Hotel Hartness

The Hartness estate, a few miles to the east of Greenville, South Carolina, was once the private home of the eminent local family for which it’s named. Lately, though, it’s been opened up to the public in some unexpected ways. Alongside 180 acres of preserved green space, you’ll now find a mixed-use new urbanist development, home, someday, to a thousand families. And in the French Revival–style mansion that was once the family home, you’ll find Hotel Hartness, a luxury boutique hotel quite unlike anything else in town.

This is a proper luxury boutique hotel, one whose 73 rooms and suites are retro-inspired but contemporary in their atmosphere. The queen and king rooms are spacious enough, but naturally it’s the suites that truly shine, both those in the main house and the four that adjoin the Spa H, with their furnished balconies and views of the nature preserve. Meanwhile the twin social hearts of the Hartness are Patterson Kitchen + Bar, a restaurant serving sophisticated Southern fare showcasing Upstate South Carolina ingredients, and the Captain, a wine and cocktail bar in a warm and elegant space adjoining the main house’s central Great Room.