Atlanta -- The big lodging news is the opening of the Glenn Hotel, 110 Marietta St. (tel. 404/521-2250), near the CNN Center. Inspired by both Manhattan and Florida's South Beach architecture, it is a luxurious place to stay in Atlanta and has the best rooftop lounge in Georgia's capital city.
In dining, some of the best cuisine is now served at TWO. urban licks, 820 Ralph McGill Blvd. (tel. 404/522-4622), with its good homemade food and sophisticated take on American cooking; its chef hails from Louisiana. In the increasingly trendy Inman Park, Rathbun, 112 Krog St. (tel. 404/524-8280), serves everything from oysters stewed in lemongrass to a banana and peanut butter cream pie that would have fattened Elvis.
The biggest attraction to open in the South in many a year is the spectacular Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker St. (tel. 404/581-4000), the largest in the world, home to 100,000 creatures of the deep, including killer sharks. Neptune's creatures from all the seas of the world are swimming here, including the leafy sea dragon from Australia.
Madison -- In one of the few towns Sherman's troops didn't burn to the ground on their march to the sea, this restored Greek Revival mansion, Madison Oaks Inn & Gardens, 766 East Ave. (tel. 706/343-9990), is the place to stay. Four beautifully furnished bedrooms, all with antiques, are matched by the individually prepared Southern breakfasts served in the morning.
Savannah -- The hot new address in this coastal city is The Mansion on Forsyth Park, 700 Drayton St. (tel. 888/711-5114 or 912/238-5158), the city's finest and most spectacular boutique hotel. The owners took a grand mansion, restored it, and filled with it one of the finest collections of hotel furnishings in Savannah. Add a topnotch restaurant and an outdoor pool, and you have a formula for success. The other grand inns of Savannah are turning green with envy.
The big news in attractions is the opening of the fabled, even notorious, Mercer House, 429 Bull St. (tel. 912/236-6352), the setting for the murder of Danny Hansford, the 21-year-old hustler fatally shot by wealthy antiques dealer Jim Williams. The murder formed the basis for John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, one of the best-selling nonfiction books of the '90s. The house is now referred to as the Mercer Williams House Museum.
