avid hotel Savannah South - Gateway by IHG

I showed up really late without a reservation and they got me settled quickly. The room was super clean, just as it should be, unlike the new hotel next door, which apparently has a different idea of clean. This place seems newer and matches my other experiences with the Avid brand. The shower pressure on the 4th floor was incredible. I expected a shower and got pressure washed, which was a fun surprise. I also love that Avid doesn't put nasty carpet in the rooms. There's plenty of parking, though the spaces are super small for all the large vehicles here, including mine.

This is my new favorite stop on the way to Florida. The hotel is brand new, gorgeous, right off the interstate, and close to restaurants and stores. The beds are comfy and it's incredibly quiet. The young man at the front desk was an absolute delight, and having an onsite market makes things so easy.

I liked the free parking, which would have cost at least $50 a day if we'd stayed in the historic district. Breakfast was free too, with a good range: fruit, eggs, potatoes, yogurt, bagels, muffins, cereal, oatmeal, juice, milk, and coffee. The bed and pillows were comfortable. The hotel is generally clean and new, with a minimalist look, but my room only had a stand-up shower and no tub. That made bathing my toddler and baby difficult. We were there for four nights of sightseeing in Savannah, and a lot of the stay was just annoying. Twice my key cards needed resetting. One time I stood in line for 30 minutes with my crying toddler. They blamed electronics, even though the key was in my purse and my phone in my pocket. Because we brought our dog, I hadn't expected the room to be cleaned. At home we vacuum daily because of her, so after the second night we took her sightseeing to make cleaning possible. My husband called the desk and was told to remove the “do not disturb” sign. We did, but the room wasn't cleaned, so we had to get a broom from the front desk and clean ourselves. We asked again and then the room was cleaned, but the housekeeper was passive aggressive. The alarm clock hadn't gone off the first three mornings, then went off early the morning after the cleaning even though we hadn't set it. The worst part was the moldy AC. My husband and I kept getting headaches when we came back to the room. At first we wondered if it was dehydration or fatigue, but after drinking plenty of water and resting, we both realized it was the room. Looking back, I probably should have asked to switch rooms, but I was distracted by all our planned activities.

We were driving home on I-95 when my wife got sick and needed somewhere to lie down and rest. The hotel let us check in early so she could do that. The staff were extremely friendly and kept checking that everything was okay. I thought “grab and go” breakfast would mean very few choices, but there were lots of options and it was really good. This is a very good hotel and probably the best value you can find.