Charleston Vacation

Our family spent spring break in Charleston this year and it is such a fun city to explore. We were especially happy to be in the sunshine! It was refreshing to pack warm weather clothes and head south! Here are some of my travel favorites for your next vacation.

  

We stayed at Hotel Bennett, which is in a great location on King Street. King Street is delightful to walk up and down and check out cute boutiques and restaurants. We enjoyed wandering side streets off of King and admiring the gorgeous architecture and landscaping. The flowers were in full bloom!

We arrived late afternoon on Sunday and checked into the hotel. We had two big rooms connecting for the five of us and we also had access to the Club Level. This was a great option for our family because it was a good gathering place during the day with extra food and drinks. 

Our first night we enjoyed a cocktail in the lobby bar. The bar is pretty with lots of seating and a nice place to relax and people watch. We dined at Gabrielle located in our hotel. Our meal was delicious and the perfect start to our stay!

Hotel Bennett has other fantastic dining choices and we enjoyed each place - La Patisserie is open daily for a nosh and coffee. Camellias is a champagne bar and everything is pink and sparkly! On the weekends they offer afternoon tea, which would be delightful in such a beautiful setting.

Camellias Champagne Bar is plush and pink!

We also loved the rooftop bar called Fiat Lux. You can enjoy pretty views of the city amidst a navy and wood color scheme. We devoured a cheese board and fries there one night after a big day of sight-seeing.

Rooftop look!

One of the days we took advantage of the excellent spa and enjoyed massages, manicures and pedicures. Hotel Bennett is also minutes from the College of Charleston, which is a lovely campus to see.

Our first full day in Charleston, we put our name in early at a popular restaurant called Miller's All Day and walked up and down King Street while we waited for our table. Our meal was yummy and the restaurant has a fun atmosphere.

We did a walking tour and saw a great deal of Charleston on foot. After a mosey through the market, we treated ourselves to a coffee stop at Clerks Coffee Company attached to the darling Hotel Emeline.

We then went on a carriage tour with the Palmetto Carriage Works company. They have been around since 1972 and treat the horses very well. The interesting thing to remember when taking a carriage tour is that each ride is a lottery so you do not know what part of the city you will tour. We enjoyed the ride and the tour guide was informative. We saw so many of the beautiful churches in Charleston and pretty places like this hotel! 

There are endless great restaurants to enjoy in Charleston and it is hard to choose. We made reservations well in advance. High Cotton is really delicious on East Bay Street. The Darling Oyster Bar on King Street is also a good spot. We tried Bourbon 'N Bubbles one night for a cocktail before dinner. We also started the evening in the cozy bar at Husk one night. My Mom and I ordered the Fresh out of the Gate cocktail, Claire tried the Hornet's Nest and my Dad tasted the Husk Old-fashioned. The skillet cornbread and pimento cheese and crackers were the perfect appetizers to share. We ran out of days, but Basic Kitchen was on our list for lunch! 

One day we walked to rainbow row, all around the Battery and checked out some of the beautiful historic homes. There is so much history, beautiful architecture  and spectacular gardens to admire. 

The bike taxis were a great way to get around quickly, but one day we rented a car through the hotel and took a field trip and drove around The Citadel military college. We then headed to Mount Pleasant located across the Cooper River from Charleston. In addition to touring Boone Hall, we drove around Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms and had lunch at Post House in the historic area of Mount Pleasant.