Savannah has several haunted hotels that are worth booking even if you never hear a mysterious footstep. For the strongest all-around combination of documented history, location, and paranormal reputation, The Marshall House is our top choice. Travelers who specifically want to book a room known for ghost reports should look at Room 204 at 17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant.
Couples have two particularly good alternatives. Kehoe House offers an intimate adults-only mansion overlooking Columbia Square, while Eliza Thompson House provides a quieter adults-only stay on Jones Street with a garden courtyard.
Savannah's haunted lodging works because these are real historic hotels and inns first. The ghost stories add another layer, but they should not replace the documented history of the buildings.
Quick Takeaways
- Best overall: The Marshall House
- Best for a haunted-room experience: 17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant
- Best luxury-style romantic stay: Kehoe House
- Best quiet romantic stay: Eliza Thompson House
- Best near River Street and for travelers with dogs: East Bay Inn
- Best for architecture and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fans: Hamilton-Turner Inn
- A reported haunting is not the same thing as documented history, and several famous Savannah ghost stories have weak or disputed historical foundations
1. The Marshall House: Best Haunted Hotel in Savannah Overall
If you are visiting Savannah for the first time and want one haunted hotel that delivers on both history and location, The Marshall House is the easiest recommendation.
Mary Magdalene Marshall opened the hotel in 1851 on Broughton Street. The property documents its use as a hospital during mid-19th-century yellow fever epidemics and as a Union hospital during the final months of the Civil War.
That history gives the hotel's paranormal reputation more context than a single dramatic legend would.
Reported experiences include:
- Children laughing or running in hallways
- Mysterious footsteps and other sounds
- Faucets apparently turning on without explanation
- Apparitions interpreted as wounded or injured soldiers
The soldier reports are frequently connected to the building's Civil War hospital period. The hospital history is documented, but the identity or paranormal nature of any reported figure is not.
The Marshall House is also one of the more practical choices in this guide. Its Broughton Street location puts restaurants, shops, squares, museums, River Street, and many tour routes within walking distance.
The hotel currently offers three suites and 65 guest rooms. It functions as a polished historic boutique hotel rather than a paranormal attraction, making it a good choice for couples, families, history travelers, and ghost-tour fans sharing the same trip.
Choose The Marshall House if:
You want the strongest balance of real history, haunted reputation, walkability, and conventional hotel comfort.
2. 17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant: Best for Booking a Famous Haunted Room
17Hundred90 is the strongest choice for travelers whose Savannah bucket list specifically includes sleeping in a room associated with paranormal reports.
The reason is Room 204.
Unlike many hotels where supposedly haunted room numbers circulate mainly through blogs and social media, 17Hundred90 itself identifies Room 204 as its most haunted room. The property publishes guest journal entries connected to the room and openly incorporates the paranormal reputation into the stay.
Reports associated with Room 204 include objects apparently moving, bed covers being disturbed, unexplained physical sensations, and unusual sounds.
The property traditionally associates the room with Anna, the central figure in its best-known ghost story.
Anna's story should remain in the folklore category. Versions generally describe a young woman who fell in love with a sailor and later died after falling or jumping from an upper floor, but important details vary and a reliable historical identity has not been established.
The inn itself is also easy to misunderstand because of its name. The surviving property should not simply be described as having been built in 1790. Its official history places the main western section between 1821 and 1823, with another section added in 1888.
There are currently 14 rooms, and the main building also contains a restaurant and tavern. That combination makes 17Hundred90 particularly appealing for a one-property evening of dinner, drinks, historical atmosphere, and an overnight stay.
One practical drawback matters: this is an old building with significant stair access. Room 204 requires climbing two flights, and the property does not have an elevator.
Choose 17Hundred90 if:
The haunted room itself is a major reason for your trip and stairs are not a concern.
3. Kehoe House: Best Haunted Savannah Stay for Couples
Kehoe House is one of Savannah's most visually distinctive historic inns and one of its strongest romantic haunted stays.
William and Anne Kehoe moved into the completed mansion with their children in 1892. William Kehoe had become a successful iron founder, and the house displays elaborate cast-iron architectural elements closely tied to that business.
Today the mansion operates as a small adults-only bed and breakfast on Columbia Square.
Its paranormal reputation centers heavily on reports involving children. Guests have described hearing children running or playing in hallways and, in some accounts, waking after feeling what seemed like the touch of a small child.
The property also discusses apparitions interpreted as William and Anne Kehoe, particularly around Room 201 and the cupola.
One famous story requires a warning.
Savannah folklore has repeatedly claimed that two Kehoe children died in the house, with one version saying they became trapped in a chimney. That claim has been publicly described by Visit Savannah as unsubstantiated or debunked.
The ghost reports are still part of the inn's modern identity. The supposed child deaths should not be used as the historical explanation for them.
For travelers, Kehoe House's appeal goes well beyond ghosts. Its small number of rooms, historic architecture, Columbia Square setting, breakfast, evening reception, and adults-only environment give it a much more intimate feel than a conventional downtown hotel.
Choose Kehoe House if:
You want a romantic historic mansion with a strong haunted reputation and prefer an adults-only atmosphere.
4. Eliza Thompson House: Best for a Quieter Romantic Haunted Stay
Eliza Thompson House is the better fit for couples who like Savannah's paranormal reputation but do not want it dominating the entire hotel experience.
Joseph Thompson built the original Jones Street home for his wife, Eliza, and their family in 1847. The house was later expanded, and identifiable parts of the historic domestic layout remain incorporated into the modern inn.
Today there are 25 rooms between the historic Main House and an adjacent Carriage House.
