The Fastest Internet in Savannah

Speed test results indicating very fast internet

With an expectation that our guests need to work, stream, game, and attend school during their stay, we thought a lot about how to get fast internet and Wi-Fi for the Broughton Street House in Savannah. We use the house ourselves as often as possible. My daughter has gamed all night from the Carriage House. My son has done virtual viola lessons from the Map Room. And I have logged into numerous WebEx sessions from the Courtyard. Based on our experiences

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, and some experiences we’ve had at other properties, we made a few important decisions to get the fastest possible internet.

FYI, none of the links below are affinity links. We’re not being paid to promote any internet service. Our goal is to show the choices we made, and how we hope to create the best guest experience.

Fast internet is good, but not if it runs out during your stay

We’ve experienced this before at a beach house we rented. The owners had a high speed internet connection, all was good, but on day three of our visit, which happened to be near the end of the month, things got REALLY slow. Suddenly none of us could stream. We were turning off our cameras to try and keep a decent connection on WebEx and Teams. And for the gamers, latency is not okay.

I don’t like slow internet. Tractors are actually cool.

We couldn’t prove it, but we were pretty sure we’d hit the caps on the owners internet service. For normal household, data caps are annoying, but manageable. For a short-term rental, especially in busy season when you know you’re going to have large parties, it’s just not acceptable. We were only at that beach house for a week, so we weren’t the ones that used up all that data. However, we had the misfortune of being there toward the end of the cycle. We were the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Not cool.

The Broughton Street House had a couple of options for fast internet service providers, and Xfinity offers an unlimited plan. It does cost more, but it should prevent our guests from ever having the experience we did at the beach.

It has to be really, really fast internet

We’re proud that we can sleep up to 12 in comfort. But if 12 people are checking Instagram on their phones and the TV in the parlor while someone’s got their Home Pod streaming in the Carriage House, that’s going to take a lot of bandwidth. Again, Xfinity offers Gigabit speeds. In fact, they just recently upgraded the speed to 1.2 gigabit per second, which is pretty awesome. Outside of buying a dedicated private circuit, we believe this is the fastest internet option available in Savannah.

Fast internet, but the Wi-Fi has to be fast, too

An interesting thing about the Broughton Street House: It’s built of Savannah Gray brick. Even some of the internal walls are brick. On top of the brick is stucco. And the walls are thick. Fast internet to the house is good

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, but if the walls block the Wi-Fi signal that’s not helpful.

Lots of brick means lots of Wi-Fi challenges

We initially tried to set a single Wi-Fi router central to the home, but the Carriage House couldn’t keep a strong enough signal and the parlor was right at the edge of acceptable. Not fast is not good.

We discovered that Xfinity offers “xFi pods” that you can place around the house. The second generation of the xFi pods, in particular, are very fast and have great range. We placed multiples around the house to ensure there was no where on property you could go and not have a super strong, super fast Wi-Fi signal. To be sure it was all working, we did speed tests at various points around the house using an iPhone. We consistently measured a very fast internet speed of 600mbps or better from anywhere on the property.

The downside of these devices is that they only work with the Xfinity modem. We considered mesh wireless networks from Google, Eero, or other providers, but ultimately decided to go with getting the modem directly from Xfinity for reasons we discuss below.

Fast internet is awesome, but it has to be easy to support remotely

This was a big decision point for us. At our primary home we use a Google Wi-Fi mesh system and it’s very easy to work with. However, the Google devices (or any other third party Wi-Fi network) would require that we own our own router, which is what we do at home. For a Savannah vacation property we really wanted more than just fast internet, We wanted a “one phone call” support model. Having all Xfinity devices gives us that. If a guest ever reports that they don’t have fast internet, it’s definitely Xfinity, so that’s who you call. We’re able to provide Southern Belle all the account information so they can call Xfinity on our behalf.

It turns out the Xfinity app is actually pretty awesome for managing the account. We can see the router and all the xFi pods and check that they’re online. We can restart the modem remotely if needed. We’ve put all the xFi pods on Wi-Fi enabled outlets so we can restart those if needed, too.

