Fun on the Fourth: the Perry Lane Hotel
As our family was staying at a beach house on St. Simon’s Island during the week following the 4th of July, we decided that it would be fun to stop in Savannah for the evening. We have stayed in Savannah many times and were married there many years ago. Primarily, when we go to Savannah, we tend to stay near River Street as we especially that new Riverside plant area, but this time we opted to stay at the Perry Lane hotel. We chose it because we had stayed there before and knew that it was nice, but also it actually required fewer Marriott points to stay there since it was the 4th of July (places near the river and the fireworks were apparently more desirable). We were looking forward to a nice time and we were not disappointed.
From the moment that we stepped out of our car, we were greeted with smiles and were asked if we needed help with our luggage. As we stepped inside, our 14-year-old son was amazed to see where we would be staying for the evening (he had been there weeks earlier with the 8th grade and let’s just say their accommodations were not quite as nice). We were offered complimentary champagne and bottles of water right away. The gentlemen at the front desk checked us in and went over all of the amenities that we could take advantage of as a part of paying the $32 destination fee. These amenities included complimentary champagne at the front desk, 2 coffees from the coffee shop, bike rentals (even electric bikes were available- we didn’t take advantage of this perk this time), car service that could take you downtown, access to the rooftop pool, wifi, and even popcorn in the bar/arcade located in their property across from reception. All of this sounded great to us.
Since we had gotten there fairly early in the afternoon, our room wasn’t ready yet, but we could go ahead upstairs and take advantage of the pool. This worked out great for us as hanging out at the pool was the main thing on our to do list for the afternoon. Even better, we were surprised that pool goers were offered occasional ice cream sandwiches and popsicles as well as glasses of champagne and water. And, they even had trivia going on at some point, which we thoroughly enjoyed (even though we didn’t win). James even enjoyed it for a few minutes before remembering that he is a teenager and must escape to his black hole. This whole experience turned out to be a perfect way to spend our 4th of July afternoon.
We then went down to our room to check out the comfy beds and to try out the nice shower. After getting cleaned up, we walked over to Treylor Park: Hitch for a delicious dinner (can’t go wrong with Treylor Park). Back at the hotel, we relaxed for a bit, went down to the arcade and just chilled until it was time for the fireworks. Along with many others, we went up to the rooftop bar, located right next to the pool where we had spent most of the afternoon. We found a spot in the crowd to stand while we waited for fireworks to start. Around us there was a DJ, friends dancing, a bachelorette party drinking, groups eating dinner and generally a lot of fun people watching was being had (by me). The fireworks show, which was taking place out in the river, was beautiful and the vibe was magical. This turned out to be a really fun way to spend the 4th of July.
After sleeping great in our comfy beds, James and I went down to breakfast while Chris went to check on our car (we decided to park a few blocks away because the fee was much less than having it valeted with the hotel, like half the cost). Due to our Marriott Bonvoy status, we had breakfast vouchers so that we could give it a try. James had waffles and I had a healthy yogurt bowl along with a lot of bacon. The service was, of course, excellent and the food tasted great. We left Perry Lane very grateful for the fun time we had there.
Before leaving Savannah, we went down to River Street, walked around, rode the river taxi, which was new and improved but not quite as awesome as it used to be (some things should just be left alone apparently). We saw some cool history, bought some candy for our other son who would be joining us at St. Simons and then left Savannah with happy hearts.
There is a lot to see and do in Savannah and going there for just one day just makes you want to come back so you can do more. But, because we had such a nice time celebrating the 4th of July at Perry Lane, we were glad that we got to have that time together and highly recommend the experience as a whole, with or without it being the a holiday. If you are interested in checking out the hotel and some of the fun they have planned, Perry Lane has special events going on throughout the week (many of which sound great and worth a return visit), which you can view on their website. As for us, we will definitely be back to the Perry Lane hotel.
