TurkMan3

Hello, we are planning our first trip to the Savannah and Charleston area. I was wondering if there was a recommended place to stay if what we were looking for in an itinerary would be something similar to this: We were thinking of staying somewhere in or near Charleston with either a very nice pool and/ or access to a beach. The likelihood would be that we would break up the days between sun/ water for part of the day and then seeing some attractions during the other portion of the day to please everyone. It will be a group of five total (four adults), including my daughter who is two and a half years-old. We were thinking of venturing to Savannah for a couple of days possibly as well. Budget is not an extreme concern, but I don't buck up for anything Ritz-like either. Just looking for some ideas or recommendations. As I said, none of us have ever been to this area, but we were looking forward to visiting.
Thanks for your help in advance.

laurieb_nyny

We loved Savannah & Charleston. But we did not stay in either Historic District because we wanted a full service hotel with a pool due to my daughter's young age. In Charleston, we stayed in Mount Pleasant & in Savannah we stayed in Midtown. The hotels are alot less expensive in these areas. You will love both cities regardless where you stay.

cmcfong

Pools downtown are a rarity. I suggest you stay at Isle of Palms, perhaps Wild Dunes if your length of stay is too short to arrange a condo or house rental. It is a relatively short drive into town on those days you want to visit.
Enjoy your trip, it is a wonderful area.

TurkMan3

Thank you for the information. Do any of these hotels have access to beach areas as well?
We are planning on renting a car either way.

TrvlMaven

The Best Western King's Inn in Charleston has a pool and is near the historic district. Lots of families there the last time we stayed.

cmcfong

Wild Dunes is on the beach at Isle of Palms.

cd

You are not going to find any downtown Charleston hotels that are on the beach. The Isle of Palms mentioned above is a 30min drive from Historic Charleston, another beach would be Folly Beach which is 8 miles from Charleston, going further south is Kiawah and about halfway between Charleston and Savannah is Fripp Island, which is beautiful BTW. There are also other beaches in the area between the two cities.

gail

And you will not find a beach in Savannah, either. Savannah is actually inland - on the Savannah River - several miles and about 20 minutes at least from the actual coast.

TurkMan3

I think we have narrowed ideas down. At this point we are looking into traveling to Savannah and staying there for two nights. Then we are looking to take a rental car and drive to one of the beach areas near Charleston. We would like to stay on the beach near Charleston and travel into Charleston and the other areas as we choose. I have looked into the various island surrounding Charleston. Which of these areas has the most to do for those who do not want to sit on the beach all day? For example, does one of the areas have more shopping, restaurants, etc than the others?
The other option is that if Savannah is just not worth the two days, we would simply spend the entire time in the Charleston area but still going with the idea of staying near the beach and traveling to the places of interest.
I looked into the Wild Dunes and wondering of any other places in Charleston or even hotel recommendations in Savannah.

laurieb_nyny

The hotel we stayed at on Mt Pleasant is the Days Inn & in Savannah, the Ramada Inn. Can recommend both of these budget-conscious options. The Ramada includes a full hot breakfast & the Days has an attached restaurant plus plenty of fast food options (for breakfast) in the immediate area. It is also near the Patriots Point ferry to Fort Sumter.

ljv

Hi!
Last summer our family of 4 stayed on Seabrook island(next to Kiawah). We rented a one bedroom condo right on the beach, with priveledges to the Seabrook beach club,(oceanfront pool/dining complex)

Our time on Seabrook was spent riding bikes, both on the hard-packed beach and around the lushly landscaped island. We also rode horses, as Seabrook has a full service Equestrian center and we rented a boat to tour the inlets and marshes surrounding Seabrook.

We did our touring in the mornings and/or late afternoons. Charleston is an EASY 30 minute ride from Seabrook and it never seemed problematic for us. Seabrook is also convenient to various plantations and other attractions.

We also drove to Savannah for a day trip..left at 7:00 in the morning and were in Savannah before 9:00. spending the entire day there gave us a decent feel for the city, which was charming, but doesn't come close to the appeal of Charleston.(in our opinions!)

Would highly recommend Seabrook...provides an excellent base from which to explore the lowcountry. Kiawah also seems very nice, but quite a bit larger than Seabrook...we found Seabrook more "cozy" and loved it so much are going back again this summer.

Whatever you chose, you'll love this part of the country. Have a great trip.

TurkMan3

That was very informative. Thank you for taking the time to help. The biggest problem with our group will be that we have so many diverse interests. Some would be happy to sit on a beach for the majority of the week while others like to see something worthwhile on a daily basis. So I am trying to find a place near Charleston that offers beachfront accommodations but also is somewhat commercialized with shops, etc, to provide something for the other half of the group.
We were thinking of staying just outside of Charleston to allow for beach/ pool time for part of the day and seeing sights for the other portion of the day.
I like your idea about the one day visit to Savannah.

BetsyinKY

I would rent a house or condo on Isle of Palms or Sullivan's Island. The beachgoers can stay at the beach and those who would like to take in the sights are just a short 15-20 minute drive from downtown Charleston and less than that to the shops and restaurants of Mt. Pleasant. Personally, I love Sullivan's Island, because it's a little less busy than Isle of Palms, but I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. Depending on when you are going, you might have trouble finding a rental for less than a week. Isle of Palms has more condos for rent than Sullivan's Island and sometimes the condos are easier to rent for a shorter time than a house. Also, there are several hotels on Isle of Palms, including inside the Wild Dunes resort. As far as rentals, we have used Island Realty 6 or 7 times in the past few years and have always been pleased. Have a great trip!