Travel
Macon, GA - The 1842 Inn
by Aaron R. Fodiman & Margaret Word Burnside

For classic southern hospitality in a grand antebellum style, the 1842 Inn in Macon, Georgia can’t be beat. The atmosphere is straight from Gone With the Wind. It has the amenities of a grand hotel with the ambience of a country inn. The Greek Revival antebellum house shares a quaint courtyard and garden with a Victorian home behind it. The public areas are within the main home, along with guest rooms, while the rear home has additional guest rooms for a total of nineteen. All the rooms, parlors and libraries are tastefully decorated with fine English antiques, oriental carpets, tapestries and paintings. The staff will make you feel as though you are visiting you family home.

The Inn features complimentary breakfast in your room, the parlor or the courtyard, accompanied by a morning newspaper. Each evening, there are complimentary hors d’ oeuvres in the library, followed by fresh-baked cookies and milk when it is time for their turndown service. The 1842 is Georgia’s only AAA Four Diamond Award-winning inn. Mobil Travel has also awarded it four stars. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in a charming residential neighborhood with secure off-street parking. The location is close to Macon’s central business district, and the “Mitsi,” an air-conditioned motorized trolley, stops in front of the Inn every 25 minutes. The trolley, which circles the town and stops at local points of interest, costs a quarter for an all-day pass. Another special feature of the 1842 is that guests of the Inn receive access to City Club, one of Macon’s finest private dining and health clubs.

Macon is filled with great dining opportunities, such as Bert’s or Five Eighty, both on Cherry Street. The Tic Toc Room, which began as a supper club in the 1940’s, has reopened for dining and late night music and dancing. Each of these fine restaurants serves contemporary gourmet meals. Nearby is Trio, a beautiful jazz and wine bar that features terrific desserts.

Although General Sherman and his Union Army passed Macon by, you shouldn’t. This charming town is filled with architectural, musical and sports history and memorabilia. It is home to the historic Douglas Theatre, Rose Hill, one of the oldest surviving public cemetery parks in the country, the Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Mark Smith Planetarium, the Tubman African American Museum, Cannonball House, Sidney Lanier Cottage, the 1860 Hay House, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Tampa Bay’s songstress Connie Haines was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1999, and there is an attractive display there about her early years when she sang with Frank Sinatra. Tarpon Springs’ own Bertie Higgins is also featured there. For a different historical perspective, you can learn about 12,000 years of Native American Indian heritage at the Ocmulgee National Monument and archeological museum and mounds.

Macon’s history provides a fascinating journey for visitors into the South’s colorful pre-Civil War past and energetic progressive present. This modern city with a classic look offers sports activities, such as the Macon Knights arena football team’s games and Starcadia, an entertainment park with Go-Karts, Splash ‘N Crash Bumper Boats, miniature golf, batting cages, a game room and more.

Before you leave Macon, be sure to take the self –guided tour of the historic in-town homes featured in “Lights on Macon.” There are more than 30 architectural gems, illuminated to highlight their beauty – and the beauty of Macon.

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