For our third year anniversary (September 21) we took a trip to Charleston for the weekend. I have never been but always saw pictures of it on Pinterest, Instagram, and from friends that have gone and it just looked like a dream! I’m dedicating today’s Friday Five to our trip. Enjoy!
1. Where We Stayed
We decided to go last minute, so our choices were limited as far as where to stay. We ended up going with The Dewberry and we both loved it, and it was much less expensive than other hotels in the area! I found the hotel though the app Hotel Tonight. I looked at a few sites and this app had the best price (a few hundred less). The hotel is on Meeting Street where the City Market is. It was also close to everything so we walked everywhere which was super convenient. One thing you may want to know is that valet parking is an extra $36/night. I’m not sure how parking/pricing is around the city, but we ended up walking everywhere so it was nice knowing our car was in good hands. We chose the Signature King Room with the Wragg Square view (overlooked the park/market). The hotel also has a restaurant: Henrietta’s that a lot of people said was so good, but we never had a chance to try. There is also a bar and a rooftop restaurant or bar that wasn’t open when we went but apparently is open now. You could see it from farther away and it looked so pretty.
I got in touch with them today and they are having two promotions until the end of the year: One which provides 15% off of the normal rate along with $50 per night dining credit. The other, for suites only, is 15% off the normal rate with $40 breakfast credit per night. If you visit Charleston, I highly recommend staying here. We don’t have anything negative to say.
2. WHERE WE ATE
We got to Charleston mid-afternoon, so after checking in to our hotel and changing we walked around the city. For most places, brunch was already over. We ended up eating at Carmella’s Cafe & Dessert Bar. We both got hot sandwiches and which were pretty good. They had a ton of desserts and but we were too full to try any. During the weekend, we tried out Welkin Coffee which was more downtown and Black Tap Coffee which was towards the outside of town. I got iced vanilla lattes both times and I liked Black Tap Coffee a little better as far as taste and Welkin Coffee as far as location and place, although both very good. We also had gelato from Belgian Gelato and honestly I wasn’t a fan. I love gelato and it seemed very popular, but for some reason this one left a weird aftertaste in my mouth and I couldn’t get used to the texture. They do let you sample and have a lot more on the menu than just scoops (milkshakes, etc). We had brunch once at Kitchen 208 the next morning and it was SO good! I will tell you more about Sullivan’s island below, but we stopped and ate at Burgers there after visiting the island before heading home. It was good and they had cornhole outside which we both LOVE haha! Except my husband has yet to beat me lol 🙂 Our time there was short but I did have a lot of you recommend a ton of places so I will list them here in case you want to try these: High Cotton, The Darling, Callie’s, Brown Dog Deli, Edmunds Oats, Eli’s Table for breakfast, Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, Snob, Magnolia Grille, Poogans Porch, Bohemian Rooftop Bar, brunch at Stars, 167 Raw. High Cotton was where Noah saw Allie in the Notebook with her fiancé so I definitely want to try that next time because I mean, The Notebook!
3. WHAT WE DID
What I loved about Charleston is that you can walk everywhere to see everything, you don’t need a car. Like I said earlier, we got to Charleston mid afternoon, so we walked around town, ate, and then went shopping. There are so many markets around town that has a ton of small businesses selling hats, baskets, soaps, candles, jewelry, food, and a ton of unique crafty things to name a few. We love just walking around exploring so it was fun and relaxing for us. If you are looking for some good shopping King Street is where you want to go. There are so many cute boutiques and name brand stores everywhere. Definitely leave room in your suitcase if you are planning to shop! There are also horse carriage tours everywhere if you want to tour the city, you can also tour historic homes such as the Calhoun Mansion where they filmed some of Allie’s parent’s home in the Notebook. The Waterfront Park is where the famous pineapple fountain is. We also ran into White Point Gardens which is a huge park overlooking the ocean. This is also where I took a picture of the “Barbie House” I posted on Instagram. When I live there I will be sure to invite you all for a girls night haha!
4. WHAT WE SAW
Charleston is hands down one of the prettiest cities we have ever visited. It actually reminded both of us of Paris in some spots because it is so historic and the architecture is gorgeous in both cities. We didn’t pack our day with activities, we mostly walked around and relax, but that was enough to make our hearts swell. It was so beautiful!! My favorite buildings were in Rainbow Row where I took pictures for THIS blog post. Each section of the building is a different color, and I mean it is just so pretty!
5. Sullivan’s Island
Charleston is so close to the beach, maybe 20-30 minute drive and you drive on the huge bridge above the ocean which is gorgeous. We drove up to Sullivan’s Island before we left home to catch the sunset. We took lawn chairs and sunflower seeds and just sat on the beach. It was so perfect and relaxing. There are swamps along the walk to the actual beach so I highly recommend wearing mosquito spray. It’s like a two minute walk but we were eaten alive haha! It felt so nice being back on the beach not to mention how breathtaking the sunset was!
I hope you all enjoyed today’s post! I would love to hear your recommendations for Charleston! I’m hoping to visit it again soon! Hope you all have a great weekend! XO!
I've not been to Charleston, and wow your pictures are so nice, I'd love to visit. I love your sandals and bag, it would be fun to show off some of my cute things that I haven't even worn yet!! tsk tsk!