Romantic Weekend in Savannah
One doesn’t have to travel out of the country to Paris, Rome, Venice or Greece to have a fun romantic weekend. One weekend, my husband, surprised me with a romantic trip to Savannah, Georgia. I would have probably never picked this place on my own but now that I had a chance to explore the beauty of this town, I’m definitely more open to other places locally!
We stayed at the Andaz Hotel in Savannah, right in the heart of downtown. This city is definitely a city for bachelor/bachelorette parties as it’s one of the 4 cities in the US that you can carry alcohol in the open and walk around. Anyways, we had the amex platinum plan out our entire trip after my husband gave them some ideas on what we want to do.
Andaz, Savannah
Here’s a summary on what we did on a weekend:
Saturday:
1) Brunch at the The Olde Pink House at 12:00 PM
2) Explored the city of savannah on a segway
3) Private Horse Drawn Carriage Tour 4:30 PM
4) Dinner at Vic’s on the River at 6:15 PM
5) Lulu’s Chocolate Bar – for dessert
6) Drink Absinthe at a secret savannah speakeasy bar, Mata Hari
Sunday:
1) Collins Quarter at 10:30 AM – Please call restaurant at 912777-4147 at least 1 hour in advance to wait list your name – restaurant contact: Ricco
2) Private Horseback riding class 1:00 PM
3) Afternoon Tea at Gryphon 4:30 PM
4) Dinner at a.Lure Savannah at 07:00 PM
5) Haunted pub crawl Ghost tours 9:00 PM
Monday:
Had breakfast and flew out early back to NYC
The Olde Pink House
23 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA 31401
912-232-4286
http://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/the-olde-pink-house/
Cuisine: Seafood, Southern
I’m a sucker for beautiful buildings, picturesque sceneries, architecture, and anything pink. This was the perfect mixture of all the above. The Olde Pink House is an historical landmark in Savannah. This brightly colored eatery has served as tearoom, bank, and private residence for a civil war general. Now, it serves the people of Savannah as one of the most beloved restaurants in the city. The 19th century decor is dignified and hearkens back to a simpler time. The hard wood floors, stiff backed chairs, and chandelier ceilings put somewhat of an expectation on their diners, but the food more than makes up for the stringent etiquette. Being veggie, I couldn’t enjoy all the southern food, but even that was amazing. I think this place is definite must if you ever visit Savannah.
Segway Tour:
Historic Savannah is built around 22 Squares with many interesting forms of architecture and stories. We both have never driven a Segway and we felt like this would be a great adventure to kinda learn the city in a leisurely pace. I felt like in the 60 min, omg, we covered so much of the city and went from one end to the other and back. The Segway was pretty fun to ride and way easier once you get the hang of it. They do let you practice it a bit before taking it out on the streets
60 Minute Historical Tour (7 days a week) Cost: $49.00
Tours Times: 9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm
Tour Company: Viator
Viator Phone Number: 1-866-648-5873
Local Tour Provider: Madison Tour Company LLC
Local Tour Provider Phone: +1 912 658 1364
Name of Tour: Private Tour: Private Horse Drawn Carriage Tour (7862P1)
There is no better way to enjoy the southern charm of Savannah than aboard a beautiful horse drawn carriage. I have always wanted to be proposed to on a horse drawn carriage and so my husband made sure we included this on our trip. This was a private tour as you ride through the scenic Savannah’s historic landmarks. Savannah is Georgia’s first city and the last of the 13 colonies. The coaches are quite knowledgeable and will be given the ‘lay of the land’. Savannah’s historic district is America’s first pre-planned city and thanks are given to James Edward Oglethorpe for implementing his ingenious layout of the beautiful park-like squares – Savannah has 22 of them!
Meeting Location: Savannah’s City Market, 31 Barnard Street, Savannah, GA
Approximate Tour Length: 50 minutes
Number of Participants: 02
Cost Per Adult: $47.49
Vic’s on the River Restaurant & Bar
26 East Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
http://www.vicsontheriver.com/
Cuisine: Seafood, American, Southern, Regional
Vic’s On The River is a fine dining establishment known for contemporary Southern cuisine. Located in historic Savannah, the main dining room offers delicious food, impeccable service, and an elegant atmosphere. All dining rooms offer views of the Savannah River. The Food isn’t as veggie friendly but we made it work. They made special arrangements and decorated our table since it was our anniversary which I thought was super sweet of them.
Mata Hari
306 W Lower Factors Walk
Savannah, GA 31401
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mata-Hari/186295271402186
912-272-2848
It’s a sexy speakeasy in Savannah, Georgia that only allows entry through its discreet doors with a key. The way to get a key is to ask someone (concierge at your hotel) or amex platinum concierge (which is how we got ours). A speakeasy is generally in an unmarked, unexpected and dimly lit location. As you knock on the door, a small window slides open and the eyeballs staring out ask for the key. No key, no entry. Once you give them the key, they let you enter Mata Hari. Inside looks like you are in the 1920’s. Sometimes there is a lounge singer who is singing some old tunes on stage. Absinthe, which was banned for many years, still isn’t easy to find now that the ban has been lifted. The absinthe now is definitely not as strong as it supposedly was in the past. Anyways, you can have a variety of drinks and you don’t have to get Absinthe.
Collins Quarter
151 Bull Street
Corner of Oglethorpe
Savannah, GA 31401
912-777-4147
It’s an amazing brunch place. It opened in 2014, and brings Australia’s café capitol to Savannah. It’s styled after Melbourne’s historic Collins Street and delivers awesome brunch and coffee in a relaxed and casual environment. The food was phenomenal and was very vegetarian friendly.
Horse Back Riding Lesson
https://www.trustedtours.com/store/horseback-trail-rides-at-red-gate-farms.aspx
136 Red Gate Farms Trail, Savannah, GA 31405
I have always wanted to go horseback riding and I guess my husband remembered that and arranged for this awesome experience. We took an uber to get to the lesson. After riding a horse, I realized that riding a horse is not as great as I imagined it would be, but nonetheless the whole experience was simply awesome. It was a 90 min lesson and you got to ride and explore the gorgeous scenery Savannah had to offer.
A.lure
309 W Congress St
Savannah, GA 31401
912-233-2111
This is a local farm to table philosophy restaurant run by Chef Charles Zeran. It’s a contemporary American Cuisine with some country twists. It was a cleaner and modern ambiance. This was a beautiful dinner space and I really enjoyed our last meal for the weekend.
Haunted Pub Crawl – Ghost Tours
Bonaventure Cemetery
https://ghostcitytours.com/savannah/ghost-tours/haunted-pub-crawl/
We explored the famous haunted bars during this ghost tour pub crawl. We had a great guide, who walked us on a 2 hour journey around Savannah’s most historic, and haunted, bars and pubs. We heard tons of ghost stories of these haunted locations we were visiting. We visited about 5 pubs during this tour and due to Savannah’s open carry laws, you can carry your beverage on the streets from one pub to another, which made it fun. They have other ghost tours that don’t involve drinking which are just as fun. You can do a tour of the graves (Savannah has tons of them due to the war that happened there) as well another one called beyond good and evil and dead of the night tour. This was a great way to end our weekend in Savannah.
Overall Savannah is beautiful!! It’s just a picturesque town with so much history, culture and beauty to it. I felt like it was a great trip away from the hustle and bustle of NYC to just relax and enjoy a beautiful town and learn about its culture. I would totally go back and visit again with some girlfriends or even with some couples.
