Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah

Lou Martin
27
Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's birthday was freakin' epic!!!!!  She had the best birthday ever, even though we had some hiccups along the way.

Last weekend, I was supposed to go to Bloggy Bootcamp that was here in Atlanta, but I no longer had the childcare (grandma) since she was out of town taking care of her mother.  

Lauren's birthday was on Sunday and the girls didn't have school that coming Monday, so what were we to do with our time?  ROAD TRIP!

We are a family that loves to travel if you notice from my Instagram photos.  We are very spare of the moment type of family who do things at the very last minute.

Lauren was delighted to go to Savannah since this would be all of us first time going, plus hearing that a beach was nearby was a definite sure thing for her.

Saturday, I hopped on my favorite travel website Priceline to do an express deal for a hotel that evening.  Nothing good was really left since we waited until the last minute.  I see there was a 3 star hotel that was available and it was near Savannah's River Street.  With my fingers and toes crossed, I chosen that 3 star deal and it revealed after I paid that my family and I would be staying at the Holiday Inn.

I actually didn't really mind staying there but while reading recent reviews I seen people complaining that the hotel is in the middle of being renovated and a lot of noise is going on which made their stay unpleasant.  With doing an Express Deal on Priceline you can't get your money back so I was pretty much out of luck.

10 mins after I booked my hotel my phone rang, and it was a Priceline associate to give me bad news.  The associate inform me that Holiday Inn was overbooked and I had a couple of options, either cancel my trip and get my money back, or find a new hotel on their website and they'll give me 1 night free.  I chose the 1 night free option.

Like I said before, there wasn't much of a good selection of hotels to choose from.  I see some 4 to almost 5 star hotels available and those were quickly getting booked by other people during my search.  The Priceline associate gave me a choice to find whatever hotel I wanted due to the inconvenience.  I asked him," anything?"  He told me yes.  So you know I'm going to find the best hotel that is available.  I had a couple of options; choose The Mansion Hotel, or The Brice Hotel.  I'm not really into Victorian style decor so I chose The Brice Hotel, which is a 4 star hotel just a block away from the river.

Thank goodness I didn't have to pay The Brice Hotel price because it was like almost $500 a night and I was only paying less than $200 since Priceline gave me a free night and was going off of the Express Deal price I got.

After dealing with hotel issues and got that resolved, I started packing the girls and I stuff and waited until Mr. M arrived home after work so we all could hit the road together.

We didn't leave for Savannah until 11:30pm and arrived there after 4:30am.  Once we got to the hotel, the person at the front desk had a bit of bad news for us, our room only had 1 King size bed- even though we requested for a King and sofa bed, and the toilet in our room doesn't work and someone wouldn't be able to come and fix it until later on that morning.  That room was the last room available so we had no choice but to stay there.  We were all exhausted and ready to watch our eyelids, so we used the lobby restroom and then bellhop showed us to our room.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

The Bellhop treated us to two bottles of wine for our troubles and made sure we were settled down in our room.  I must say, customer service at The Brice is superb!  They really make sure you have a nice stay in their hotel.

Once all bags were in our room, my whole family and I crammed in the bed and quickly went to sleep. We slept for hours not realizing it was almost close to the afternoon when we all woken up.  We had to rush to get dress because we thought someone was going to come into our room to fix our toilet.

When we were all dressed, wish Lauren a happy birthday, we went to front desk to speak with the manger to see if we could get a new room.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

The manager was very apologetic for the broken toilet but I assured her that we were not mad about it and no worries.  She offered us to move to another room or stay in our room and we can get the attach suite next door.  Without hesitation I said yes.  She even said she was giving us the rooms free too- another free night!  SCORE!  Now I basically didn't pay anything for my hotel stay.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com
Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

When I got the key to our next door suite that connects to my King bed room, I was in total awe!  I felt like I hit the big time.  So this is how the big timers live it up on their vacations. We had a living room, dining room, vanity room, huge bathroom.  Our suite was the sh**!!!!!!!  I loved the sophisticated contemporary decor with a hint of southern charm.  This hotel is absolutely gorgeous!  I couldn't have asked to stay in better hotel.  I didn't want to leave!

