The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 30

LIVING C4 Wednesday, Nov. 24. 1999 The Atlanta Journal -Constitution, GctCLWCLyi Quick trips and good deals pi A II Aire Hairs PSIBT) I 1 BUDGET UPDATE CLAKA B0S0NETT0 If price is no P. (. ft rta ifis issue, fly off for T-Day Getting there: From Atlanta, take 1-75 south to I-1 6.

Travel east on 1-16 into downtown Savannah. It's about a four-hour drive. Or fly Delta or AirTran for $39 each way with a 1 4-day advance purchase. The hotel: Marshall House is at 123 E. Broughton Savannah, GA 3 1 402.

Call I -800-589-6304. or visit the Web site at www.marshallhouse From November to February, a standard room, single or double occupancy, is 1 1 1 69; suites are From March to June, rates are 1 for standard rooms and for suites. Savannah information: 1-877-728-2662 or www.savannahvisit.com (Savannah Area Convention and Visitors Bureau). The published airfares for this" holiday season are so expensive that they resemble last year's combined fare for a family. So if you were hoping for a last-minute cheap special to hop home, you're in for a shock.

You can depart tonight, Thanksgiving or Friday and return by Monday at these round-trip rates: $300, St. Louis; $308, Indianapolis; $328, Little Rock; $368, Tulsa, $388, Torontor $392, Dallas; $405, San Antonio; $450, Minneapolis and Ottawa; $453, Portland, Maine; $535, Den ver; $575, Phoenix; and $644, Sarr Francisco. Historic hotel at the center of Savannah street's revival By William Schemmel FOR THE JOURNAL-CONSTTTimON Savannah Joel Chandler Harris slept here. So did Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.

Since last summer, when the Marshall House completed a $10.5 million rejuvenation, hundreds of other guests have slept in the reborn 148-year-old downtown Savannah landmark. The Atlanta-based John Hardy Group has meticulously returned the hotel to the splendor it enjoyed when Mary Marshall, who saw a need for a downtown hotel and built one, greeted her first guests in 1851. An original 1837 oil painting of Marshall the daughter of a French cabinetmaker and real estate speculator in a black dress and lacy bonnet oversees the lobby and front desk, and perhaps other areas of her hotel. Shortly after the August '98 reopening, a young girl told her father she met a lady dressed like Mary in an upstairs hallway. Employees have reported feeling unseen presences.

Mary locks eyes with her husband, Confederate Lt. Col. James Marshall, framed above the adjoining library mantel. Furnished with plush sofas, chairs and tables, some topped with chess sets, the brightly hued library is a natural gathering place. Shoppers, tourists and business associates rendezvous.

Savannah ladies drop by for bridge and afternoon tea. Chadwick's, the two-room, 80-seat jazz bar and lounge, is the newest downtown draw for cool drinks and hot music. Bar patrons sit under a mural of blue sky and trees draped in Spanish moss. A montage of sheet music honors hometown songwriter Johnny Codes: Air Canada, Q0HOLNR; from the hotel," says Samir. "We took a big chance.

There wasn't anything in Savannah like this. We wanted to bring something new and exotic and see how far we could go with it. When we arrived, the chamber of commerce embraced us. We're a way for the city to show it's open to new ideas. Broughton is coming back and changing for the better.

Last year at this time, a lot of the shops and restaurants hadn't opened and there was no Marshall House." The four-story hotel opened in 1851, with lodgings for 135, a dining room, bar, public and private parlors, shops and the carriage turnaround. Joel Chandler Harris lived here four years while work America West, BS14HOLN; American, QR0HOLQN; Conti- 1' nental, VRHOLSIP; Delta, K0HOLSNR; Frontier, WILLIAM SCHEMMEL Special Illuminated by a 30-by-40-foot skylight, Cafe provides guests with the feel of alfresco dining. HRTHANKS; Northwest, HR0HLDN; TWA, VR0HOLNR; United, HR0HOLN; USAirways, HRHOLSN. Online discounts: Each Wednesday, the major airlines 5 I iff v-v ing as a reporter for the Savannah offer their most reduced rates for weekend and special-occasion travel on their Internet sites. By the time you read this, it's possi-' ble that deep discounts will be available to many U.S.

and inter--; Morning News. After the city's peaceful surrender in 1864, Sherman briefly enjoyed the hotel's hospitality. The Union Army used it as a hospital. After Mary Marshall's death in 1877, at age 93, the hotel went steadily downhill. When it closed in 1957, the street floor was divided into retail space.

