We booked the DeSoto for two nights as part of a weeklong vacation to Florida and Georgia. We stayed in four hotels through the week and the DeSoto was by far our biggest disappointment. We had high hopes when we saw the pictures on the website and read their description. We assumed this would be a restored historic hotel with the quaint feel of the history but with updated finishes and amenities. However, upon arrival it was quickly obvious that the photos did not portray it as we expected. The photos of the common area are bright and fresh but when we walked in during the brightest part of the day the lighting was dim making it dark and somewhat depressing. This didn't change throughout the day or night as the interior lights were never raised and there are not enough windows to provide sufficient natural light.

Unfortunately, our room was even worse. The hallway to our room was uncleaned with dirty carpets and right outside our door dirty plates from the previous occupants were still there. The engineered hardwood flooring in our room was broken in several places near the door to the balcony revealing the subfloor. The mirror in the bathroom was detached from the wall on one side making it slanted to the point the anchor was visible where it should have been bolted to the wall. The paint on the wall appeared discolored at places especially around the air vent due to a lack of cleaning. The bedding was mismatched so one had a thicker duvet with just sheets while the other had a thin duvet and an orange insulating blanket that made the white sheets appear pink. While taking a shower the plumbing would squeal followed by a complete loss of water pressure that was then restored to full power starting with cold water freezing occupant before the hot could catch up. The balcony was no more inviting as it was course concrete and just large enough for two people to stand but it did reveal the two decent qualities of the hotel which were the pool area and its location. It appears careful attention has been made to upgrade the rooftop pool and it presents a nice place to hang out. There was obviously no hallway or room cleaning service performed over the two days we were there. I know some hotels have gotten away from cleaning rooms automatically every day while guests are staying but our other hotels at least stated that and then offered the service free of charge, if desired.

While the location is nice and does make it easy to get around the historic district, this does not in and of itself warrant the exorbitant cost of staying there. Savannah is a very walkable city making the accessibility to that district a non-issue when comparing hotels. I found this out pretty quickly after arriving when I avoided paying the ridiculous over $40/day valet fee that is required to park onsite by parking in a garage several blocks away for $10/day and walking back.

All in all, the hotel served as a place to put our head down each night after visiting places in Savannah and it fit that purpose. However, the cost of staying there should warrant a much more high end experience. This felt more like a rundown hotel that is not being taken care of and relying on location to redeem the actual experience of being in the hotel.