My wife and I traveled to Charleston on July 12 for a long weekend to celebrate our one year anniversary. We were joined by two other couples, all from out of state. I cannot tell you how pleased we were with the city, its people and attractions. We had an absolute fabulous time. We conducted several hours worth of research and utilized trip advisor extensively to plan our trip. We also had the luxury of having friends and family that either live in the area or who have recently moved from Charleston to help us with our decisions. Many thanks to the participants on TA for your posts, they were invaluable and I hope this post helps others in the future.
Market Pavilion Hotel
This hotel is located at the corner of Market St. and East Bay St. and is centrally located to the restaurants, market, and other attractions. We wanted an up-scale property and we really got it, this hotel was exceptional. Our group is well traveled and we were all impressed by this hotel. Our room was very spacious with a king sized bed, two chairs, a desk and up right cabinet that held the tv and two closets for our hanging clothes. The bathroom was great as well, with separate tub and glass-walled shower and plenty of room for my wife and me to share. The room and bathroom were both very clean and well maintained, probably the cleanest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Every morning we were given a NYTimes and free coffee and pastries on our floor. That was fabulous as we just walked out and had everything right at our fingertips. We never ate breakfast as this tied us over until lunch! On the last evening, the hotel called us and gave us a complimentary upgrade to a king suite corner room for our anniversary. Oh my God, this was so nice and unexpected. The room was huge and had two balconies overlooking separate streets. The bathroom was incredible with a jacuzzi tub and a multi-head shower. I’m not sure how much this room costs, but if you want to splurge it would be a treat! Finally, every night our rooms were “turned-down” and we were given new towels – which was key as we took a high number of showers due to the heat.
As for negatives, there was a few. Most importantly (and also listed in former TA posts) our air conditioning in our room broke on Saturday and after 3 separate complaints it was never fixed. Luckily (or coincidentally) we were give our upgrade so we didn’t have to suffer in a room that was 74 degrees! Next, the couple that was traveling with us used the hotel’s concierge to help plan their trip to visit Kiawah Island and the private golf course. The gentleman did not give them very good information (that they would not have access to the course because it was private) and his demeanor and attitude was not what they would expect from a Southern hotel’s concierge. The couple decided to make the trip anyway, got into the course, had lunch at the clubhouse and toured the facilities. They had a great time and were perplexed by the concierge’s advice. Finally, I put this under the negatives since it involves the same property – there are two bars at the hotel, one downstairs next to the restaurant and one on the roof. The rooftop bar is very, very nice and was definitely a top place to visit and grab a drink, unfortunately the bars at this hotel are way overpriced. I would recommend to anyone visiting to go in and see the place, check out the view, and then leave, it’s not worth the price. We drank there two times, once it costs us $97 and the last night it cost us $12 for two beers. I live in DC and we don’t even have prices like that. To the hotel’s credit, I believe they use these prices to discourage the local young crowd to not frequent their property, but I don’t think that is reason to cause your guests from not visiting as well. Enforce a dress code (which they do), that will keep the college kids away!
Restaurants
As mentioned above, we did a lot of research and spoke to quite a few people to make our choices in dining. We made reservations a month in advance and did not have any trouble getting a table. Here’s what we thought:
Fleet Landing (lunch) – we loved this place, great views and excellent seafood. Right on the water and walking distance from our hotel. The crab cake sandwich was excellent!
Jim %26amp; Nick’s BBQ (lunch) – second best lunch we had while we were in Charleston. The wait staff was exceptional and the bbq was fantastic. Four of us ate there and each one of our plates was great! Nice place to eat if you go shopping on King Street.
Poe’s Tavern on Sullivans Island (lunch) – this is a must visit spot, we loved it so much we went twice! There’s nothing fancy about it but the food was great and the atmosphere even better (seat yourself – and everyone is so polite while they wait). I don’t want to give away a local secret but it was well worth taking the trip from downtown to Sullivans!!
Red’s on Shem Creek (drinks and dinner) – we really enjoyed ourselves at Red’s. It was our first night in town so we were ready for a relaxed atmosphere and that’s what we got. It’s right on the water so you can look at the boats as the sun set, it was perfect and the staff was more than helpful when we had questions or ordered food (we ate in the crow’s nest and we had to carry the food up ourselves)!!
Coast (dinner) – we chose Coast due to its location near our friends’ hotel. The atmosphere inside is laid-back, busy and a little loud. The wait staff was average as was the food. Three people got the mahi mahi special and it was not what we expected from a seafood restaurant. Dry and bland. I did enjoy watching the chefs at work, they were amazing! Prices are lower than most which helped, with drinks, appetizers and desert our bill for two was $125.
Hanks (dinner) – we chose Hanks because we wanted more low country meals and good seafood. Hanks gave us both! Everyone really enjoyed their dinner here. It sophisticated dining without the stuffiness. The staff is very attentive and helpful and the meals were outstanding. My wife had the roasted grouper, the waiter said it was his #1 choice (she was going to go with the shrimp-n-grits) and it turned out to be her favorite meal of the weekend. I had the low country bouillabaisse, it was above average in taste but I would have like more shrimp and less mussels. Another one of our diners had the buttermilk fried chicken and just raved about how good it was. Again, we had a 3 course meal with drinks and it was $140.
