We recently went to Charleston, South Carolina for a little bit of work and a lot of vacation and had the best time. I grew up in Columbia SC and took many trips to the Holy City as a child, but hadn’t gone for a vacation in many years. It’s truly like no other place! For more photos + videos, head to my instagram highlights. Here is our complete itinerary with amazing restaurants, our favorite things to do, and the best places to stay. Read on for my recent Charleston Travel Guide!
Charleston Travel Guide
This past trip, John did the leg work of researching and booking both places and he knocked it out of the park.
The first place we stayed was at an ADORABLE recently opened Airbnb in Downtown Charleston, about a 10 minute walk from King Street. I will link it here!
Outfit linked here
This is a true bed and breakfast, privately owned by a company that renovates homes in Charleston to make into Bnbs. It had everything! It’s a 3 story house with a separate house for larger groups and has in total 7 rooms to choose from. We booked a room with King bed that had access to a huge porch, a large sitting area, a full bathroom, and another smaller room with a couch, TV and the closet. It was designed so perfectly. There was a coffee bar section with a mini fridge and a Nespresso machine that I used everyday (sometimes multiple times hehe).
The downstairs was the common area for all guests to enjoy the couches, TVs, fridge, snacks + drinks, and was stunning to just hang out in. In BnB style, they had breakfast provided by a local bakery that was absolutely delicious. I hadn’t had French toast sticks in YEARS! There were egg + sausage biscuits, bagels, cereal, and chicken biscuits.
I just can’t say enough good things about this airbnb. It was truly a picture-perfect Charleston spot that’s a little outside of the hustle and bustle but still walkable to everything. And when your’e in Charleston, you HAVE to walk as much as you can. Downtown and the battery have the most beautiful streets. The Airbnb also provides bikes to their guests!
The only gripe I had was that the walls are thin, so on a busy Friday night or early weekday mornings you might hear the street. But you’re going to get that in anything that’s been renovated in Charleston! So just bring a sound machine or fan.
The second place we stayed was The Palmetto Hotel
Right on the water and next to the Battery + rainbow row, you have to stay here to truly immerse in the Charleston hustle and bustle. This hotel just opened in Spring 2023 so it’s brand new (which I love) and beyond stylish. The lobby welcomes you with a huge gold Palm chandelier, lots of seating with custom chairs + settees, a wrap around bar with high end cocktails and a classy atmosphere, and some of the best continental breakfast I’ve ever had in the mornings. Get the grits!
The rooms are stunning and come stocked with everything you could want or need. I love seeing how hospitality evolves with what’s in trend, and The Palmetto Hotel checks every box. For example, each room had an espresso machine with fancy cups + saucers, personal bottles of top (ish) shelf liquors, one of the most high-tech showers I’ve ever used, and the best robes. It’s a boutique hotel with only 45 rooms, which gives the feeling of exclusivity. This hotel is very intentional with comfort and style, as you can tell with these pictures! We absolutely loved out stay, and wished our trip was longer! And again, you can’t beat the location.
Places to eat (and drink) in Charleston
There are probably a million blogs on this topic because Charleston has one of the best food scenes! My kind of vacation is sight seeing, lots of relaxing, and LOTS of food.
Chasing Sage
Chasing Sage was the first place we went when we got into town. It’s a newer local spot that’s a few minute walk from King Street (and the airbnb we were staying in!) and was our favorite restaurant from our whole trip.
It’s absolutely delicious. The food is seasonal, local and leans towards vegetarian (not everything though), and was just so so flavorful. From the cocktails to the dessert!
You pick 4-5 small plates to share over the course of dinner, which makes the evening go slower and is so much fun to try so many things. The vibe is homey, earthy and welcoming while still being a bit high end.
Can’t recommend Chasing Sage enough! Try the cocktail with the roasted peas. Yes, PEAS!
Post House
Another local spot, Post House one about 15 minutes away from Downton Charleston in Mount Pleasant. This precious restaurant is in the sweetest area with a few local shops to pop in before dinner. Make sure to grab reservations!
We tried a few different cocktails during dinner and I ordered the steak frites which was delicious. The waitress ended up telling us that it’s their company’s mission to get to know their community by recording certain requests and likes on their guest’s reservations. So next time we go, they’ll know we liked the skinny margs and a certain type of bourbon 😉
Grill 225
Plan on Grill 225 being the dinner spot for your fancy night. We had a ball at this fine dining restaurant, and I ate the best steak I’ve ever had. This restaurant was literally right across the street from the Palmetto Hotel which was so convenient! Another spot you’ll have to make reservations to and adhere to their dress code.
The sides are huge, so come hungry. They have a fabulous wine list and the vibe is very classy as it’s inside the Market Pavilion Hotel.
10/10!
Camellia’s High Tea
Only served Friday through Sunday, this adorable and girly tea room is located inside Hotel Bennet and gets booked out fairly quickly so make your reservations as soon as you can! We were at high tea for a little less than 2 hours, slowly sipping our individual tea pots and snacking on the different tiers of food. There were courses of both sweet and savory, and we left absolutely stuffed. Everything was delicious!
Camellias is also open throughout the rest of the week as a champagne lounge, which sounds just as fun!
Hotel Bennet Rooftop
While you’re here, head upstairs to the Rooftop of Hotel Bennet and checkout their chic bar overlooking the city! We took a break between shopping here and had a glass of Rose. Go at sunset for an even better view!
Gingerline
Cutest spot for coastal drinks + yummy bites or dinner! We popped in here with some friends and had a snack and cocktail before dinner one night and it was so much fun. It’s absolutely adorable both inside and outside.
Things to do:
Coffee at Caviar and Bananas on a morning walk (close to airbnb!)
Pop in The Charleston Place (on King), which is a boutique luxury hotel that has amazing shopping, a piano bar with live music, drinks, restaurants, art galleries, spa services, and overall amazing hospitality. There are so many beautiful spots to sit and relax both inside and outside. A must visit while you’re in Charleston!
Book a walking tour! We booked Walks of Charleston and did a morning tour. We met up with our guide downtown after grabbing a coffee. It was so informative and gorgeous to see Charleston on foot!
Shopping on King Street – As if you didn’t already know, Charleston has the absolute best shopping ever. King street from top to bottom has some of my favorite boutiques and is worth a day of strolling into. Some of my favorites are Amanda Lindroth, LoveShackFancy, LAKE pajamas, any antique stores, and art galleries.
Go to the beach at Sullivans Island! We ended up not doing any beach time this visit, but always love to get away to the beach any chance we get. Sullivans Island is a great spot!
Visit Rainbow Row and the Pineapple Fountain!
That’s all for now!
I hope you have a fabulous trip to Charleston, and you’ll have to let me know if you end up trying any of these spots on my Charleston Travel Guide during your next visit.
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