Recently my husband and I took a road trip from our home in Fort Myers, Florida, up North to visit our families. It was a unique time to take a road trip, in that many cities, businesses, and attractions were slowly and cautiously emerging from the covid-19 lock-down to a semblance of normalcy. Could there be any better time to support local businesses while on a road trip? I think not! Savannah Georgia was an early city in the country to open, and it was also a city neither Joe nor I had visited before. As soon as we decided upon Savannah, I visualized how lovely it would be to stay in a historic bed and breakfast. I started doing some research and came upon one of the official boutique hotels, part of the Historic Homes of Savannah, The Eliza Thompson House.
The Eliza Thompson House is located on West Jones Street in the heart of historic Savannah, in walking distance to a plethora of parks, restaurants, historic downtown shopping , and the waterfront. The house was built in 1847 for Joseph and Eliza Thompson and their seven children. It was one of the finest homes in Savannah, and it was often the site of fabulous parties and celebrations. Sadly, only eight years after he built the house, Joseph passed away, and Eliza stayed to raise the children and maintain the household. In the late 70’s the home became an inn, and over the course of time has grown to become well known for its hospitality, Victorian elegance, and friendly service.
From the moment we arrived we were greeted with such a warm welcoming from the staff. They kindly offered to carry our luggage to our room, which was pleasantly comfortable and charming. In this time of living during the corona virus, it was most reassuring to see the level of cleanliness, social distancing, and mindfulness of detail that The Eliza Thompson House hosts put forth. Not once were we worried about the Inn maintaining a safe and comfortable environment. We witnessed regular deep cleaning, for example in the courtyard, as soon as a guest would leave, their table and chairs were cleaned and thoroughly disinfected. In fact, the entire city of Savannah was exemplary in its approach to safely reopening for business.
Guests were invited to an evening reception of wine and hors d’oeuvres, which we enjoyed in the beautiful and historically accurate parlor room. Later in the evening, we enjoyed complimentary hot locally roasted coffee, and chocolate cake. The complimentary breakfast menu changes daily, and each evening guests are asked to complete a menu for morning preferences. We had praline banana pancakes, quiche, shrimp and grits, toast, fresh fruit, coffee, and juice. It was certainly a delicious breakfast. Most guests choose to dine in the large sunny courtyard, filled with plants, a pretty Victorian lily fountain, statues, and a mural. It is an ideal setting to start your morning before wandering through the streets and parks of Savannah.
The Eliza Thompson House proved to be the charming example of Southern hospitality that I had hoped for. I simply enjoyed the well preserved authentic Victorian environment, located in an equally well preserved neighborhood. In fact Southern Living Magazine cites Jones Street as “the most beautiful street in Savannah”. I would have to agree.
