Five of the city's best-known addresses, what each is actually like to stay in, and who should book which.
Written by Alex H., a Charleston local Updated August 2026
Charleston's hotel market splits along one line: converted historic buildings and purpose-built new ones. The historic conversions give you the city you came for, at the cost of small rooms, odd layouts and the occasional plumbing eccentricity. The new builds give you space, quiet and a reliable bathroom, at the cost of the atmosphere. Almost every disappointed Charleston hotel review comes from someone who booked one and wanted the other.
These guides cover what each building is really like, what the rooms are actually like inside, what parking costs, and who should stay somewhere else. For a neighborhood-level view of the city, start with the where to stay guide.
The city's flagship new-build luxury hotel, facing Marion Square. Because it was purpose-built rather than carved out of an old house, the rooms are large and uniform, the bathrooms are real bathrooms, and the walls are soundproofed. Rooftop pool and bar.
Twenty-one rooms in an 1886 cotton merchant's house, with Tiffany glass, carved marble fireplaces and a rooftop cupola guests can climb at any hour. Free valet parking, which is rare downtown. No pool, no gym, and not aimed at families.
A 1960s federal office building converted into a mid-century modern hotel of marble, brass and walnut. The antidote if Charleston's antebellum-inn aesthetic wears on you, and the wrong choice if that aesthetic is why you came.
A Relais & Châteaux inn at the City Market, with Peninsula Grill downstairs. The most central address in the city, which also makes it the noisiest. Note that a property-wide renovation is running into January 2027. Ask for a courtyard-facing room.
Twelve stories of Beaux-Arts on Marion Square, opened in 1924 and restored in 1996. Rooms vary a great deal because the building is historic, so what you get depends on which one you book. Walkable to Upper King dining.
Start with parking, because it is the cost people forget. Valet downtown commonly runs $30 to $60 a night, so a hotel that looks $40 cheaper can end up level once the car is parked. Wentworth Mansion includes valet; most of the others do not.
Then decide how much you care about room size. Historic conversions publish square footage only for their best rooms, which is itself informative: if a hotel lists dimensions for the suites and stays quiet about the standard rooms, the standard rooms are small. New builds publish everything because they have nothing to hide on that front.
Finally, look at what is underneath you. Planters Inn sits on Market Street, where carriages queue by day and bars run late; the Francis Marion faces the King and Calhoun intersection and Marion Square's event schedule. Both are wonderful locations and both are loud ones. Quiet-room requests are worth making at booking, not at check-in.
The where-to-stay guide compares the historic district, Upper King, Mount Pleasant and the beaches on walkability, price and what each area is like at night.
It depends what you want from the building. Hotel Bennett has the largest, most consistent rooms. Wentworth Mansion is the most atmospheric. The Dewberry is the design pick. Planters Inn has the best location. There is no single winner.
South of Calhoun Street, within the historic district, so you can walk to the market, the Battery and King Street without driving. Anything north of Calhoun trades walkability for a lower rate.
Rates swing hard by season. Spring and October are the most expensive, January and August the cheapest, and a festival weekend can double a rate overnight. Book spring and autumn stays two to three months out.
Almost all of them, and valet downtown commonly runs $30 to $60 a night. Wentworth Mansion is a notable exception with complimentary valet. Factor parking into the nightly comparison; it changes the ranking.
Disclosure: booking links on this page go to GetYourGuide or Expedia. If you book through one, this site earns a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which tours we recommend — see how we pick.