Thompson Savannah Fine Hotels
I’ve written ad nauseam about the challenges of identifying reasonably-priced properties in the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program. Finding feasible options on the east coast has been particular daunting, in my experience. The Thompson Savannah, along with the price, recently piqued my interest. I just completed my one-night stay at the property. Here are the highlights from my Thompson Savannah Fine Hotels & Resorts stay.
Booking
I booked a Tuesday night stay at the Thompson Savannah for a $229 rate on the Fine Hotels & Resorts site. Including taxes, the total came to $264.77. As I expected, the booking triggered the Amex Platinum’s $200 Hotel credit benefit. I received 1,325 Membership Rewards points for booking via Amex Travel (5x earning). Incorporating my Schwab Platinum cashout redemption preference for Membership Rewards points, I went $50.19 out of pocket for this stay. I included my World of Hyatt number on the reservation and earned 710 points for this stay. The earnings appear to be based on room incidental charges only.
My February reservation wasn’t subject to a resort fee. Interestingly, upon subsequent searches at the time of this writing, I’m now noticing that the Thompson Savannah is charging $35 in additional property fees due at the hotel. Keep this wrinkle in mind as you consider a future stay.
Thompson Savannah Fine Hotels & Resorts Benefits
The Thompson front desk agent provided a complete list of Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits at check-in. They are as follows:
- Noon check-in, when available.
- Room upgrade upon arrival, when available.
- Guaranteed 4 pm late check-out.
- Daily breakfast for two: $30 credit per person, up to two people, to be used at the hotel restaurant.
- Complimentary wi-fi. (All hotel guests receive complimentary wi-fi.)
- Experience Credit: $100 property credit to be used during your stay. Can be used at food and beverage outlets, daybed, and cabana rentals.
- Complimentary welcome amenity. (Popcorn from a local establishment.)
FHR Benefits – My Take
I received all Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits at the Thompson Savannah, albeit at varied levels of success. I arrived for check-in at 2:30, and the front desk rep initially advised my room wasn’t ready. Unsure if she was aware, I brought up it was a Fine Hotels & Resorts stay and cited the early check-in and room upgrade, based on availability. At this point, a more knowledgeable front desk agent stepped in. Three front desk agents were apparently interested, all looking at the same computer monitor for about five minutes. I didn’t mind, as I was then assigned an upgraded room with immediate availability. My room had a Savannah riverfront view but was otherwise identical to a basic king room.
The experience credit was a delight to use at the Thompson Savannah. Despite the FHR letter’s wording, I could redeem the credit for pretty much anything. In addition to the above items, the front desk rep advised that the credit is redeemable for parking and minibar. That’s great versatility, but I had no problem using the credit at the property’s dining and drinking spots. Also noteworthy is that the property applied my remaining unused credit to gratuities I had charged to the room.
Bar Julian on the rooftop held great views throughout the day and night. Sunset drinks and lunch were tasty. The Bar by Fleeting in the lobby offers some reasonable happy hour deals.
Overall, breakfast at the Fleeting restaurant was adequate enough. But compared to other FHR breakfast experiences, this one was a bit disappointing. I ordered steak and eggs, cooked medium and over medium, respectively, and each came out overcooked. Flavors were on point, though, so I didn’t bother sending the food back.
Random Service
While this isn’t a standard review article, I must highlight the unpredictable service I received at the Thompson Savannah. As I mentioned earlier, check-in was clunky but satisfactory enough. It turned out my 4 pm late checkout hadn’t been truly confirmed; my keys stopped working at about 1:30 pm. Correcting this took two visits to the front desk.
Bartenders were very attentive at the Bar by Fleeting and Bar Julian. Breakfast waitstaff was a bit slow to follow up, delivering a coffee refill several minutes after my cup was empty. But lunch at Bar Julian just before checking out was bizarre.
My waiter welcomed me but didn’t come back to take my order until 15 minutes later. Upon return, the waiter apologized, vaguely alluding to a “situation” in the back. I never saw this waiter again. The bartender delivered my drink and checked on me throughout the meal. The manager brought my food, and I enjoyed my lunch. But the whole thing felt weird.
Conclusion
I recommend a Thompson Savannah Fine Hotels & Resorts stay for Platinum cardholders already planning to visit Savannah. Warning: the location’s unimpressive, slightly outside the city center and among soulless apartments, condos, and townhomes. But the views from the Bar at Julian are superb, and enjoying them with the property credit is a great paring. I appreciated the versatility of the property and breakfast credits in spite of the other outlets’ mediocrity. Thompson Savannah service is a crapshoot.
Going a bit out of pocket for this stay is okay, but everyone should have a line. If Platinum cardholders have other priorities for their hotel credits, they might want to meet those first. I enjoyed my Thompson Savannah Fine Hotels & Resorts stay, but I have no plans to return.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
My Globalist Suite Upgrade Award room with a river view was fabulous. The property is Art Deco in design – a real treasure. Beautiful, classy, modern & spectacular sunset views. The entire Eastern Wharf area (where the Thompson was built) is all brand new but free trolleys on the side of the hotel run conveniently to the historic areas, maybe a 10-minute walk across the street.
The property has a good energetic vibe & is my favorite Thompson. I really appreciate it’s all-new build that fits comfortably in “new” Savannah.
Pam,
It’ll be interesting to see how the immediate area around the Thompson comes together with all the new development. Thanks for reading!
Best time to visit Savannah is Mid March to Mid April. Weather is very nice and azaleas are in glorious bloom. We prefer the Andaz as less points and Globalist benefits cover all fees and valet parking. Location is great.
Savannah is a great walking town with parks about every 5 blocks in every direction downtown. You can also walk around downtown with a drink in a solo cup. The city loves their visitors.
I use to work in Savannah.
John,
Thanks for sharing your perspectives. I feel like we had springtime weather when I was there earlier this month – in the 80’s!
Thanks for they hotel review of Savannah using the FHR credit. Was looking at hotels near there and this helps
Have a great trip, Chris!