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

When we finished drooling over our beautiful suite, we headed to the River Street to see what good ol' Savannah had to offer.  I love the historic style buildings and the cobblestone streets; Savannah really has a lot of southern appeal.  There is so much history in Savannah and so much to see, there was no way we would be able to see it in 2 days.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com
Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com
We were hungry and thought we should all try Paula Deen's restaurant.  When people were walking out the restaurant we asked for their opinion of the food and they told us it was average.  We walked in to see how the food looked and were a bit disappointed because it looked like the buffet style food has been just sitting there for hours.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

We gave Paula Deen the pass and walked to another restaurant that one of the locals on the streets told us that was good which was a place called Tubby's.  Tubby's offers seafood and American dishes for a inexpensive price.  We selected to go there and I'm glad we did.  Food was good and flavorful.  We opted to sit outside while enjoying our meals to overlook the river and people watch.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

After we finished our meals, we walked up and down the River Street, browsed a few stores, and the decided to drive to Tybee Island to see what they had there since it was just a 20 minute drive.


Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.comLauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com
Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com


We cruised through Tybee Island and then busted a U-turn back to Savannah.  It was getting late and I see a ghost tour trolley that I wanted to get on and with it being night time what better time than to go on one.  We got on the Ghosts & Gravestones tour and the trolley took us around town and our tour guide discussed about all the murders that happened in Savannah- yikes!  We gotten to a haunted warehouse that we all had to get off the trolley and walk into but my girls freaked out and started balling crying, so the girls and I had to remain on the trolley while Mr. M and the other people walked in.  After they were inside the haunted warehouse for 10 mins, they all walked out and piled onto the trolley and the trolley proceeded with the tour.  We arrived to another location that we had to get off again and I made the girls go in this time.  The whole time they covered their ears and eyes but at least they weren't crying.  Once the tour concluded, we headed back to our hotel.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Next morning which is now Monday, we checked out of our hotel (noooooo!!!!!), and then to a restaurant that valet told Mr. M about called The Wilkes House ( a home that serves southern style food).  When we got there the line was around the block!  I did not want to stand in that long line but Mr. M insisted on going there.  The girls and I got tired of standing and the girls started crying and complaining.  A sweet group of ladies in front of us started talking with the girls and entertained them.  I'm so happy that they did that because the girls started to drive me insane!

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

After standing in line for over 2 hours, yes 2 hours, we were seated at a table with other people surrounded by bowls of southern style platters of fried chicken, sweet potatoes, biscuits, okra gumbo, mash potatoes, black eye peas, and so much more.  We were all passing around food like it was Sunday family dinner at your grandmother's house.  Now, was the food worth the wait?  I didn't think so since I don't like southern style foods- yes I'm strange.  But Mr. M said it was well worth the wait and my girls loved the food also.

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

We still had a few hours left before we needed to get back home to Atlanta and we decided to conclude our trip at Tybee Island beach.  My girls loves playing in water, especially the beach so this was the best last stop of our trip.  The beach was beautiful, white sandy beach, people taking engagement photos under the pier, kids building sand castles, and sail boats sailing by. 

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com
Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com

Lauren's Birthday and Road Trip to Savannah #ExploreGeorgia via www.productreviewmom.com


Although our trip was very short, we had a great time and I cherish these moments with my family.  I can't wait to hit the road again next month and also in December.  Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to see more adventures I take with my family.  We are a family that is always on-the-go!


I would also like to give thanks to Priceline and The Brice Hotel for their wonderful customer service, I highly recommend you all to book your trips with them. 




Do you like to take quick getaways with your family?



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27 Comments
  1. What an amazing trip!! Your hotel story turned out awesome, that suite was simply STUNNING!!! I have always wanted to go to Savannah and Tybee and you are making me want to pack my bags right now and GO!!

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    1. Pack your bags Ricci! You need to go to Savannah, it's a great place to visit!

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  2. Even with all the hotel mishaps, it looks like you had a fantastic time. Savannah is on my list of places to visit, but I haven't made it that far south yet. Hopefully someday soon. :)

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    1. Yeah my vacation turned out to be great! You should definitely go to Savannah some day Andrea.