High-speed but also secure internet

As much as we (okay, just Kevin actually) love to tinker with technology, security is just too important and things change too fast. We wanted built in managed security features that we could count on to protect our property and our guests from malicious actors. Since we decided to go with Xfinity equipment for the Broughton Street House, they automatically provide a security suite that implements some pretty good threat protection at the router and Wi-Fi access points. There’s some basic reporting letting you know that things are good, and the router is always up to date and secure.

The fastest internet in Savannah

The goal of all this was to be sure our guests could work, stream, and attend school with the fastest possible internet in Savannah. Our guests have told us consistently that the internet is very fast. We also use the property frequently so we can say with confidence that it works great for video conferencing. We know pretty much every AirBNB or VRBO rental says they have high-speed internet, so this won’t help us stand out in the listings. But we can say that our internet in Savannah is truly unlimited, fantastic Wi-Fi coverage, and very fast, so once they get to the property our guests should never experience some of the frustrations we’ve had at other properties.

May 14, 2021May 24, 2021

Television in an Historic House

Choosing a Television for an Historic House

We want to provide the best television for an historic home, but television viewing angles didn’t get much thought in 1883 when the Broughton Street House was built. This post has been updated to include how it all worked out. Pictures at the bottom!

What we would now call the “living room” was a parlor. The parlor’s primary function was receiving guests. It was a formal room where a host would put their finest seating arranged to facilitate conversation. To that end, hosts would orient seating in front of a fireplace for maximum comfort of the guests. In an exceptionally fancy house there would be two parlors: the formal front, and the informal parlor in the middle. An example of this layout would be the beautiful Andrew Low house.

Owners typically closed off back rooms such as the dining room and kitchen behind doors. In a typical Savannah-style townhouse like the Broughton Street House, there are pocket doors that can be pulled shut. For dinner, preparations would occur behind the closed doors while the guests waited in the parlor. Once ready, the hosts would open the pocket doors and present a bountiful table ready for guests.

Times have changed and people expect to be able to turn on a sporting event, check the news, or binge watch a series when the weather isn’t cooperating. We get it it, we do it, too. So here we’ll discuss choosing the best television for this historic home and how we’re making it work. When you come to Historic Downtown Savannah we want you to have everything you need at the Broughton Street House.

Vacation Sometimes Need Televisions – Like Them or Not

The previous owners of the Broughton Street House had deliberately avoided over-emphasizing the television. I respect that decision. It’s difficult to place today’s giant screen televisions in a historic house in a way that doesn’t dominate the room and draw all attention to the television. At the Broughton Street House the rooms are beautiful and multi-purpose. How many times have you sat down in a living room and realized there’s nothing in your field of view except a giant electronic box? You naturally reach for the remote to figure out how to use it. We’re not going to take that route and instead we’re going to put in the best television for a historic home.

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021

11 Things to do Mid-Week in Savannah

Mid-Week is the Perfect Time to See Savannah

There is so much to do in Savannah it can be overwhelming. I always leave the city with at least three new things on my list to try next time I visit. But Savannah (and Tybee) are also very popular, and you won’t be the only ones trying to get a table at The Olde Pink House or to try that new dish at The Grey. So, try a mid-week visit to Savannah to make it easier to see the best this city has to offer.

Staying mid-week in Savannah is the best time to stay in Savannah. We love walking through City Market when it’s not so crowded. It’s great grabbing an unexpectedly available table at Collins Quarter. And there’s nothing better than a quick cappuccino at The Coffee Fox without a line. It’s true, some restaurants and bars close a little earlier, but that’s okay, we usually have to work in the morning anyway.

So here are ten things to do in Savannah that are much easier to do mid-week:

A Mid-Week Savannah Shopping Trip to Byrd’s Cookies

I love that Byrd’s Cookies has a store right in City Market again. Byrd’s Cookies are delicious and beautiful and a piece of Savannah history. Still family owned, Byrd’s has gotten a lot bigger and you can get their cookies in multiple locations like their Flagship store south of DeRenne on Waters Street. Still, I’d rather grab them in City Market. Mid-week they’re only open until 7:00 PM, but it’s less crowded and you can grab a box of six varieties quickly. Open one box to snack on through the week and keep five for gifts when you get back home!

Byrd’s Cookies in City Market is less crowded mid-week

Byrd’s Cookies 213 W Saint Julian St, Savannah, Georgia 31401

A Savannah Sunrise on River Street

Sunrise over the cobbled stones of River Street, soft light reflecting against the windows of the street fronts, a light morning dew, and nobody else around. Seriously, get up early and go see this for yourself. On Saturday morning and Sunday morning you’ll be joined by some of the late night folks who are on their way home, but mid-week you’ll have it mostly to yourself.

