Hotel Talisi

Hotel Talisi – Upstairs Hall

Search the web for Hotel Tallassee, and you won’t find much. References to the Tallassee Motor Inn top the list — an unfortunate fact, since the Motor Inn now features a parking lot decorated with overturned housecleaning carts and automobiles propped up on cement blocks. In fact, apart from playing a supporting role in this story of a hippie making his way back to his pregnant wife, from the web’s point of view, the Hotel Tallassee is virtually invisible.

Part of this is because the hotel owners use the Indian spelling of the city’s name … but, even if you Google “Hotel Talisi,” you’ll mostly find Montgomery Advertiser reviews of the hotel buffet and a remarkably unimaginative brochure site.

That’s a shame, because — however you spell it — the Hotel Talisi offers the rare opportunity to spend the night in a locally-owned downtown hotel. From the front desk to the upstairs hall, the entire place is furnished with antiques; apart from the cable t.v. in each room, it’s possible to imagine that you’ve stepped back into a forgotten era … a time before chains like Comfort Inn and Marriott made hotel stays an exercise in modular mediocrity.

While I found the $40.00 room and bath to be claustrophobic, the $70.00 rooms are spacious — ours, in addition to a four-poster bed, crystal chandeliers, and a seating area, including two full baths. The lack of modern conveniences (there are no in-room phones or modem connections) preserves the authenticity of the 1950’s environment. Sadly, the owners’ dedication to authenticity did not extend to their update of the bathrooms, where the glorious old claw-footed tubs have been replaced with modular fiberglass units from Home Depot.

Clyde and I loved the atmosphere (upon check-in, a bright-eyed gentleman in his early 80’s waddled over to me, offered his hand, and said, “I’m one of the locals! Who are you?”), but we also found ourselves wishing the friendly staff paid more attention to the cleanliness of the rooms (generally, leaving that tiny, circular mat of the previous guest’s body hair in the bathtub drain is considered bad form).

The crown jewel of the hotel is the reasonably-priced buffet (offered from 10:00 a.m. until 7:50 p.m.). The fried chicken and country vegetables lure more than 12,000 eager diners a month to Tallassee’s tiny historical district, driving as much as 80% of the business done by nearby antique and art shops.

When you find yourself in Tallassee, AL (or Montgomery, or the surrounding area), check into the Hotel Talisi and check it out for yourself.