Planters Inn

Planter's Inn is at the corner of Meeting and Market streets, in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. Built in 1844 as a dry goods market, and expanded to its present form in 1997, the hotel now resembles nothing so much as an authentic Southern mansion, with the hospitality to match. Though deep in the middle of bustling downtown Charleston, Planters Inn faces inward on a quiet courtyard, complete with fountains and palm trees, and provides a moment of pastoral quiet in contrast with its urban setting.

The guest rooms are opulently decorated, in a lavish Southern style, with high ceilings, canopied four-poster beds, and an assortment of antique furnishings and objets d'art. Some have working gas fireplaces, and others open onto loggias overlooking the courtyard. The hotel is divided between two buildings - the original Hornick's Dry Goods building contains the bulk of the hotel, and across the courtyard, the 1997 addition provides 21 more rooms, in addition to the Garden Room.

Though a fine hotel on its own, Planter's Inn benefits from an extraordinary restaurant, possibly the best in Charleston. Peninsula Grill is a conscious throwback to the classy establishments of the early 20th century, and boasts of too many Mobil stars and AAA rosettes to mention. The concept is a blend of old Southern charm and cosmopolitan New York excitement - and classy, more Sinatra's New York than that of Sex and the City. Or, if the mood strikes for more traditional Southern cuisine, the Planters Inn/Peninsula Grill partnership is also responsible for Hank's - a throwback as well, this time to a classic 1940s fish house.


There is no need to limit one's options to these two restaurants, as fine as they are. The neighborhood around Planter's Inn is rich with bistros and bars, as well as antique shops and boutiques. And the theater district, The Battery, and Waterfront Park are a short walk away, surrounded by meticulously preserved examples of Charleston's historic antebellum architecture.