I lived in Savannah from 1972 to '73 while I was in the Army and then again from 1982 to 1988 when I was a business owner. It was a fun town, the cobblestone street at the waterfront is called 'River Street'. The Savannah River is on one side of River Street and the other side there are 4 story buildings that are set into the hillside. They were cotton warehouses in the 1800's. They have all be refurnished and the top floor face away from the water and are on 'Bay Street' and are filled with offices such as lawyers, insurance companies, ship operators, etc. The basement floor face the river and have mostly bars, restaurants and gift shops. When I got out of the Army, my first job was as a switchman with Southern Railroad. We would sometimes bring trains right now the middle of River St. and if a car was parked on the tracks we would have to go into the bars to find the owner. It looks like this.
If I were going, I would stay at the Hyatt Regency. It's right on River Street with the entrance on Bay Street. Savannah is much like New Orleans. It's historic but don't forget there are criminals who prey on tourist. When I was younger I would travel all over downtown Savannah by myself at night. Here's a photo of the hotel, it's about $150 to $200 per night, but it's very nice. That's the Talmadge Bridge in the background. It will take you to South Carolina and Hilton Head is not far. There is also an island in the middle of the Savannah River that has a golf course and a big resort. When I lived there it wasn't even developed yet.
Savannah has the biggest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the south, they say only Boston is bigger. They'll be 300,000 people in that River St/Bay St area on that day, and Savannah only has a population of about 150,000. It's neat to be there at least once for that, a lot of green beer will be flowing and a nice parade. I remember being in the Hilton Hotel once on St. Patrick's Day and ran into a bunch of actors who were in town filming a movie. I would say Savannah is my second favorite town only to Pensacola. I had lived in Pensacola from 1976 to 1982 and that's my favorite town.