When we made this trip we stopped for the night at:
Embassy Suites Savannah Airport
145 W Mulberry Blvd, Savannah, GA
It's right off of I-95, lots of places to eat, and other hotels right there as well.
We left at the crack of dawn (a bit earlier, actually), stopped for lunch and a couple of snacks, and had dinner right near the hotel. Got a good night's sleep, and had a medium length drive left. This allowed us to arrive with time to get settled and get a good night sleep. It was nice to have no driving left after dinner.
We like to do as much driving as we can on day 1. Day 2 we're always more tired, and the driving is always harder. Also, by arriving early on Day 2, we have time to get settled, have a nice relaxing dinner, an early bed time, and be extremely well rested for embarkation day!
P.S. Do not stop at South of the Border. Nothing worth seeing there.