with a pool, a proper restaurant and a rooftop, which is the practical half of the argument.

Why This Location

Williamson Street sits on the western stretch of the Savannah riverfront, past the old cobbles and beside the rebuilt Plant Riverside blocks. It is a quieter, newer part of the waterfront than the section below Bay Street, and it faces the river directly, which is the reason to be here. The Historic District squares are a walk uphill and inland, ten to fifteen minutes to City Market. The ferry across to Hutchinson Island runs from the riverfront nearby. For a first visit the squares matter more; for a second, the river usually wins.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Contemporary, craft minded, riverfront

• Rooms: 173, with river facing categories and suites

• Best For: Second visits to Savannah, design and art led travellers, guests arriving with a dog

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The Lost Square, the rooftop lounge that looks out over the river rather than back over the rooftops, which almost no other terrace in the city does

• Dining: Rhett for Southern cooking through the day, the Trade Room for regional beer and spirits, the Lost Square on the roof

• Amenities: Outdoor pool and deck, Keep Shop open around the clock, SCAD art programme, fitness centre, dogs welcome

• Attractions: The riverfront and riverwalk at the door, the Plant Riverside District alongside, City Market and the squares a walk inland

The Rooms, and Which Side to Face

There are two orientations that matter here, river and city, and they produce very different stays. River facing rooms and the suites above them get the working traffic of the Savannah, the container ships sliding past at a scale that never stops being surprising. City facing rooms are quieter and cheaper and look back at the rooftops. The rooms themselves are contemporary, with commissioned pieces and local materials rather than reproduction furniture, and they hold up well for a stay of several nights.

Rhett, the Trade Room and the Roof

Rhett covers the day, Southern in a modern register and reliable for breakfast. The Trade Room is the ground floor bar and the place to try Georgia distillers and regional brewers without hunting for them across town. The Lost Square is the one to plan for: an open air lounge with the river below, best an hour before sunset when the light comes up the water. Between the three, the hotel gives you a reason to stay in on the night you have walked too far.

Before You Book

The western riverfront is a genuine walk from the squares, and the return leg is uphill, so factor that in if you intend to be out late every evening. Ask for a river facing room by name if the view is the point. Parking is a paid arrangement on site. Dogs are welcome, and the Keep Shop is the answer to anything you forgot to pack.