Southern charm is sprinkled wholeheartedly throughout Savannah, whether it’s in its 22 idyllic public squares, thrilling ghost stories, or pop culture significance, from “Forrest Gump” to Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low. With such a wide breadth of delights, the nearly 300-year-old city is constantly reinventing itself, finding new meaning through set-jetting sites (think: “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and “The Last Song”) and creating burgeoning riverside neighborhoods, like the Eastern Wharf and Plant Riverside District. One thing’s for sure: nothing about the Georgia city ever grows old.
Likewise, the Georgia state capital is always on travelers’ minds. After all, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is still the busiest airport in the world, according to the Airports Council International (ACI). But Atlanta is also growing in other ways, with the Town at Trilith — right across from Trilith Studios, where so many Marvel movies are filmed —being established as a mixed-purpose destinations for creatives, while the National Center for Civil and Human Rights celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new 24,000-square-foot expansion.
How Voting Works
Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Over 186,000 T+L readers completed the 2024 survey. A total of more than 700,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).
Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, inn, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below:
- Rooms/facilities
- Location
- Service
- Food
- Value
For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.
What Readers Loved About Savannah
When it comes to Savannah, it’s all about rolling on the river. The majority of this year’s winners line the Savannah River waterfront, stretching from JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District (No. 3) in the Plant Riverside District, which is home to a restored 1912 power plant, to the eastern end’s The Kimpton Brice (No. 5), just a half mile from the Eastern Wharf, where readers called the staff “kind and considerate” and the rooms “wonderful.” Only the No. 1 pick, Perry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah has us venturing inland, sitting squarely in the heart of the historic district. That means all of the Georgia city’s choices are peachy-keen, centrally located gems.
Savannah Winner
Perry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah
Returning for a second consecutive year in Savannah’s top spot is the Perry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah. With 167 rooms, including 12 suites, the hotel with “top-notch” service and a “wonderful staff” sits between Chippewa Square and Colonial Park Cemetery, making it a “great location to walk throughout the historical district,” as one reader pointed out. The city’s first Luxury Collection hotel when it opened in 2018 and a T+L It List honoree named one of the best new hotels shortly after, Perry Lane describes itself as an “old soul with a modern outlook.” One T+L reader declared, “I would not stay anywhere else.” Another added, “My favorite hotel in Savannah by far!”
Savannah Full List
1. Perry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah
Reader Score: 91.14
2. The Alida, Savannah, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Reader Score: 90.09
3. JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District
Reader Score: 88.35
4. The Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront, Autograph Collection
Reader Score: 86.69
Reader Score: 83.60
What Readers Loved About Atlanta
Atlanta readers also gravitated toward two specific neighborhoods with this year’s picks. In midtown Atlanta were both Bellyard, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel (No. 1) and Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta (No. 5), with one reader calling the latter “a great night’s sleep at a great hotel.” Over in Buckhead, major hotel luxury brands saw their hotels rise to the top with The St. Regis Atlanta (No. 2), InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta (No. 3), and The Whitley, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Atlanta Buckhead (No. 4) all cinching spots.
Atlanta Winner
Bellyard, West Midtown Atlanta, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Ever since it opened its doors in May 2021, the 161-key Bellyard Hotel has lifted the standards of all Atlanta hotels. “The General Manager and staff were welcoming and accommodating and the restaurant was excellent,” one reader noted, adding that the “overall atmosphere was fun and upbeat.” Another called the boutique hotel “quiet, but right in the center of everything,” while yet another said it was “super lux and fun to hang out in.” But perhaps it can all be wrapped up in the accolades: “Definitely the coolest hotel in Atlanta.”
T+L Reader
Definitely the coolest hotel in Atlanta.
— T+L Reader
Atlanta Full List
1. Bellyard, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Reader Score: 96.56
Reader Score: 94.47
3. InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta
Reader Score: 89.30
4. The Whitley, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Atlanta Buckhead
Reader Score: 88.59
Reader Score: 87.18