Eliza Thompson House — Hotel in Savannah

This is a continuation of what my wife posted.

Now, as far as being a haunted place, my husband and I can BOTH attest that it is indeed haunted!! My husband does not believe in ghosts or the supernatural. I, on the other hand, do, although I'd never experienced anything out of the ordinary until staying at Eliza Thompson House. Prior to our Savannah vacation, I was a little hesitant to stay in a so-called haunted house. My husband laughed at me and told me everything would be alright and there was no reason to worry. I tried to be brave and convince myself that he was right and I was being silly (because most places in Savannah are considered to be haunted) Each night there, we slept with a table lamp on because of the way our room was layed out. We didn't want to run into something in the dark. Our first night there, I woke up around 1:30am, went to the bathroom, and got back into bed. My husband then did the same. I thought I felt "movement..like bouncing", I lifted my sleep mask off my face, but I decided it was my imagination and went back to sleep. I woke up again around 5:30am. This was because my 32 year old son, who lives in Heaven, and I were having a conversation! It was so very real!! (Most dreams I have are in a certain place, even though it looks nothing like that place in my dream.) This was the first time I'd ever been to Eliza Thompson House, ever been in that room, ever been in that bed...yet, my son was in that EXACT room and that EXACT bed! I was laying in bed, and he was sitting up in the bed with his back against the headboard and his legs stretched out, and we were having a wonderful conversation! He's lived in Heaven for 3 years now, and this was the most VIVID dream l've EVER had of him. It was amazing!! I turned and sat up to say something to him, but he disappeared, and my husband was beside me. That morning, on our way to the courtyard for breakfast, my husband asked me how I slept. I replied, "Pretty well, except for waking up to go to the bathroom and then waking up after dreaming of our son". I asked him how he slept, and he replied, 'Pretty well, except for all that jumping on the bed". I laughed because I thought he was making fun of me for believing in ghosts. During breakfast, he made the comment again about the jumping on the bed. I said, "Well, I wouldn't call it jumping. but definitely bouncing"! He shook his head and said, "yes"! I said, "It felt like a child was bouncing on the bed between us"! He said, "She wasn't bouncing between us. I was straddled! I had one leg on each side of me and she was bouncing up and down on my chest. It felt very light...like a heartbeat"!! I couldn't believe it!! The "movement"' I felt at 1:30am was real! All of this happened while we had a tableside lamp on, and we were both awake. And, we BOTH felt the bouncing. I thought it was my imagination (even though I took my sleep mask off to look). And he thought I was doing something, so he kept looking over at me, but I was laying still, trying to go back to sleep. My husband said he was too scared to move. He said the "bouncing" would slow down when he opened his eyes, and become stronger when he closed his eyes. My husband said he wanted "the little girl" to visit again so he could try to figure out what it really was. I said, "A ghost! What other explanation could there be?!" He said he didn't know. Now, my husband believes in ghosts (l think)! 🤔 We only experienced that on our first night, The other three nights were uneventful. Our last night in Savannah, we were going to go on a haunted house tour, but figured we'd already experienced a ghost up close and personal. So, rather than do a haunted tour, we went to the Savannah Theater and saw "Jersey Boys" instead!

Anyway, we highly recommend Eliza Thompson House!! It's a wonderful adults-only bed and breakfast (where kids might come out to play on...

The Good: Wonderful, accommodating staff, great location, very nice courtyard, and lovely parlor/common space.

The Not So Good: The Lindsey Room The first thing to jump out at me when viewing the photographs of the Lindsey Room were the fresh, bright and vibrant colors. The two large windows suggested that there would be plenty of natural light. Reality, I discovered, was quite different. As it turned out the walls were a dull tan, making the room look dark and dreary. The “view” from the two large windows, five feet away, was that of a cinder block wall, upon which two paintings were hung. Confused, I went back on the Eliza Thompson website and took a second, closer look at the pictures. Very faintly visible outside the right side window was, in fact, a cinder block wall. The splash of blurry color outside of the left side window looked like trees or flowers, but wasn’t. There was no hint of a cinder block wall in that photograph and no mention of it. Photoshopped? I think so. What can be done to improve this room? A fresh paint job and better lighting would help a lot. Moving onto the bathroom. I completely understand, of course, that the bathroom can’t be made larger, nor can the layout be changed. But there are simple things that can be done to make for a better guest experience. First, put a towel rack opposite the shower so that you don’t have to walk to the opposite side of the bathroom, dripping wet, to get a towel. Second, replace the shower head--it’s funky. Third, the bathroom floor tiles desperately need to be replaced, or at least re-grouted, as the grout is crumbling.

The Bad: Breakfast Over the years, I’ve been to dozens upon dozens of B&Bs throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, San Diego, Scottsdale, and Seattle and never have I experienced as low-quality food as I have here. Let me give you an example of one such meal. Despite two prior breakfasts that were well below par, the “Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries,” which I love, held out hope. Hope was soon dashed. The pancake, not pancakes, was drenched with a slick of cloyingly sweet goo, surrounding a few thawed blueberries. Contrast this with what ought to have been: a couple of pancakes in which one could actually identity the presence of ricotta, FRESH blueberries, QUALITY butter, and REAL maple syrup. For a few dollars more you could actually please your guests. Additionally, it was obvious to me that the contents in the fruit cup had been cut many days prior, as the melon was verging on spoiled. One morning of our stay we ordered scrambled eggs which were actually well prepared, even quite good. This leads me to believe that none of the above was the chef’s fault. A chef can cook only with ingredients supplied by management—mostly frozen or packaged, it appeared. There are far better breakfast options within walking distance, especially the Collins Quarter. Stick to the eggs...

Pros: I want to start this review by saying the staff are amazing. Everyone was friendly and exceptionally helpful. The courtyard was awesome and it was very nice to sit and relax after a long day walking through the city. The food was also good, (though somewhat limited) even for a vegetarian. The towels weren't huge, but were nice and thick.

Cons: I'll preface this by saying I have deep cleaned hotel rooms and it was my job to notice the details. With all the positive reviews, I did decide to focus more on the negative here to give folks a realistic view. For a place so expensive, I honestly expect better. If the cost was half what it is, I would not complain about these issues. Our room (139) was adequate. The bed and the overly firm pillows were not the most comfortable and the bedding reeked of bleach, (not great for my sensitive nose). There were many hairs left in the shower and other things could have been cleaner like the glass shelf in the bathroom. The bed frame also squeaky (as if screws needed to be tightened) and it was overall sad looking (see pictures). There was spotty mold on the matting of the picture above the AC (I would expect this on historic art, but not matting that could be replaced). Finally the nob on the night stand popped right off when we tried to open it. I understand this is antique furniture, but these could be easily addressed if the staff were supported by owners.

We also had the fire alarm go off several times from an oven fire on our last morning around 7:30. Apparently there was bacon grease burning, but the employees obviously knew what was happening, and how to handle it (as if it this was not the first time this had happened). Their oven was far older than I would expect, and not industrial. Another way owners could support their amazing staff.

I would also expect a short guide in the room about the bed and breakfast, especially with a list of channels in the room. That said, my parents room did have this, so maybe it was just missing in my room.

I would recommend scheduling 1-2 hrs in each room every month deep cleaning rooms, including a maintenance person using a check list to ensure everything is in...