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A friend and I are planning a trip south in a few weeks. the car stays home, we are going by train to either Charleston or Savannah. Does anyone know about moderate priced accommodations near the station in either or both cities. I have been to both but always by car so distance was not a factor. Now it is. Since time is short(nothing like spur of the moment planning!)I would appreciate any help. Thanks
rresor Member # 128
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Well, as between the two I'd go with Savannah if you want to get there by train. The Savannah station is a short cab ride west of downtown. The Charleston station is actually in a nondescript area of North Charleston, a long way from the historic area.
At this time of year, nothing will be cheap. But in Savannah there is a Doubletree right on Bay Street and also a Holiday Inn. Neither should be too pricey. The River Street Inn is nice, but you're talking $240 a night. I've stayed at the Doubletree, and it's nice and in a good location. Avoid the Comfort Inn; it's a bit too far from the historic district.
You might also look for B&Bs, of which there are lots.
notelvis Member # 3071
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I agree that Savannah offers more promise than Charleston..... you might want to inquire whether whichever hotel you settle on will provide shuttle service to/from the Amtrak station as it is still 5-6 miles downtown and there is no reasonable/reliable surface mass transit....
Even hotel shuttle one way would help.
Tanner929 Member # 3720
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There is a Days Inn that is very good but at this time of year rates might be high. Staying downtown would save money because you can walk or take the trolleys everywhere, there are also buses that go out to Tybee Island. Savannah is kind of a little Charelston as far as the historical area's are concerned.
Joe Urda Member # 8938
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The wife and I did a trip last October to Charleston for the Preservation Society Home Tours. It was for a long weekend. Started in Syracuse, NY, catching the 6:50 AM to NYC and then the #97 Silver Meteor in a sleeper to Charleston. The train trip was uneventful. Food was good, but getting into Charleston at 5:00 AM was not the best time. As others have said the station is out in the boonies and it is. We had to wait some time for a taxi and then we shared it another person. Because we arrived so early in the morning I had made arrangements with our hotel for an early check-in. Normal check-in was around 2:00pm, but we were checked in as soon as we arrived. (No extra charge). We stayed at the Hampton Inn on Meeting Street. It’s right next to the tourist offices for historic Charleston and within walking distance to just about everything. We walked every place. Departure to head back north was another problem. Our Preservation Society Tour was for Sunday afternoon and hotel checkout was at 11:00 AM. I informed the front desk of our situation and asked if we could store our luggage until around 9:00PM. Her answer was, “why don’t you just stay in your room?” So we came back from our tour, freshened up and went to dinner. I had them call a cab so that we would be at the station by about 9:30 PM and we were. By the way I offered to pay for half a day and there was no charge for the extra time for the room. We always stay at Hampton Inns and after the service we received at this one we will continue to do so. Charleston’s Historic District is beautiful and so full of history. It is full of excellent restaurants. Two of our favorites were Hymans Seafood and Jim & Nicks for BBQ. We ate at Jim and Nicks twice, it was so good. Ft Sumter is worth the tour. Enjoy your trip. Joe Urda
sojourner Member # 3134
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Both Savannah and Charleston train stations are pretty far from the area of interest on a visit. Still, I STRONGLY recommend you forget the idea of staying near the train and instead stay in the tourist area of either city. After all, you want to enjoy yourselves, go out to dinner, etc. Unless you can find hotel shuttles (I never heard of them in these 2 cities), just suck up the cab fares--at least, you will be sharing with a friend--one time only each way and then walk every place else. Also, if your train is coming in at night, try booking your cab in advance and agreeing on a price--I never did that, but that might work better not only pricewise but to ensure you have a reliable cab (though I never had any problem in that regard).
While both cities are nice, I definitely recommend Charleston over Savannah. The tourist area is really lovely, with many fine restaurants, historic sites, and more touristy things to do, carriage rides, ghost walks, etc etc. I suppose some of these are seasonal, but it's a long season; I was in both cities in February and pretty much everything was going on.
There used to be a Days Inn in the historic district of Charleston; I never stayed there, but it was cheap enough. Otherwise I'd go with the Hampton Inn that Joe recommends. Re restaurants: one way to save money in Charleston is to have your big meal at lunchtime. The cheaper places in Savannah get a lot of tiresome Spring Breakers esp around St Patricks Day so if you go there, watch that. . . .
train lady Member # 3920
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We finally settled on Savanah bthere really isn't enough time to do 2 cities. I thank all of you for your suggestions and help. we are all set with reservations on both Amtrak and Comfort Suites. We were able to get a rate of $89 night. There is no shuttle but we got the name and number of a taxi company which we will call the night before we leave. Only a few hotels had a shuttle service but this one does have door to door for tours and also the trolley is very near. My husband and I were here some years back and loved it. We were there on St. Pat's day and what fun..even the fountains were green. This property is on Bay St. near everything. Will report in upon our return.
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