The Read House

3 Best Day Trips from Atlanta

"It’s impossible not to be dazzled by The Read House hotel, with its Georgian-style bones and a top-to-bottom $25 million-plus renovation. The structure was built in 1872 and has survived through floods and epidemics of years past. Now, the fully renovated 241-room hotel’s design harkens  to the 1920s with soaring lobby ceilings, dramatic chandeliers, black and white checkered floors, and wood-clad walls polished to a high shine. Noteworthy past guests have included Bing Crosby, Ronald Regan, Oprah Winfrey, and Winston Churchill. Al Capone's stay in room 311 is legendary—he was at the hotel during his federal trial in the 1930s (custom bars were fitted to the window)." - Jennifer Bradley Franklin