The Nickel Hotel

The proprietors of downtown Charleston’s The Pinch chose Upper King Street, in Cannonborough, for the sequel. The Nickel Hotel is twice as large — a still boutique-sized 50 rooms and suites — and announces itself with just a touch more fanfare, thanks to a building by Morris Adjmi Architects whose façade, though unmistakably contemporary, pays tribute to the melting pot of historical styles that is Charleston. Once you’re in the central courtyard, though, ringed by three stories of wrought-iron balconies, you’ll likely do a double-take at the thoroughly immersive Victorian atmosphere.

The rest of the public spaces follow suit, while the rooms and suites pursue a hybrid contemporary-classic style. In them you’ll find residential comforts like full kitchens and washers and dryers, and many of them open onto courtyard-facing balconies. And at this size, The Nickel Hotel can sustain a pair of dining and drinking venues: Bar Daniel, a swanky second-floor cocktail lounge, and, from September 2025, a rooftop bar and lounge called Rosemary Rose.