The Gastonian

Two 1868 Italianate townhouses connected by a brick-walled garden, in Savannah's Forsyth Park district. Seventeen rooms across the two houses, full hot breakfast, afternoon wine reception, and turndown service that includes tea. The Gastonian is the small-luxury answer to Savannah — the alternative to the Marshall House's downtown commercial-district location.

Walk five minutes north for the squares, five minutes south for Forsyth's fountain. The hosts have run it as a small inn since the 1980s.

The setting

The inn is on East Gaston Street, between Forsyth Park and Lafayette Square. Forsyth Park's iconic white fountain is two blocks south. The squares of the historic district begin one block north and continue all the way to the riverfront. SCAD's campus buildings dot the neighborhood. The walk to River Street is fifteen minutes; to Broughton Street's restaurants, ten.

Savannah's residential historic district is one of the better-preserved in America, and East Gaston is a particularly intact stretch.

The building

Two 1868 Italianate townhouses — symmetrical brick facades, deeply bracketed cornices, tall first-floor windows, ornamental ironwork. The interior keeps original heart-pine floors, marble fireplaces in many rooms, twelve-foot ceilings, and the original staircases. The two houses connect via a brick-walled garden with a fountain. Public rooms include parlors in each house, the breakfast room, and the garden. Brass, velvet, oak, and period wallpaper. The pet artifact is restrained heritage rather than aggressively staged.

The rooms

Seventeen rooms across the two townhouses. Most have working fireplaces; many have four-poster beds, claw-foot tubs, or both. Categories include classic rooms, junior suites, and the carriage-house suite. From-rates open around $395 in season, including a full breakfast and the evening wine hour. Bathrooms are tile or marble.

Food & drink

There's no restaurant. A full hot Southern breakfast is served daily — eggs, grits, biscuits, fruit. An afternoon wine-and-cheese reception is set out in the parlor. For dinner you walk five to ten minutes to The Grey, Husk Savannah, Common Thread, or Elizabeth on 37th. The hosts will book.

On the property

The brick-walled garden between the two houses, with a fountain — the actual outdoor living room of the property. The two parlors. There's no pool, no spa, no gym in the resort sense. Bicycles to borrow.

• Full hot breakfast included
• Afternoon wine and cheese
• Walled garden with fountain
• Bicycles to borrow
• Walking distance to Forsyth Park, the squares, Broughton Street
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples who'd rather a small inn on a quiet street than a downtown hotel
• Architecture readers who'll appreciate the Italianate detail
• Travelers who liked Charleston's small B&Bs and want the Savannah equivalent
• Anyone who'd rather a fountain garden than a parking lot view

Who it's not for

• Families with young kids — the inn is configured for couples and adults
• Travelers who need a pool, gym, or full restaurant on-site
• Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)

Nearby

Forsyth Park is two blocks south for the fountain, the cafe, and the farmers' market on Saturdays. Mercer-Williams House (the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil house) is on the next square south. The Telfair Academy and Owens-Thomas House are ten minutes' walk. For dinner: The Grey on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Husk on East Bay, Elizabeth on 37th, and Common Thread on Bull Street. Bonaventure Cemetery is fifteen minutes by car. Tybee Island is twenty-five minutes east.