The historic Savannah skyline grows ever upward, now bolstered by the eye-catching addition of the Recess Hotel and Club Savannah featuring the city’s highest rooftop pool, Maxim can exclusively reveal.
The stylish new property adds to the elegance of the historic 114-year-old Manger Building, including a private members club and a pool that’s sure to draw crowds in the Georgia heat. Set twelve stories above the city on East Congress Street, a garden oasis pairs and rooftop bar pair well with warm colors and tile designs.
Launched by New York City-based hospitality and development group LEFT LANE, the Recess Hotel & Club Savannah joins the likes of Hotel Bardo Savannah in adding an air of elevated hospitality to a property with serious heritage, notes LEFT LANE Managing Partner Jon Kully.
Housed in a handsome red-brick building with an airy courtyard, Hotel Bardo opened to great fanfare in February 2024. As this writer found out during a spring visit, its connection to Savannah runs deep, with a memorable cast of locals and transplants bringing one right into the heart of the city during nights at its own exclusive member’s club. Kully is optimistic that the brand’s latest Savannah property offers the same experience. “Bardo and Recess share a strong sense of place and a belief that a hotel should be connected to its community, but they express Savannah in distinctly different ways.” Kully said.
The hospitality group is eager to put its own spin on its new home, Kully said. “People forget the Manger Building was the future once. When it opened in 1912, it was one of Savannah’s first skyscrapers, an audacious addition to the city that has spent more than a century changing alongside it,” Kully added. “That history, and the affection Savannah has for the building, made developing its next chapter both exciting and a real responsibility.” That shared sense of history is seen in designs incorporating original mosaics and the building’s arched windows, Kully notes.
The 221-key property (featuring 136 guest rooms, 23 suites and 62 bunk rooms) opens as a member of Leading Hotels of the World. Recess is notably focused on a “retro futurist” narrative, one designed to encourage analog experiences in social hubs on each floor that the company calls Rumpus Rooms, where throwback Monopoly and Mario Kart games exist alongside premium snacks and beverages for overnight guests. “We hope guests leave Recess feeling like they got closer to the real Savannah. The hotel was designed to put them inside the life of the city,” Kully noted.
A mix of phone-free experiences and lavish hospitality comes together in food and beverage options like French brasserie Le Flâneur, led by Executive Chef Zach Chancey and VP of Beverage and Service Eben Klemm, as the space showcases historic mosaic designs in a Savannah twist on the traditional Parisian café.
Club Recess elevates the hotel even further, offering a private 5,500-square foot space that Kully and co. hope will continue to bring guests into the real Savannah. The space is set to offer bi-weekly Friday happy hours and weekend DJ sets, plus live music for a mix of entrepreneurs, creatives and makers. “More than anything, we want Recess to create a genuine sense of discovery and connection, and for guests to leave feeling they didn’t just visit Savannah, but experienced its spirit on their own terms,” he said.
From rooftop bar Kilter to its Lobby Bar (also a trendy feature of partner property Hotel Bardo) and distinctive takeout window The Servery, there’s variety aplenty inside the Recess Hotel and Club, including its holistic wellness and spa concept SALTGRASS. Built around community throughout the rejuvenated space, Kully hopes the space offers a sense of both modern place and authentic heritage. “We never wanted to freeze the building in time,” he said of the Manger Building. “We wanted to give it another hundred years of stories. Our job has been to make sure its next era has some audacity of its own.”
Intrigued guests keen to visit Savannah are in luck: As part of its limited-time We Were Here First package, the first 500 guests will receive 20% off their stay ( rates start at $300 a night), a $50 Recess credit and a collectible Recess keychain.