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  3. Sounds like you had an amazing trip, even with a few snafus. I've never visited Savannah, but it's on my list! I absolutely love to travel!!!

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    1. Yes Paris, add Savannah on your travel list.

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  4. You guys hit the jackpot pot on this vacation. Free nights, 3-star prices for a 5-star room, adjoining suite...all I can say is Wow. I've always wanted to go to Savannah. It looks like a really laidback vacation town. I'm glad you guys had a great time.

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    Replies
    1. I just couldn't believe it Sonya! Being able to get a expensive hotel like that for free is amazing!

      Savannah is a very laid back town with a lot southern hospitality, you should take a trip there.

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  5. What a hotel and what a trip! I have always wanted to visit Savannah but have not made it yet.

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    Replies
    1. The trip was definitely amazing! Something to remember forever.

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  6. oh, what a wonderful birthday adventure and your pictures are super duper awesome! The food...I am so hungry now, but my salad pales to what you guys had!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks sis! I've been working hard trying to learn to take great photos with my camera, I'm happy you like them!

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  7. Even with the mishaps it seemed like Lauren enjoyed her birthday, which was a good thing. I bet the hotel and Priceline are glad that they provided you with a great experience, if they have seen your post. The hotel sure did hook you up. I am a little jealous you all could wear dresses and shorts still though, it is freezing up here. By the way, wonderful photos.

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    1. I'm unsure if they'll see this post Victoria but ExploreGeorgia.com did which is great and I'm hoping to be able to work with them in the future to help showcase different tourist places in Georgia.

      Savannah was about 85 degrees out there but here in Atlanta right now it is in the 60s. Thank you about my photos, I'm really trying to learn to take more professional looking photos with my new camera.

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  8. Happy bday to your princess! So glad y'all were able to enjoy a weekend getaway!

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  9. What a fun trip! Happy Birthday, Lauren :)
    I would have to agree that you made the right choice in skipping Paula Deen's. We tried it during its heyday, and it was mediocre. A few years later, we were there again for a private party, and it was even worse.

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    Replies
    1. Wow now that's bad Jeanae! I'm glad we didn't waste our money.

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  10. I adore Savannah. Next time you must go to the Olde Pink House. It's a must!! I love tubbys and actually, Paula Deen's was pretty good. I can't wait to go back!! I was so exited to see your review of the hotel. I really wish my stay was free though, ha!!

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    Replies
    1. I never heard of Olde Pink House, I'll need to look it up. You're going to love this hotel girl! I didn't get a chance to really sit down and enjoy it since our trip was short. The restaurant was packed with guest so the food there must be really good. I'm looking forward to when you go to see what you think of the hotel.

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  11. This sounds like the perfect birthday weekend! You really got an awesome deal on that hotel room! She looks like she had a blast. I love all those sweet treats. Yum! That's crazy that you don't like Southern style foods. That's my favorite!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I'm weird huh? I mainly don't like fried foods so I'll eat all the rest as long as it is not fried and filled with butter and grease.

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  12. Anonymous11:05 AM

    I hope your daughter enjoyed her bday! I'm fawning over these hotel photos, I'm an architecture & interiors junkie *insert heart eyes emoji*. Savannah is perfect for that, too! I need to check out that hotel when I go back =)

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    Replies
    1. Yes there is plenty of architecture and interior designs to go gaga over in Savannah. Such a beautiful city with picture prefect views!

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  13. Beautiful family pics. Hubby and I enjoy Savannah and even though I do not swim we always go to the beach. Thank you for sharing. That Tubby's restaurant is one we will HAVE to try next time we are down there.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I'm not a swimmer either so I just like to stick my feet in the water or just sit down on the sand.

      Yes you should try Tubby's the food there is very good!

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  14. Looks like you all had a great time and the hotel looks lovely! Glad Lauren enjoyed her birthday!

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    Replies
    1. Yep we all had a great time! I'm glad we decided to go to Savannah to celebrate Lauren's birthday.

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