Breakfast at Little Duck Diner

I always get breakfast at Little Duck when I come to Savannah. Always. The food is great; I’m partial to the Crab Omelet when they have it on the menu. The coffee is great. The service is great. Most of all the décor is amazing. I could linger there for hours just taking in the art deco beauty. And it’s even better mid-week when the competition for seats isn’t as stiff.

The Little Duck Diner has the most beautiful art deco style

Little Duck Diner 150 W Saint Julian, Savannah, Georgia 31401

Casual Mid-Week Lunch at Savannah Seafood Shack

My favorite dish is their low country boil for one. It comes in a bowl and a bag, and you can have draft beer on the side. It’s a simple, casual dish that will impress you with the quality of the ingredients more than fancy preparation. But because they’re so popular, it sometimes becomes a wait instead of a casual delight. Mid-week Savannah is a great way to enjoy this Historic Downtown staple because it lowers the pressure and lets you really enjoy the casual atmosphere, the streetside dining, and the great service this restaurant is known for.

Savannah Seafood Shack 116 E Broughton St, Savannah, Georgia 31401

Dinner at Treylor Park

Open from 11:00 am to 1:00 am during the week, Treylor Park is a Savannah phenomenon. “Quality over quantity” is their motto, and grabbing a cocktail and dinner here is just right for a mid-week stop. Nothing too heavy, just a well prepared meal and a perfectly mixed drink to end the day. Be sure to check out the dedicated bar area in the back. On the weekends it can be crowded, but on a week day evening you’ll find it a little quieter and a little faster. As a bonus, from Treylor Park it’s just a quick street crossing down to River Street where you can stroll waterside after the meal.

Treylor Park 115 E Bay St, Savannah, Georgia 31401

A Mid-Week Savannah Pub Crawl on River Street

Sometimes you’re here for a big event, but you arrive early to enjoy the city. Good decision. Conveniently, if you’ve got a few people then you’ve got enough for a pub crawl, and River Street was built for that. Whether it’s dueling pianos at Savannah Smiles or watching the harbor from the Top Deck Bar or maybe some “to go cup” frozen beverages from Wet Willies. Savannah hosts a huge number of bachelorette parties for a reason – this place is fun! Mid-week is a great time to hit the bars and to-go windows and enjoy the famously accommodating open-container laws of the Historic District. The lines will be shorter, the service will be faster, and the drinks just might be a little stronger when things aren’t quite so packed.

Late Night Drinks at The Grove

One of the down-sides of a mid-week visit is that some restaurants and bars close a little bit earlier. But if you’ve had a long day at work, or the beach, and you’re walking through Historic Savannah at 9:00 PM wondering where to eat, let me suggest The Grove. It can seem a little loud at first if you’re stepping in from a quiet stroll, but there’s plenty of seating and multiple bars to choose from (including a roof top deck). The menu has some gems on it, like the cheese and charcuterie board that will surprise you with quality and quantity. A great place to have a few drinks and a late dinner on a mid-week visit when you’re not ready to call it a night.

The Grove has a great roof top deck, and at night the menu, bar, and music can be just what’s needed mid-week

The Grove Savannah 301 W Congress St, Savanna, Georgia 31401

Morning Run around Forsyth Park

A quick search for Savannah on Instagram or Pinterest and you’re going to see Forsyth Park. Originally a 10 acre plot

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, In 1851 Savannah renamed and expanded its crown jewel to be the 30 acre Forsyth Park we know today. At that point, the city installed the iconic Forsyth Fountain in 1858 and it’s been drawing visitors and locals alike ever since. The tree canopy along the edges of the park keep things cool even on a Savannah summer day. You’ll often see joggers out at all times of the day taking advantage of the flat, shaded path around the park. On weekends you’ll have plenty of company on your run, but on weekdays it’s mostly locals and business travelers out for their jog. You’ll have a much better shot at getting that selfie by the fountain all to yourself as well.