Upper floors sealed off for more than 40 years became a haven for birds, bats and rodents. In 1998, the John Hardy Group purchased the derelict building for $555,000 and began the Marshall House Furnished with plush sofas, chairs and tables, the library (above) is a natural gathering place. Left, the Marshall House downtown Savannah landmark beckons visitors. million restoration project. While the Marshall House is at the center of Broughton's revival, the street's comeback isn't a done deal.

Trendy new businesses are greatly outnumbered by finance uuc ivi, ui uic carriage turnaround, is illuminated by a 30-by-40-foot skylight. Bare brick and yellow stucco walls, cast-iron furniture, gas-, Jights and green plants give the the outdoorsv ambience of companies, grab-and-run eateries and vacant storefronts. So Soleil, an upscale restaurant financed by uic maiuiu. uiauu.1 a bcicuiaicu i i i i claw-foot bathtubs have been incorporated into the 68 guest rooms and suites. Standard guest rooms compact and functional, like many European hotel rooms have cheerful yellow, blue and green color schemes, with king and queen-size pine and cast-iron beds.

All rooms have private bath, TV, phone, desk and mini-bar. Closet space is limited to a small armoire. Second-floor rooms open onto a streetside veranda with rockers and ceiling fans. Suites have a separate sitting area. Hallways are lessons in the city's 267-year history.

Paintings, photographs and memorabilia, bottles, keys, horseshoes and other artifacts found during the restoration trace milestones from Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe's ton for suburban green pastures. The SCAD and City Lights theaters produce plays and performances in former movie houses. Directly across from the hotel, Casbah Moroccan restaurant is packed with Saturday night patrons. In a former retail space done over like a lavish desert tent, a belly dancer jiggles and jangles, a tarot reader lays out her fortune cards, and people feast on couscous and kebabs.

Making an exotic splash in a medium-size market is what Sami Samir and Red Masid, partners in Virginia-Highland's Casbah, had in mind when they chose Savannah for their second location. "The Marshall House was a definite factor in our decision to move here. We get a lot of groups landing in 1733, through the city's surrender to Sherman, up to the present. The new Marshall House is a flagship and rallying point for the ongoing resurrection of Brough-ton Street. Virtually abandoned the past several decades an ugly scar between the River Street entertainment area and the leafy squares of the historic district the city's former main street is now speckled with a raft of antiques malls and gift shops, upscale apparel shops, two theaters, a tearoom, coffee houses, sushi bars, pan-Asian, Moroccan, Southwestern and Italian restaurants.

Savannah College of Art and Design's new library takes a square block vacated by a department store that deserted Brough- an Atlanta doctor, closed in October, after less than a year. All the same, Broughton's boosters are convinced the street is on a roll. And momentum should quicken when the 400-room Westin Savannah Harbor aniens, uuesis tail iuuk into me open kitchen and watch the cooking team prepare crab cakes, Georgia smoked quail with pecan-black-eyed pea cake, Kansas City sirloin with black mustard-seed bearnaise, and roasted lamb T-bone with Alabama goat cheese and Vidalia onions. High ceilings, heart pine floors, wood and plaster crown moldings, firAnlnppQ an A ptron cnmA nrioinal Hotel and Savannah International Trade Convention Center open next year on Hutchinson Island, across the Savannah River from the historic district. It V.UUUU, Will WtV.A UUIUV W.lgUiU.