Peninsula Grill (dinner) – we chose Peninsula for our anniversary dinner and we were not disappointed. One of my top 3 dining experiences of all times, this place is 5 stars. I mentioned it was our anniversary when I made the reservation a month ago and they remembered and treated us to a special welcoming and appetizer. The atmosphere is intimate and quiet (pants required, jacket recommended) and the wait staff is impeccable. They probably had 3 staff per table and you never ever heard the wait staff or the kitchen make a peep (and we sat next to the kitchen), they were so quiet and respectful. Our waitress helped us pick a perfect bottle of red wine and we were very impressed with her knowledge and ability to match our desired taste with our meal. My wife started with the oysters on the half-shell and said it was the best raw oysters she’s ever had! She then had the grilled bourbon shrimp and said it was exceptional but not as good as her roasted grouper with rock shrimp risotto from Hanks. I started with the lobster skillet cake and crabcake duo – it was decent but nothing to write home about, I’ve had as good crabcakes as finger food at a reception. Then I had the special, which was a wreck fish, a type of white fish from Florida. Now this is what I was waiting for. This fish was so well prepared I wish I could take a lesson from the chef. Crispy on the outside but still juicy on the inside, it was perfect! Well done P.Grill! We rounded the night off with deserts. My wife got a slice of heaven in the coconut cake and according to her, it’s worth all the accolades. Another diner got the chocolate decadence which came with a glass of milk and it was exactly as advertised, very rich! Finally our other diner got the soufflé and although its not on the menu it is available. It took 30 minutes to prepare but it was well worth it. He had had it before and was extremely satisfied he was able to get it again. In all, this was a once in a lifetime experience and we knew this going into it. Total cost for a couple - $260.
Sight-seeing
We didn’t want this trip to be too hectic so we weren’t as active as others.
Friday morning we went to Fort Sumter. There is parking next to the port and the ticket office opens at 8:30 and you must purchase for that day’s tours. The first boat departs at 9:30. The rides to and from the Fort are very informative with a history of the Fort and the city. You spend one hour on the Fort and that is just about enough time to see everything. It was hot so being there in the morning was great. The boat is air conditioned on the bottom and we rode back in the AC!
We shopped on King Street Friday afternoon, tons of shops and the ladies really enjoyed this area!
Saturday morning we took a carriage ride using Classic Carriage. We took the early bird special and booked on line so it cost 15/person. The ride began at 9:30 and this was perfect as it was not crowded nor was it hot. Very nice way to see the city.
Saturday afternoon a storm came in so our beach day at Sullivan’s was cancelled. But we did manage to eat at Poe’s and then drive around Sullivan’s and IOP which is always fun to see the houses!
Sunday we rented a boat from the IOP Marina and took it out for 5 hours and toured the harbor and intercoastal waterways. We are big “boat people” so I am comfortable driving a boat and my wife is comfortable riding. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and there’s no better way to see the houses, harbor, bridges, USS Yorktown and Shem Creek than by water. If you know what you’re doing, I would highly recommend renting a boat!
Bars
We are all in our late 20s and early 30s so we were definitely interested in the bar scene. Hands down our favorite bar was the Vendue Inn’s rooftop. Great atmosphere with lots of chairs and candles and the drinks were reasonable. We also enjoyed Mad River, it has tons of tv’s and was not crowded at all on Saturday night. I would avoid the Blind Tiger (too crowded, hot and smokey) and Henry’s (too smokey).
Miscellaneous
Things we learned from our trip that I’d like to share to other TA viewers.
Parking in the historic district is pretty limited and all the streets have meters. Our hotel charged $20/day for in and out valet service. That was a little steep and we wanted access to things in our cars. So there are two lots at the end of Market Street at Concord Street that are used for parking by the port authority (I think). They charge $8/day for in %26amp; out and they gave us a permit for the entire weekend for $32. It was very convenient and not expensive!
Our Review Of Charleston - Anniversary Trip
Thanks for the great trip report! This is very helpful in planning our visit.
Our Review Of Charleston - Anniversary Trip
Thank you for taking the time to write this trip report! It was very informative. I%26#39;ve already saved it so that I can refer to it for my next trip to Charleston!
Lily
Glad that you enjoyed your stay!
Glad you had such a nice visit. You gave a great trip report. Others looking to travel to our fair city should copy you itinerary. Well done and happy belated anniversary!
Fantastic post - thank you for taking the time to write it.
I love to read Trip Reviews because as y%26#39;all know, when you live here, you tend to miss a lot. I was planning on going to Coast for the first time in a few weeks, but now I may change my plans.
Great read!
All restaurants and bars in Charleston are now smoke-free. Mt. Pleasant will have the same as of 9/1/07.