Forsyth Park, Savannah Georgia 31401

A Mid-Week Trip to Tybee

It’s about a 22 minute drive from Historic Downtown Savannah to Tybee Island if you take US 80 E. But while the public beach on Tybee is easy to get to, on the weekends parking can be a challenge. So you can try a mid-week trip to catch an open spot near 14th street. Download the Park TYB app before you go and you can avoid trying to find the pay box. From the parking lot you can walk right out to the ocean and hit the pier as well. On the pier are snacks and bathrooms and at the end of the pier are refreshments and fishing. You can chill on the beach, stroll the pier, or swim in the ocean with lighter crowds than a Saturday.

Tybee Beach Pier, Tybee, Georgia

History Tour of Historic Downtown Savannah

Taking a tour of Savannah is fun, healthy, and always enlightening. The operators bring their own lens to the city’s history, making each tour unique and fascinating. Learn about the many haunted sites and tragic events from the history of Savannah on a ghost tour, for instance. Or, take a walking history tour and learn about why the city is laid out the way it is and who built the beautiful homes we see today. Experience a Black cultural history tour and learn more about the Gullah Geechie culture that shaped this city through both tragedy and rebirth. Zip around Savannah on a Segway. One of my favorites, you can cruise through Savannah from the back of Sebastian the vintage Citroen. And

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, you can hop on and hop off through Savannah from a double-decker bus. The options are endless, but mid-week is when you’ll get the times and tours.

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May 5, 2021May 6, 2021

William Morris Patterns

Beauty in the kitchen

I wanted to add color to the kitchen of the Broughton Street House but what I found was a history lesson. While searching for patterns and colors that would fit our Victorian house I learned about the founder of a design movement. William Morris patterns bring beautiful colors to everyday items. We’ll be using them throughout Broughton Street House.

In the middle of the 19th century, Britain changed. Industrialization reshaped the economy and created new wealth and new manufacturing capacity. Victorian households used their affluence to fill their homes to impress visitors and display their status. Furniture, textiles, and fabrics became ornate, cheaply made, and widely available.

In 1851, in Hyde Park of London, Prince Albert hosted “The Great Exhibition“. His goal was to showcase what is now called “High Victorian” wares and to champion the virtues of the English economy. This exhibit was a powerhouse display of the industrial design capabilities of the era. Famous figures such as Queen Victoria

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, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Lewis Carrol, and Charlotte Bronte came to the Hyde Park to see the goods and be seen by the people. In fact, over six million people attended the exhibit.

While the Exhibition was popular, there was a group of disaffected but well-to-do thinkers that criticized the event. Richard Redgrave, John Ruskin, and William Morris saw the displays as cheap, ostentatious, and dependent on industrialization instead of craftsmanship.

William Morris Takes a Stand for Beauty

William Morris and his lifelong friend Edward Burne-Jones established a counter-culture school of thought after the exhibit. They based their movement on nostalgia for the medieval period and a desire to restore the beauty of hands-on craft. Morris tried architecture, fine art, and publishing but never achieved major success in those fields. However, he expanded his circle of influential friends and fellow travelers and shared his ideas. The “Arts & Crafts” was founded with a mission to bring the beauty of craftmanship to the people of England. Ultimately, William Morris saw his opportunity to begin producing textiles and fabrics that reflected his ideas. This is where he made his mark.

William Morris’ Red House is today considered a British national treasure for its design and décor. His summer cottage Kelmscott Manor is a much older design, but he drew inspiration from its medieval beauty.

Chrysanthemum pattern (1877) by William Morris. Original from The Smithsonian Institution. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

More than Beautiful

Arts & Crafts is about more than design; it is about fitting design into a context of social constructs and division of labor in a beautiful way. Most of the proponents of Arts & Crafts were wealthy, educated, and socialist. They believed with proper design they could entice British consumers to make different choices. In their vision, everyone would place more value on handcrafted, beautiful, wares built in small shops reflecting the individuality of the craftsmen. But in reality, only the wealthy could afford the high quality wares that emerged from this movement. Although a few practitioners of the Arts & Craft movement collaborated with manufacturers to make these goods available to a broader audience, most of the practitioners shunned commercialization and the movement faded from popular design in Britain.

In the United States, the movement took a different turn. Americans scaled the ideas to the mass market: Tiffany, Stickley, “Mission” style furniture, and “Craftsman” architecture all emerged from the designs and themes William Morris introduced.

