The Hilton DeSoto has a rich history in Savannah. First of all, it was named for the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto who was the first European to set foot in South Carolina, just across the river from Savannah. De Soto may have also been the first European to discover the Mississippi River. The original DeSoto was built in 1890 and was called one of the grandest hotels in the South. It hosted a number of dignataries, both political and celebrities, as well as fancy balls, cotillions and formal parties for a number of years. The hotel, in need of repair and in what was then a dying part of of old Savannah, closed in the 1960's. The Hilton corporation bought the property and rebuilt the entire hotel in the late 60's. The Hilton DeSoto had just undergone an extensive renovation within the last 18 months.
The main lobby area was ornate and stately. When we went to check in, the ladies at the front desk were overly friendly and recognized me as a Hilton Honors Diamond member. The young lady who checked us in said that our room wasn't ready (it was around 2 p.m.). She said, "You requested a city view room and that's what we'll get you." She also told me that because I was a Honors Diamond member we'd get a free full breakfast each morning we were there (which was very good, by the way), coupons for free drinks in the bar; and that we had access to their valet parking for free. That was kinda sweet. All it cost me was a couple bucks in the form of a tip for the kid who would bring our car around.
When we finally got into our room, we were greeted with a wonderful view of the heart of the Savannah Historic District. The room was elegant and comfortable. We had a cantilever deck that came out from the room. It was a little uncomfortable to stand on the deck not seeing any type of brackets or supports under the deck. I'm sure it was safe, but I'm not big on heights and when I would feel my testicles going back up inside me, that was the sign to go back in.
We really didn't spend a lot of time in our room because of all the sight seeing that we did around Savannah. What time we spent in the room relaxing, reading or napping was worth it. The bed was overly comfortable, the chairs and furnishings were luxurious, and we had all the amenities we needed. Here's a picture of Cindy enjoying some time reading a book with the sliding glass door out to the deck open. She had a bigger problem with the deck than I did.
This is the hotel's breakfast very spacious and ornate restaurant area where they made great made-to-order omelets for me each morning. Cindy opted for the buffet which consisted of French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and, of course, grits. I'd had grits a number of years ago, but was sort of ambivalent toward them. But for some reason on this trip, grits mixed with a little butter tasted pretty damn good. Cindy said it must have been the enchantment of the South and Savannah that made the grits taste good.
But the one thing that made the Hilton DeSoto stand out was the outstanding customer service. Any request, any favor, any help that we asked for, they were more than willing to help us out. The bar and restaurant staff were overly accommodating. The valet guys were quick and friendly. Even the concierge was never put off when we'd ask for some help. We not only loved Savannah so much, we loved the Hilton DeSoto, as well. When we decided to fore-go our planned trip to Charleston, SC to come back to Savannah to finish our vacation, we wanted to come back to the DeSoto. The only problem was that it was the graduation weekend for the Savannah College of Art and Design, plus the hotel was hosting two large wedding parties. We were getting our room for $113 a night, but it was going up to $209 if we wanted to come back.
Before we left to go up to Hilton Head, I went down to the front desk and asked if they could give us a deal on a room for the weekend. The lady at the desk said, "Well, we have four rooms left for the weekend. What were you thinking?"
I said, "Well, we really didn't want to pay more than $139 a night."
She sort of cringed and said, "Well, I'll tell you what. Let me talk to our in-house reservation agent and I'll have her get back to you."
While we were packing up getting ready to check out, I got a phone call from the Hilton DeSoto's in-house reservation agent. She said, "Mr. Veber? I got your request here from the front desk and we're just thrilled that you want to come back and stay with us. Since you're an upstanding member of the Hilton Honors Diamond VIP program, we can extend you the price of $139 a night for this coming Friday and Saturday night." She was just overly appreciative for our business. They were really bending over backwards for us.
When we got back in town after staying in Hilton Head, they had our room ready - a wonderful corner suite with another great view of the Historic District. This room also had a deck, but it was much larger and on the corner where it wasn't so disconcerting. We had a couple chairs out there with a little table. We sat out there and read our books in the late afternoons and the local paper in the mornings. We also got all the same perks - drink coupons, free breakfast and free valet parking - that we got when we stayed there earlier in the week.
One of the main reasons why it was so tough to leave Savannah was the service and hospitality we received from the people at the Hilton DeSoto. I've stayed in a number of Hilton properties over the years and I have to say that, hands down, in terms of service, elegance and the perks they threw our way during our visit, the Hilton DeSoto was the finest Hilton Hotel I've ever stayed at. And that's saying a lot as I've stayed in some nice Hilton properties over the year. When we go back to Savannah someday - and we will - we'll be back to the Hilton DeSoto.
I love their breakfast area. The space is very different from the hotel that I have visited. They have the worst accommodation ever!
Posted by: Lauren Velazquez | October 21, 2012 at 11:18 AM
Wow. Thanks for the advice. It's great that i found your site. :)
Posted by: Mary Anderson | January 31, 2013 at 05:51 AM