1" national cities, but you must search for those deals online. To get an overview of all the last-minute deals offered today, visit Best Fares' Newsdesk at www.bestfares.comtravel centerdesksnewsdesk.asp. By midday you'll see a link that says, "This Week's Major Airline Internet Discounts." You'll find a listing of specially priced destinations from Atlanta complete with booking rules. Airline links will connect you for an online purchase. While shopping for Inter- net rates, keep in mind that dis- -counts would most likely be offered for travel on Thanksgiv- ing, with returns on Friday or Saturday.

Christmas pricing: Will you be heading home for Christmas on a cheap flight? Again, airfares are much higher than in previous years and further discounting isn't expected until Christmas week. Three price levels are offered this year, depending on travel dates. Here's how most air? lines interpret the pricing Off-peak dates are Dec. 16, 25, 31 and Jan. 1 and 5-8.

Standard or medium-price fares are available Dec. 17, 19, 20 and Jan. 4. Peak travel dates are Dec. 18, 21-24, 26-30 and Jan.

2, 3. Here's an example of round- trip fares for each level: Indianapolis; Little Rock; Des Moines, Iowa; Tulsa, Albany, N.Y., and San Antonio; $2685310 $415, Minneapolis; $2785322 $428, Bangor, Maine; $494, Albuquerque, N.M.; Phoenix; and San Francisco. Minimum-stay requirements vary based on departure date. All airlines require a 14-day advance purchase. Codes: America West, BS14HOLN; American, NS14JOYN; Continental, TSEHO-LIP; Delta, KS14JOYN; Frontier, VHOLNR; Northwest, VS14JOYN; TWA, HOH014N; -United, VLE14HLN; Clara Bosonetto is a longtime travel consultant.

While every effort is made to be accurate and up to date, sale fares included in this umn are subject to change. Get daily updates on travel deals at www.clarkhoward.com. For more trovef tips, see the Budget Traveler; column in Sunday's Travel secton. vCobb County transplants open B8cB after falling for Savannah A special touch: Claudia's Manor became a reality when Claudia Collins (left) and her husband, Larry, con 'by William Schemmel (T.FOR THE Savannah 1 laudia's Manor opened last Vrf April, with considerably less verted a 1906 Spanish Medi terranean house on the attention than the reopening of the Marshall House. But with the aid of a Web site, and a city overflowing with visitors, transplanted Cobb Countians Claudia and Larry Collins did just fine in their first season as bed-and-breakfast hosts.

sold out on weekends and had a lot of midweek activity," she adds. "The summer was so hot, and then we had Hurricane Floyd. Business was off all over the city, Now it's picking up again." The Collinses became innkeepers after a weekend getaway turned into a love affair with the city. "Friends told us how beautiful Savannah is. So, we came down three years ago and it was love at first sight," Claudia recalls.

"At that time, I was reassessing my life. We'd talked about going into some kind of business of our own. I've always enjoyed doing special things for people, and we decided They converted a 1906 Spanish Mediterranean house on the edge of the downtown historic district into five guest rooms and three suites. Each has a different decorative theme, including: "View of Africa," "View of the Orient," "Tara's Savannah Getaway," "Ruby's Room" and "The Green Room." Suites have two queen-size beds and separate sitting area with a sofa bed. All rooms have private bath and cable TV.

Grits, biscuits, corned beef hash and other dishes in Claudia's Southern breakfast repertoire must seem as exotic as the city itself to guests from England, Germany, Australia and far-flung parts of the United States. Information Claudia's Manor is at 101 E. 35th Savannah, GA 31401. Rooms and suites are $105-5195. For more information, call 1-800-773-8177, or visit the Web site at www.cIaudiasmanor.com.

edge of Savannah's historic district into five guest rooms and three suites. I "For beginners, we've done pretty well," says Claudia, a former data processing specialist i with Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems in Marietta. Larry Collins commutes from Smyrna, where he's pastor of New Hope Fellowship Christian Ministry. "We opened during one of the peak visitor seasons, so we were in WILLIAM SCHEMMEL Special COMING, SUNDAY IN TRAVEL: Christmas in Savannah and Ashevjlle, N. C..