The landscaped courtyard is one of the biggest differences between Eliza Thompson House and the other properties on this list. Brick paths, greenery, a fountain, and a koi pond give the property a secluded atmosphere despite its central Historic District location.
Its paranormal stories are more understated.
Guests and local storytellers have described:
- A young girl in a white dress
- Soft laughter or childlike sounds in hallways
- A soldier-like figure standing at an upstairs window
The house's history overlaps with the Civil War era, but the property does not establish the reported soldier as a particular historical person.
Likewise, the fact that the Thompson family raised children in the home does not prove the identity of the reported girl.
Eliza Thompson House is currently adults-only for standard stays. That, combined with Jones Street, the courtyard, breakfast, and evening reception, makes it particularly well suited to anniversaries and couples' weekends.
Choose Eliza Thompson House if:
You want romance, historic atmosphere, and a quieter ghost-story layer rather than the most intense haunted-hotel reputation in Savannah.
5. East Bay Inn: Best Haunted Hotel Near River Street
East Bay Inn fills a useful niche that the other haunted hotels do not.
The property sits on East Bay Street just one block from River Street, making it particularly convenient for travelers who expect to spend significant time around Savannah's riverfront.
The building dates to 1852 and originally served the commercial activity of Savannah's waterfront district. Today it operates as a historic boutique hotel with elevator access and a mixture of traditional rooms and suites.
East Bay Inn's resident ghost story centers on a figure the staff calls Charlie.
The inn describes Charlie as a friendly or mischievous presence. Reports attributed to him include footsteps on upper floors, flickering lights, doors behaving strangely, and objects apparently moving.
The story that Charlie was a young man who died after falling from an upper window is part of the property's folklore. It should not be treated as a documented death without stronger historical evidence.
East Bay Inn is also the standout option in this guide for people traveling with dogs. The hotel currently offers designated pet-friendly rooms and openly welcomes canine guests.
That combination is unusually useful. Haunted hotels are easy to find in Savannah; haunted historic hotels near River Street that also accommodate dogs are a much narrower category.
Choose East Bay Inn if:
River Street access or bringing your dog matters as much as the paranormal reputation.
6. Hamilton-Turner Inn: Best for Architecture and Literary Savannah
Hamilton-Turner Inn belongs on this list even though its haunted reputation is less room-specific than 17Hundred90's.
Samuel Pugh Hamilton built the mansion on Lafayette Square in 1873. The house later became notable for its early adoption of electricity and survived the great Savannah fire of 1898.
It also became connected with the cultural world surrounding Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Joe Odom, who appears in John Berendt's book, once managed the property and was known for the parties held there.
Today Hamilton-Turner Inn has 17 individually designed rooms.
Its best-known paranormal stories include the sound of billiard balls apparently rolling on upper floors or stairs and a mysterious cigar-smoking man reportedly seen around the roof.
Stories of childlike sounds are also associated with the mansion.
As elsewhere in Savannah, those accounts are traditions and reported experiences rather than proof that the building contains supernatural occupants.
Hamilton-Turner's strongest reason for inclusion is the whole package: Lafayette Square, grand architecture, literary associations, and longstanding ghost lore all reinforce one another.
Choose Hamilton-Turner Inn if:
You care as much about architecture, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Savannah atmosphere as you do about ghosts.
Which Savannah Haunted Hotel Should You Actually Book?
There is no single best choice for every traveler.
For a first Savannah trip, book The Marshall House. Its historical record, central location, and paranormal reputation give you the broadest introduction to haunted Savannah without requiring you to build the whole trip around ghosts.
For the strongest haunted-room experience, choose 17Hundred90 and try to reserve Room 204. It is the clearest case in this group where the property itself identifies a specific room around its paranormal reputation.
For a romantic adults-only trip, the decision is between Kehoe House and Eliza Thompson House.
Choose Kehoe House for ornate architecture, Columbia Square, and a somewhat stronger paranormal identity. Choose Eliza Thompson House for Jones Street, its garden courtyard, and a quieter overall stay.
Choose East Bay Inn when River Street proximity or dog-friendly lodging is important.
Choose Hamilton-Turner Inn when your version of Savannah includes Lafayette Square, grand residential architecture, and the world of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
How We Judge a Haunted Hotel
A hotel does not make this list simply because someone online called it haunted.
We look first for a property with meaningful documented history that travelers can actually book. Then we examine whether the paranormal reputation can be traced to the property, a reputable tourism source, recurring guest reports, or a well-established body of local folklore.
Those categories are not interchangeable.
Documented history includes things like construction dates, ownership, hospital use, architectural changes, and known historical events.
Reported paranormal experiences describe what guests, staff members, or visitors say they experienced. A report can be accurately documented as a report without proving that its explanation is supernatural.
Folklore includes stories that have become part of a property's identity but cannot be firmly established through the historical record.
That distinction matters in Savannah because some famous ghost stories are much easier to repeat than to verify.
Do You Need to Believe in Ghosts to Enjoy These Hotels?
Not at all.
In fact, the strongest properties on this list are interesting precisely because their histories survive without the ghost stories.
The Marshall House would still be significant because of its 1851 opening and hospital history. Kehoe House would still be an exceptional 1892 mansion filled with cast-iron architectural detail.
Eliza Thompson House would remain a historic Jones Street home with a peaceful courtyard. Hamilton-Turner would still be a landmark mansion on Lafayette Square.
The paranormal tradition changes how some travelers experience these buildings, but it should not be the only reason the buildings matter.
That is the sweet spot for a haunted trip to Savannah: stay somewhere where the history is real, then decide for yourself what you make of the stories told after dark.