Introducing William Morris to the Broughton Street House

The Broughton Street House is a popular vacation rental with Victorian décor and antique furniture, so we want to introduce new color in a way consistent with the period of the house. Thankfully, beautiful prints by William Morris are a great place to start.

The William Morris Society sells fabrics and wallpapers using the patterns, and the proceeds go to support the Society. Also, Wallpaper Direct carries a huge line of beautiful William Morris wallpapers, including some exclusive colors.

Jasmine by William Morris (1834-1896). Original from The MET Museum. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Additionally, Many of William Morris’ original designs are now in the public domain, so there are lots of options for displaying some of these amazing patterns.

Prints from Art.com, Patterns by William Morris

We ordered a selection of beautiful William Morris prints from art.com. First, the colors add excitement to the earth tones of the kitchen, and draw the eye upward to make full visual use of that high ceiling. Second, we can also repeat these period colors and patterns in other elements (like countertop appliances and kitchen tools and throughout the house) to brighten up the space.

Here you see two of these prints in our kitchen. We added these to fill the blank spaces above the cabinets since the ceiling is so incredibly high in this kitchen.

We’ve also used William Morris patterns for some of the cushions around the house.

We have placed William Morris place mats in the kitchen, William Morris hand towels near the oven, and even a deck of cards in the living room with William Morris patterns on the backs of the cards. We’ll continue to look for opportunities to incorporate William Morris’ designs and patterns into the Broughton Street House where appropriate. I’d love to find a place to use Morris and Company Wallpaper at some point, but we’re not ready for that right now. It’s peak season.

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May 1, 2021May 14, 2021

Flannery O’Connor and the Peacocks

The Broughton Street House and the O’Connor Family

To highlight The Broughton Street House’s connection to its history, we identify Flannery O’Connor and her use of peacocks as a design focus for our Carriage House. Our Carriage House is a one bedroom, one bath apartment atop the garage behind the main property. It is available to rent as part of the full property, or on it’s own if the full property is not already rented.

On our History page we tell you about the original owner and other residents of this house. Daniel O’Connor and his brother Patrick were a pair of Irish immigrants that came to Savannah after the Civil War. Later, they parleyed their success in industry into real estate investments and established the O’Connor family for generations. Daniel commissioned the three connected townhouses that eventually became 507. 509, and 511 East Broughton. Similarly, his brother Patrick was also a successful businessman and the O’Connor family remained prominent in Savannah through the time of Patrick’s granddaughter, Flannery. Flannery, of course, went on to become one of the best known American voices of the 20th century. Eventually she won a National Book Award for fiction, and was even featured on a US postage stamp.

Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor was born in 1925 in Savannah

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, and her childhood home is now a museum on Charlton Street.

Flannery’s grandfather Patrick and her great uncle Daniel were Irish immigrants in a new world. As a result, their identity shaped their contributions to society and their views of Savannah. Likewise, Flannery’s Irish Heritage, Catholicism, and Southern upbringing were defining aspects of her life. Her stories were often dark, somber, and somewhat fatalistic.

To highlight the connection between the Broughton Street House and the O’Connor family we have incorporated one of Flannery’s happier subjects into the décor of the Carriage House: Peacocks!

Peacocks in the Carriage House

In her life and in her stories

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, Flannery owned, cared for, and used as symbols the beautiful peacock. Later, when the US Postal Service decided to make a stamp honoring Flannery O’Connor, they chose the peacock to highlight her. Therefore, we began searching for art and décor that would bring this theme to the Carriage House to celebrate the connection.

For the bedroom we found a cute print with colors that helped enliven the room.

Peacock Print in the Carriage House Bedroom

In the kitchen / dining room we found a painting from my niece that we thought would be perfect. When we saw it in my sister’s shop, we bought it immediately.

We had to have a copy of Flannery O’Connor’s stories available, with peacocks, naturally.

The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor

And we even found some William Morris patterned cushions: The Peacock and the Dragon. Once we saw them

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, we couldn’t pass them up.

William Morris Peacock and Dragon Patterned Cushions

A vintage Japanese tea set with a peacock motif

We enjoy linking the house to it’s history. Choosing an element like the Flannery O’Connor’s peacocks is a great way to add an interesting visual element while also connecting to the past. Hopefully our guests will enjoy the little details!

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