A Classic Charleston SC Retreat

Charleston SC was one of our favorite vacation destinations. We stayed at a beautiful waterfront resort just across the bridge from downtown Charleston. We would definitely recommend the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina. It is actually located in Mount Pleasant SC but it is situated on the Charleston harbor. There is also a water taxi that will escort you right across the harbor into Charleston. Our last visit was in August / September of 2017 and we can’t wait to go back!

The Beach Club at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina is impressive to say the least! We loved the beautiful and luxurious décor from the lobby, to the rooms, to the restaurants and the outdoors.

If you don’t want to go far for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just cocktails there are a variety of options within the resort. The Bridge Bar is a rooftop bar overlooking the Ravenel bridge over the harbor, The Reel Bar, The Beach Club Tiki Bar which is poolside or The Charleston Harbor Fish House. The food and the drinks are as phenomenal as the accommodations! I do have to specifically recommend the Frosé which is a frozen cocktail that includes rose wine, strawberry vodka and strawberries but you will have to verify exactly what is in it with the bartender. It is to die for!

We recommend a private horse drawn carriage tour through historic Charleston to see the sights. We chose Palmetto Carriage. It is an hour long and I believe the cost was approximately $200 (plus a $40 tip for our excellent tour guide) which was well worth every dollar? The tour consists of 25 – 30 blocks of historic sites. The city regulates these companies to control the tourist traffic flow, so you will not know which area of Charleston the tour will take you through if you purchase your tickets in advance. I am an advanced planner and always purchase my tickets in advance to ensure we are able to do everything we want while on vacation. Of course, you can always choose to take the public carriage tours which will cost you much less, but it won’t be as personal or romantic while taking in the sites of Charleston.

Another must do is a harbor boat tour on the Carolina Belle. It is a 90 minute narrated tour along the Charleston harbor. The captain and the crew were extremely entertaining and hilarious. We even had dolphins following along the boat along our way to pass by Fort Sumter National Monument and other Civil War sites and landmarks along the waterfront. At the time the cost per person was under $30 and we utilized the water taxi from the resort to cross the harbor to get to this event.

Bonus! When we booked the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, we had no idea that the USS Yorktown (CV-10) and the USS Laffey (DD-724) are docked right there in the Charleston bay. You can purchase tickets on site or by visiting Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum – Charleston Harbor. The ticket purchase includes access to USS Yorktown, USS Laffey, USS Clamagore, The Vietnam Experience Exhibit, Cold War Memorial and Medal of Honor Museum. All for under $30 per Adult or child (Adults $26, Senior Citizens $19 or Children 6 -11 $16) of course prices listed here are subject to change. You can easily spend 5-6 hours to go through all the exhibits, so plan accordingly. There is also limited access for handicap accessibility.

Below are some random photos of our trip!

I do have to note two places we dined at for dinner during our stay. Both are exceptional. The Peninsula Grill is a fine dining establishment that will not disappoint. You MUST have a piece of coconut cake before you leave, but if you don’t they will ship one for you at a cost of course! The other restaurant we absolutely loved was Pawpaw and I am sure all of their menu items are delicious but I could only choose one and it was Pawpaw’s Recipe #89 Free-Range Fried Chicken which was the best fried chicken I have ever tasted! So if you make it to visit Charleston SC one of these days, these are two must go to places for dinner!

What a wonderful stay in Charleston (Mount Pleasant) SC! There is so much more to do but that is all we had time for this trip. We will be back to see more and do more in the future.

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