The Marshall House Hotel: Savannah's Oldest Hotel Reborn

The Marshall House Hotel, the oldest operating hotel in Savannah, reopened in 1999 after being boarded up for 42 years. The hotel is located in the Historic District in downtown Savannah. Within walking distance are Riverfront Plaza, Factor's Walk, the Owens-Thomas House, the Jepson Center for the Arts and the City Market. The hotel can be reached from Interstate 16, which dead-ends into the Historic District. CAT, Savannah's public transit system, has a free downtown shuttle that stops near the hotel.

The Marshall House has a long history of ups and downs. The hotel was built in 1851 by Mary Marshall, an enterprising businesswoman who saw the need for lodging in downtown Savannah and acted on it. The hotel is situated on Broughton Street, which at the time was the center of commerce in the city. During the last two years of the Civil War, after General Sherman made it to Savannah, the hotel was confiscated by the Union and used as a hospital. When Miss Mary died in 1877, the hotel gradually declined and finally closed in 1895. Several owners, renovations, openings and closings later, the hotel closed, seemingly for good, in 1957. By that time, Broughton Street was no longer in the central shopping district, and the area's decline seemed inevitable. The Savannah Morning News calls the Marshall House of the 1940s and `50s "the kind of hotel frequented by salesmen, sailors and figures known more for their ability to down liquor than their place in high society.''

In 1998, however, in the midst of a revival for Broughton Street, the old hotel was bought and given a complete restoration. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted when the hotel reopened in 1999 that the famous wrought-iron railing along the second-floor veranda had been carefully recreated, and, "Though rooms will be outfitted with modern amenities, they will have their original windows and pine floors. Some still have their 19th-century tubs.'' The hotel also retains its original staircases, fireplaces and even the doors to each guest room.

Today, the hotel's 65 rooms and three suites are fitted with complimentary wired high-speed Internet access, wall-mounted flat-screen TVs, and luxurious bedding and bath amenities - in other words, all the trimmings of a modern-day luxury hotel. But the six Broughton Balcony rooms open onto the veranda, which has rocking chairs so guests can sit and watch Savannah pass by. Each room still has an 1851 fireplace, and the suites feature the original claw-foot tubs. Other hotel amenities include a 24-hour business center, wireless Internet access in public areas, a complimentary breakfast at 45 Bistro, the hotel's gourmet restaurant and complimentary membership at a nearby athletic club.

The hotel is said to be haunted. A portrait of Mary Marshall hangs in the lobby, and one day a young girl told her father that she had seen "that lady'' in the hallway. Guests have also seen the operating room were doctors treated Union soldiers brought from the battlefield. The ghosts don't seem to bother guests, however, who have rated the hotel the third-best in Savannah on the well-known travel website tripadvisor.com. It has been called "the perfect place to stay'' with "pure Southern charm.'' A couple from Wyoming "were amazed by the Southern charm and hospitality we found at the Marshall House.'' Guests love the building and the dycor, as well as the location in the heart of the Historic District. The staff is singled out in almost every review as being incredibly friendly and helpful. The rare complaints mostly have to do with the quirks of an older building - creaky floors, rooms that are hard to keep cool and occasionally too much noise. This person perhaps sums up the experience of the Marshall House, saying, "I cannot wait to go back to the Marshall House, it's like going home.''