Mansion on Forsyth Park

So sad to be writing this review.. We'd such high expectations based on the lovely exchanges prior to arrival ..Plus the fabulous photographs of the hotel.. Firstly, we arrived in the evening exhausted after a 12hr train journey from Miami.. We were met by an indifferent receptionist who hardly made eye contact, zero welcome, zero info re hotel.. we'd to ask re location/hours of pool & restaurant. Zero info re local attractions. My husband asked if he could please have a coffee.. Answer was No!!!... Not, no sorry.. No explanation just No! We'd paid top dollar for a 5 star hotel and couldn't get a coffee at 8pm?!!... The receptionist then watched us struggle with 2 huge cases, 1 medium case and 2 carry bags {Savannah was the final stop on a lengthy vacation}.. No offer of assistance.. Unfortunately this set the tone for our whole experience of service at the Bardo. Our hopes were raised when we seen our beautiful room and lovely message re our anniversary Plus bottle of wine.. Sadly our initial poor service experience continued throughout our stay.. Reception staff with the exception of one girl{dark curly hair & spectacles} never once raised their heads nevermind greeted us as we came and went .. No member of the team greeted us at all ..I mean not once. Housekeeping staff did a terrific job, our room was perfectly looked after during our stay....and the door men {they were all men, well mostly very young men) were warmer, smiled and said hello ..although if there was a better offer i.e. younger woman leaving or entering at the same time as me I was very obviously ignored by the young men in favour of the younger women..In fact on one occasion I rolled my eyes and laughed in disbelief as one young door man actually let the door shut in my face as he ran sniffling after a young good looking guest.. The older door man seen it happen, shrugged his shoulders and laughed.. I asked the receptionist to make us a reservation in the restaurant next door{within the same building}... She wasn't able..I was informed that I could go to my room, call her from my room and she would transfer me to the restaurant(What?!!!).. Anyway, I did what she instructed however the restaurant don't answer, you can only make reservations online.. Surely the receptionist should know this.. There is definitely some guests treated better than others..we witnessed this and suspect it's regulars or club members.. you can imagine never getting as much as a hello then seeing other guests being politely greeted with warmth.. This resulted in my husband and I feeling like second class citizens on the final days of our vacation.. It was topped off by the worst checkout I think I've ever had.. The male receptionist was on a call when I approached the desk so I politely stood back. I distinctly heard him be so friendly and polite on the call, so I thought, finally someone with manners and professionalism... Nah, that apparently was only reserved for the lady on the call.... After he ended the call he kept his head down..footering around with stuff on the desk. I knew my husband was out front{having manhandled all our luggage} calling an Uber so I'm eager to checkout}...I cleared my throat, the guy knew I'd now been there for a good 10mins .. Finally I asked can I check out please... The reply, 'room number'... No, certainly how was your stay etc.. Just 'room number'... I replied 223.. That's you was the response...????!!!!!.. I asked for a receipt.. One was grudgingly provided..I said.. Can I have an envelope please.. It was basically thrown at me.. I told him he was rude.. He just blankly stared at me. Horrible experience. I mean these are absolute basics.. We stayed in 6 hotels during this trip... All were top notch, the best things about each one was the terrific staff. Every single one of the other hotel staff knew we were Scottish.. Why?.. Because the staff made conversation, they were friendly, good natured, mannerly and interested... The staff at the Bardo couldn't care less. I'm so sad to be writing this{doing it before I write the good reviews}... Just such a pity because it was our final destination in the States As I've indicated..the hotel is stunning... Our room was absolutely beautiful and decorated to an extremely high standard with great attention to detail, it also had a fabulous view of Forsyth Park.. The pool area and gardens are a delight.. In fact the whole ambience of the Bardo is fabulous... This made the abominable service seem all the more odd.. luxurious 5* bedroom/hotel/pool v's 1* hellish poor service. It doesn't matter how fabulous the location if you don't ensure your staff are at the very least friendly and mannerly. .. I must stress that I do not want grovelling, just friendly interested staff and that is not a big ask when you're traveling thousands of miles, spending a lot on a vacation.... It's not a big ask if you're doing a staycation either.. It's just basics and I'm afraid the staff at the Bardo do not have the basics. I thoroughly recommend Savannah, the folks are warm friendly and the city is stunning!!! In fact from Washington DC to Salem, from Boston to Miami .. Everywhere the folks were super friendly... The hotels were just fabulous...We had the best adventure!!! However, sadly I cannot recommend the Bardo.. Staff are very young, inexperienced and in dire need of basic training in good manners.

Perfect location, very walkable )great park on front of the property) great pool, food delicious, modern rooms, all very well cleaned.

Noisy (cars, club (music), events etc.), unexpected, and untimely closures of facilities and amenities due to a wedding. The wedding took precedence, and all other guests were basically ignored. Staff, for the most part, were rude and impertinent. When the reservation was made, I requested a high floor, not next to the elevator or ice machine - guess where they put us - next to the elevator and ice machine/coffee station. The rooms are tired, poorly serviced, overpriced, and overrated. Disappointing, but a great location.

Hotel Bardo is truly something special in Savannah - close enough to the hustle and bustle but far enough to be its own little oasis! The service was wonderful, the staff was great and the food was immaculate. I would highly recommend Hotel Bardo and look forward to visiting again soon!

The staff is amazing, hospitable and kind! We had one small issue with our room a/c but the staff was quick to help us find a solution, and when the a/c could not be fixed, they helped accommodate us to another room. The next day, the manager himself personally called to check in, and then followed up again with us in person. The hotel is beautiful, clean and perfectly Savannah!