King Charles Inn; Charleston, South Carolina

Posted by Jan Ross on August 9, 2012

King Charles Inn. Photo courtesy of the hotel.

“You need to back up,” he said kindly.

“Back up?” I replied, looking back at the traffic coming towards the King Charles Inn.

“Yep.” He smiled. “It’s OK, there is a right turn lane and all the cars will be turning before they get here.”

So we backed up and pulled into the complimentary off-street parking which, incidentally? Is fabulous after paying for parking at many different hotels.

This was the first but would not be the last time someone at the King Charles Inn was kind and friendly to us.

In fact, every single person at the King Charles Inn was kind and friendly to us. This was one of the many, many things we loved about this historical, boutique Inn located on Meeting Street right in the middle of the historic district in Charleston.

We left the car and walked around front to the lobby to check in and were immediately charmed. Not only were the people at the front desk kind and friendly what did I say but the lobby was truly lovely with dark wood trim, beautiful lighting and a curving staircase that led…somewhere.

Lovely stairs from the lobby. Photo courtesy of the hotel.

Curious, we left our luggage in the car and went exploring.

The stairs led up to a beautiful cocktail lounge which doubled as a work and relaxation area, with plenty of tables and chairs for those who want to work on their computers – wifi is free throughout the hotel and we truly appreciated that – and comfy chairs and couches. There was also a bar area where we learned they offer a happy hour in the evening, complete with fruit, cheese and cracker trays and special drink offers. We checked on it later that evening and were surprised at how nice it was and how well-attended.

The cocktail area - so nice! Photo courtesy of the hotel.

The biggest surprise, however, was the gorgeous Coral Terrace which we wandered out onto through the French Doors by the lounge area. With a fountain, greenery, tables and chairs, and a very nice pool, you really want to just sit down and relax here. I was surprised to see a pool at this hotel in the middle of downtown but it was very much appreciated by the families who were staying there. The Terrace was a great place for breakfast as we discovered the next morning.

Beautiful terrace!

Pool is in the center of the hotel, easily accessible from all the rooms.

We finally got our luggage and checked into our large and comfortable corner room with a great view of the surrounding area. The Inn has 91 guest rooms and the Deluxe Junior Suite with a full-size sleeper sofa and mini-fridge would be great for a family on vacation. Our room was perfect in every way until the second night. During the day, they apparently worked on the street and made a huge hole which the workers then covered with a sheet of metal and left for the night. It didn’t us long to learn that every single car that went over that metal was going to make a loud booming sound which we could clearly hear through our window. Not much sleep was had that night. As we were checking out the next morning, we mentioned this to the front desk people and they were horrified. They could not apologize enough. I’m sure if we had been staying longer, they would have arranged for us to move to another room or, based on their attitude, gone out and filled in the hole themselves so their guests would not be inconvenienced.

But, up to that slight inconvenience on our last night, our stay at this lovely location on our visit to Charleston was perfect. The Inn is really located in the most ideal spot in Charleston on Meeting Street, literally a few steps from the City Market and other shops, restaurants, historic homes and pretty much anything you want to see in Charleston. You can even arrange for a carriage or rickshaw to pick you up right at the front door.

The Inn offers a wonderful buffet breakfast for only $9.75 or a Continental Breakfast for $7.75 and you can eat in your room, the Coral dining room, or on the terrace. I recommend the terrace as it is perfectly lovely out there. They also offer access to a fitness center but we didn’t have time to check this out as we spent all our time walking all over Charleston!