Savannah's Most Charming Historic B&Bs and Inns

Most of Savannah's inns were houses first. That sounds obvious, but it changes the entire shape of a stay: you sleep in a bedroom someone built in the mid-1800s, eat breakfast in what was their dining room, and drink afternoon wine on the veranda where the family used to watch the squares fill up. The hotel-vs-B&B question isn't about thread count — it's whether the building itself is part of your trip.

This is the inn tier of The Local Savannah's verified hotels directory — the 1800s mansions, townhouses, and cottages that put you inside the history, with breakfast, afternoon tea at several inns, and innkeepers who know the city included in the rate. For the full hotel scene (downtown luxury, riverfront, Tybee, the airport corridor), see our Where to Stay in Savannah guide.

Disclosure: Some links in this guide are affiliate links, including our check-rates buttons. If you book through them, The Local Savannah may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only feature places we'd recommend to a friend — commissions never determine our picks.

Why a B&B in Savannah

Three things you get here that hotels can't copy. The buildings — most of these inns occupy restored 19th-century mansions and townhouses in the Landmark District, so the "historic" part is literal. The food — breakfast is included at every inn below but The Douglas, which serves its à la carte breakfast separately, and the better inns treat it as a production (cooked-to-order, mansion-style, courtyard-served). And the people — innkeepers live in these houses, and their guidance is the most current local intel you'll get anywhere in the city.

One honest caveat: this tier skews adults-only. Several of the inns below are explicitly adults-only properties; where that's the case, we say so — families have other great options in the where-to-stay guide.

The Icons: Mansion Inns on the Squares

The Douglas (formerly the Ballastone Inn) — the newest name in the tier: the 1853 mansion reopened in 2025 after a two-year renovation as a boutique hotel, and 2026 brought six more rooms plus Lester's, the restaurant inside the house. Same East Oglethorpe address, breakfast served à la carte, its own bar, and it welcomes guests 21 years of age and older. If you loved the old Ballastone, this is that house under its new name — and the reopening makes it the freshest room in the category.

Kehoe House — an adults-only Renaissance Revival mansion on Columbia Square, which means you wake up on one of the prettiest squares in the city. Gourmet cooked-to-order breakfast, a nightly wine and hors d'oeuvres reception, and evening cookies and tea on the veranda. Check rates at Kehoe House

The Gastonian — two restored 1868 mansions right next to Forsyth Park, adults-only, every room dressed in antiques and working fireplaces, with nightly wine, hors d'oeuvres, and dessert receptions. The pick if you want the mansion experience with the park as your front yard. Check rates at The Gastonian

Hamilton-Turner Inn — the 1873 Second Empire mansion overlooking Lafayette Square, legendary for its connections to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Afternoon tea, an evening wine reception, and a late-night port-and-sweets ritual that regulars plan their evenings around.

The Eliza Thompson House — an 1847 townhouse mansion on Jones Street, often called one of the prettiest streets in America. Adults-only, with deluxe breakfast served in a private brick courtyard with a fountain — the quietest morning in the category.

Foley House Inn — a pair of 1896 brick townhouses near Chippewa Square, and the rare pet-friendly historic B&B in the set. Cooked-to-order breakfast, a courtyard, and a self-serve wine dispenser room during the evening reception. Bring the dog.

The Cottage-Intimacy Tier

Green Palm Inn — an 1897 gingerbread cottage near Greene Square, adults-only, with the most personal stay in the city: innkeeper guidance that reads like a friend's itinerary, afternoon wine and dessert, and homecooked breakfasts with the strongest word-of-mouth in the tier. Check rates at Green Palm Inn

Azalea Inn & Villas — an 1886 Victorian mansion plus private cottages in the Victorian District, with lush verandas, an outdoor pool (rare for this tier), gourmet breakfast, and a daily evening reception with wine and appetizers. The group-and-family answer within the B&B format.

Bellwether House — a restored 1876 Italianate mansion steps from Forsyth Park with a different thesis: eco-friendly luxury and holistic wellness. Daily afternoon high tea with a champagne toast, on-site yoga, spa services — the wellness-traveler's B&B.

Olde Harbour Inn — the wildcard. An 1892 oil and ice warehouse converted to all-suite lodging along Factor's Walk, with kitchenettes, a haunted history the staff happily leans into, evening wine and ice cream delivered to your suite, and a genuinely pet-friendly policy. Not a mansion — a piece of the riverfront's working past.

The Bridge Option: A Historic Hotel Instead

If you want the 1800s building with a full-service hotel's machinery behind it, The Marshall House (1851, a few steps off Broughton Street) is the crossover pick — Civil War history, a haunted-landmark reputation, daily continental breakfast, and a nightly wine reception, in the middle of the shopping district. Details in the where-to-stay guide. Check rates at The Marshall House

Quick Picks

• Most romantic: The Eliza Thompson House (courtyard breakfast) or Hamilton-Turner Inn (late-night port and sweets)
• Best square-side address: Kehoe House — Columbia Square out the window; Hamilton-Turner for Lafayette Square
• Parkside: The Gastonian (Forsyth Park) · Bellwether House (wellness)
• Bring the dog: Foley House Inn or Olde Harbour Inn
• With kids or a group: Azalea Inn & Villas (cottages + pool)
• Breakfast is the point: Green Palm Inn (homecooked) · Kehoe House (cooked-to-order gourmet)

The Tybee Variant: B&B by the Beach

The B&B experience exists on Tybee Island too — an 1898 Victorian on North Beach: Surf Song Bed & Breakfast, steps from the lighthouse and the ocean, wrap-around porch, pool, and beach gear to borrow — check rates at Surf Song; and the quiet, tropical Tybee Island Inn Bed & Breakfast near Fort Screven, with southern breakfasts served in the garden gazebo — full listing in our hotels directory. Pair either with our Tybee Island day trip guide and skip the drive — or split your stay: inns downtown, B&B on the beach.

Booking Practicalities

These are small properties — often a dozen rooms or fewer — so the calendar moves faster than the hotel chains', and peak windows (St. Patrick's Day, azalea season in spring, October ghost season) book out months ahead. Breakfast timing, parking arrangements (Historic District inns park differently than hotels — confirm with the property when you book), and adults-only policies are all worth checking against your trip before you commit. For mornings that start outside the inn: the coffee guide, the restaurants guide for dinner, and things to do in Savannah for everything between.