Newbies in Charleston - suggestions?

My husband and I will be headed to Charleston in July for 5 nights. I have just booked our airfare and are now debating about where to stay. I know its going to be hot when we go so I am not sure if it is important to stay somewhere where there%26#39;s a pool? I love the look of the Harbourview and also the Market Pavillion.

Or should we stay 2 or 3 nights in Charleston (the historic district) and 2 nights near or on the beach? Also is it ideal to rent a car? Thanks in advance!

Newbies in Charleston - suggestions?

You will have potential issues with minimum stay requirements at many of the beach accomodations particularly around the 4th. It%26#39;s not a bad plan to stay at one of the nearby beaches and take trips into the city. The Isle of Palms, Sullivan%26#39;s Island and Folly Beach are all within a 20 to 25 minute drive to the historic district. You may want to look into the Boardwalk Inn in Wild Dunes or one of the IOP hotels as a start. Whether you stay in the HD or at one of the beaches, you will probably need a car.

Newbies in Charleston - suggestions?

Stay at the beach, and do day trips into Charleston. Very easy driving. Also, you can park for a full day in Charleston for about what you pay for an hour in Midtown Manhattan.

You will find that most condo and home owners rent only by the week, usually Saturday to Saturday, in the summer. Since you have already booked your flights for a five day stay, you may be limited to a hotel or bed and breakfast at the beach.

A number of the condo units also rent Sunday to Sunday. It works out better if all of the units don%26#39;t turn over in the same cycle. If you deal with one of the smaller property management firms, they typically will try to accomodate shorter stays by splitting the week between two guests.

I saw that the Boardwalk Inn has availability. How is this resort?

The Boardwalk is probably the best of the ';beach'; hotel options near Charleston. I have gone there for food and drinks, but since I own a condo in Wild Dunes I have never stayed there. It gets mixed reviews, but you can%26#39;t put a great deal of stock in reviews unless you know the reviewer. The Inn is owned and managed by Destination Wild Dunes (DWD) which is a Destination Hotels and Resorts (DHR) company. They also own the amenities in Wild Dunes including the 2 Fazio-designed championship golf courses, the fitness center and the restaurants associated with the amenities and hotel. If you want a hotel experience that is ';resortish';, it is a good choice. My biggest issue with DWD is that IMHO they have overdeveloped the space they control.

Between the BI and the ocean there is a very nice development called Grand Pavillion. Adjacent to the BI there are condos called the Village at WD which were developed by the development affiliate of DHR. The random probability that you will actually see the ocean from any of these accomodations is near zero. The ';overdevelopment'; also leads to this particular area being the most crowded beach areas in Wild Dunes. Even at that it is less crowded than most other beaches on the east coast.

It sounds like you enjoy the beach and sun and there is plenty of that to be had anywhere on IOP or in WD. Personally I love to lay in bed and watch the sun rise over the Atlantic, hear the sounds of the breaking waves and smell the salty aromas of the ocean. The condos in Port O%26#39;Call, Mariner%26#39;s Walk, Seascape, Summer House Beach Club, Ocean Club and Tidewater all offer ocean view to ocean front places to kick back and relax. It%26#39;s all a great base to go into the city or the nearby plantations, or just sit on the sand and veg.

The Charleston area is a great place to get away from it all and it offers a variety options for a variety of interests. At the end of the day, I hope you enjoy your stay and come back many times and if I can help I%26#39;m happy to try.

Thank you very much for your input. Do you think we should just stay in Charleston and drive to the beaches for a day? Or just splitting it up okay? I really want to stay in the historic district but also would love to stay at one of the beach resorts. Being that where the Boardwalk Inn is and you say its very overdeveloped, can you offer an alternative where to stay for a few nights?

Sorry for all of my questions!

I may have miscommunicated and imposed too much of my personal preference into the response. Even though I%26#39;m single and don%26#39;t tend to over pack, when I go somewhere I like to settle in and not re-pack and move. If you want to stay in the HD and go to the beach, do that. If you want to stay at the beach and go into town, do that. I personally wouldn%26#39;t try to blend the two. I would stay one place or the other and do day trips to the other.

If you want to spend a night at the beach, the BI is an excellent choice. When I say ';overcrowded'; I don%26#39;t mean stacked on top of one another. I%26#39;m spoiled with the areas to the north of IOP where if you are within 25 yards of the folks next to you, it is because you chose to be.

If your primary interest is the HD, stay downtown. The beach is less than a half hour away and there is plenty of public parking. The Mills House is great; so is Harborview.

Don%26#39;t split your trip.

If you haven%26#39;t been to Charleston before, stay in the historic district, and visit the beach for a day, depending upon your mood and the weather. When you come back (as I suspect you will) stay at the beach.

Just got back from a week in Charleston and we stayed at the Holiday Inn Historic District which I highly recommend. We took a couple of day trips to the beaches and spent most of the time exploring Charleston. I do highly recommend Gresh Meggett%26#39;s Eco lighthouse tour. He takes you out to Morris Island on his boat and you get to explore this beautiful, uninhabited island on your own. We actually loved it so much, we went twice. Gresh is a great guy, you will not be disappointed.

I would stay at the Holiday Inn Historic District. They have a great pool and the staff there is above and beyond incredible. We drove to the beaches when we stayed there. The hotel location is great and its an easy drive to anywhere. It was so nice to come back to this hotel after a long day. They truly welcome you with southern hospitality.