Savannah, Georgia

These notes aim to provide guidance for handicapped, disabled or wheelchair users who travel to Savannah, Georgia. These informal notes are from a trip I took there with my wife.

Savannah
Savannah is a beautiful and gentile town in Northern Georgia. Many of the original colonial homes still exist in the 2 mile square city center, giving Savannah the reputation for the most beautiful town center in the US.

We arrived by car – a short detour off I-95.

The pavements are old, many are cobbled, and there are trees and other barriers frequently blocking the way. Very few junctions have dished curbs. Wheeling around is a challenge and you have to keep a weather eye on the pavement to avoid being pitched out of your chair by an errant stone. Because many of the buildings are old, access is not guaranteed. You need to call ahead for most places to check.

A word of warning – the waterfront is down several very steep cobbled streets many with steps. If you want to get there, go to the Hyatt hotel and take the elevator down to the waterfront level. Any other route will put you in hospital.

The chamber of commerce run tourist office in Savannah seems to be dedicated to discouraging tourists rather than the opposite. Access is awkward – you need to enter from the car park and then take an open lift up a series of steps. Don’t bother though, because the staff know absolutely nothing about access in the city and care even less. We inquired about accessible tours and were told to call each operator to find out. Well, yes of course, we could do that but I thought the point of a tourist information centre was to provide a central source of information for tourists. However, the staff was disinterested and discourteous so we gave up.

Things to do
The town center is beautiful, and the best way to see it is be walking (wheeling). You can hire experienced guides to walk with you, but the weather was so hot when we were there that walking was not really a comfortable option.

Trolley Tours
There are a few different companies offering trolley tours. Our experience with these companies was less than ideal.

Old Savannah tours have no accessible trolleys. Forget it.

Grayline Tours claim to have one accessible trolley but, unfortunately, it was out of service for repair on the day we wanted to do the tour. I was somewhat suspicious - I wonder when it was last in service.

Old Town Trolley tours claim to have one accessible trolley, but amazingly it was also out of commission on the day we were there. Excuse me for my cynicism, but that two companies just happen to have their only accessible trolley out of action on the day we wanted it beggars belief.

Oglethorpe Tours (http://www.oglethorpetours.com) are the smallest and most recent company. They have very few trolleys, but one of these is accessible. Unfortunately, on the day we wanted to go (I’m not making this up) that trolley was rented by a private company for the full day. However, Adam (one of the owners) was extremely apologetic and did pull out all the stops and we got our tour at the end of the day when the trolley was returned. The tour was excellent and the company deserves to be successful for their efforts to make this customer happy. Ignore the others, go for the Oglethorpe Tour.

Boat Tours
A couple of companies offer boat trips on the Savannah river. The River Street Riverboat Co. boats (departures from River St. directly behind City Hall – (912) 232-6404) are accessible, although you will be quite restricted on where you can go on board. We took a standard one hour trip and it was a total waste of time and money. Unless you have a particular fascination for looking at modern working docks and ugly cranes give this tour a miss. Dinner time cruises are offered also, and this might be more worthwhile.

Places to Stay
The usual chain hotels are in Savannah, but they cluster near the I-95 and far from the interesting town center. The Hyatt and Marriott are near the waterfront and offer accessible rooms. However, the real heart of Savannah is the old town, and this is peppered with expensive but plush B&Bs. None are accessible by design (due to the age of the buildings) but some have just one step and may be manageable for some.

Joan’s On Jones
17 West Jone’s Street
Savannah
Georgia, 31401
Tel: (912) 234-3863
http://joansonjones.home.comcast.net/

This beautiful building has their “Jones Street suite” which is wheelchair accessible by accident rather than design, and the owners do not claim to be ADA compliant. Nevertheless, we found it perfectly usable and a comfortable and pleasant place to stay. If you want a feel for the old town Savannah you could not do better. It has it’s own separate entrance with a low (2”) threshold. The living room is spacious and leads through double doors into an equally spacious bedroom. The old fashioned four poster bed is very comfortable, but very high. The mattress is about four feet off the ground. I am a T4 paraplegic with good upper body strength but it still took all my ingenuity and strength to get myself into the bed unassisted. If the bed defeats you, there is a sofa bed in the living room that might work. From the living room there is a small kitchenette (1” step) with a fridge and microwave and so on. This leads to a generously proportioned bathroom with an inward opening 28” door. There is a bath with a fixed shower head. The toilet bowl is a little lower than even a standard toilet. There are no grab rails.

The B&B is located a little bit away from the main shopping and restaurant areas, in quiet and beautifully tree lined Jones St. Note that they do not accept credit cards – check or cash only please.

Places to Eat
Alligator Soul
114 Bernard St.
Savannah, GA, 31401
http://www.alligatorsoul.com/

Access to this experimental southern style restaurant looks unpromising at first since it is set in a basement. However, if you call them from the street (or have a walkie you can send down the steps) they will come up and let you into the office building in whose basement they live, and let you down via an elevator. It’s definitely worth the effort! The food is a mix of traditional and modern Southern dishes with unusual twists, and a superb wine list. We had possibly the best meal we’ve had in the USA – an epic culinary experience. Not cheap but worth it.