Help please kind Charleston, SC fodorites

Birdie, DO NOT stay at that Courtyard. Firstly, it isn't even in Charleston it is in North Charleston in a horrible area.

North Charleston has one of the highest violent crime rates in the US.

Splurge a little and stay downtown.

It will ruin your stay if you stay outside downtown.

Check out The Days Inn Historic District and The Andrew Pinckney Inn.

Please trust me on this. Do not stay outside the historic district.

Thanks, GoT. I was hoping that since it was on "Mall Blvd" that it was in a nicer suburban area. Courtyards are usually in ok areas.
I did look at the Days Inn and it isn't a bad price. I'll look at the Pickney also. I didn't want to spend too much on a college visit. I'll save it for the visits DH and I'll make it she ends up going there!

Do you have a restaurant idea? I'm going to go ahead and do some searching here. I know escargot put in a great trip report.

I checked rates for next weekend and it looks like you are already paying close to $150 for the Courtyard. The Days Inn downtown is only $210.

Call the Andrew Pinckney Inn and ask if they have a historic value room. Online isn't showing anything.

Also, call the Indigo Inn. They are also usually reasonable.

Please trust me on not staying outside the historic district.

What kind of food?

For brunch on a Saturday or Sunday, Poogan's Porch or Jestine's Kitchen.

Cheap but fantastic pizza, Andolini's on Wentworth.

Hanks, Rue du Jean, SNOB, and Peninsula Grill are favorites.

Take your daughter to the rooftop of The Vendue Inn Friday night. You'll both have a lot of fun.

All of this is within very short walking distance of any of the above hotels.

Also, walk down King Street and window shop. Many students live above the shops and you'll find Andolinis packed with students.

She'll fall in love with Charleston and the CoC is a great school. One of the biggest pros is that she will not need a car. In fact a car would be more of a hassle than a help.

Charleston is totally a walking town.

I was looking at hotel prices online for next weekend, just out of curiosity, and downtown is not cheap. I agree with GoTravel, though, that if you can swing staying downtown, it will make for a much more enjoyable stay. However, if you don't want to spend that much, a nice compromise might be staying over in Mount Pleasant. I plugged your dates into kayak.com and one of the hotels that came up was the Hampton Inn at Patriot's Point for $159. It wouldn't be as fun as staying downtown, but imo, it would be way better than staying in North Charleston!

My daughter and husband just did the college tour down there and stayed at the Embassy Suites, which, I think, is a block from CoC freshman dorms so you could get a good feel for the area at night. I agree with the other poster about the Vendue Inn rooftop - a perfect way to end the day!

GT is correct about not staying outside the historic district. I would like to add the Hominy Grill or Pugans Porch for breakfast and Hank's for dinner.

Sermets on the corner of Wentworth and King - a little more eclectic, with good crab cakes and sweet potatoe fries...we like the Meeting Street Inn - prob $200 or so for a Friday - my daughter just stayed out at the Best Western on the Savannah Highway for the Bridge Run - said she'd stay there again without any hesitation. Jestine's and Hank's are both on our fall-back lists. We ate dinner early (6-6:30) about 2 weeks ago at Anson's and had a good meal...have heard that service there is an issue but wasn't for us. My daughters also like the Noisy Oyster in the Market...you will prob have to pay about $12 for parking if you stay downtown but you'll have to pay that anyway if you drive in, so that sorta cancels each other out. Have fun!

What a small world ... we're visiting the College of Charleston with our DD next Friday also. We're taking the 10 a.m. tour, BTW. We're booked to stay at the Indigo Inn, but none of the hotels downtown will be cheap, as April is peak month in Charleston, with the weekends always having higher rates. I'm sure wherever you do end up staying will be fine; good luck!

Thank you for all the great advice. You talked me into staying downtown. Unfortunately, it seems like it is an incredibly busy time in Charleston. Best Western, Embassy, Meeting St, Indigo were all booked. I thought myself very lucky to get a room at the A. Pickney for $299. I am sure we will enjoy it.

Goviemom - DD is a jr. and hoping to take sports medicine. Let me know if you'd like to meet up somewhere to compare notes.

Great decision! You will really enjoy being downtown. DN is at CofC and loves it. It's been a few years since I've been to Charleston but my nephew and I enjoyed a dinner at Magnolia's. On another trip, Mom chose Bubba Gump's (of all places) and I was surprised at how good it was. But, as GoT has said before, it's hard to mess up boiled shrimp Charleston is wonderful. Be sure to take a carriage ride.

Birdie ... My DD is a junior also, and is touring CofC because we're going to be in town that weekend. She's interested in neuro/cognitive science. We'll be glad to meet up with you after the 11:00 a.m. info session, if you're staying for that. We'll hang around for a couple minutes afterward just in case ... DH and DS(18) will be with us.

goviemom - Oh darn, we are taking the 2:00 tour because we are leaving Virginia that morning. If you think you see us wandering around downtown say "hi". I'm 5'4" with shoulder length blond hair, DD is 5'8" with long brown hair. You can look for me on Fodor's facebook if you can get in. I'm thinking of Rue du Jean for dinner. Have fun. I'll post a report.

Hi again ... and I have almost shoulder length blondish hair (5'-3"), and DD has long chestnut brown hair (5'-1"). I figure the Historic District will be packed that weekend, so if we find each other it will be a miracle! I've heard great things about Rue du Jean, so know you'll enjoy it. The one place I can recommend for breakfast/brunch is Poogans Porch; a favorite of ours. BTW, you're coming from VA to tour CofC, and our DD wants to go to VA to tour College of W&M, lol. Hope you have a wonderful trip; let's both cross our fingers for great weather!

Definitely let us know if you come to W&M. We live in Williamsburg. Both DH and I are alums of W&M. DD would love to go to W&M but she has lived in this town all her life. We'd be glad to tell you anything you need to know about W&M and compare it to CofC after we visit.
You can email me at makeemsleepataol

Thanks!

We had a great time in Charleston. It really is a beautiful city. I love cities I can spend the day walking around.

We did stay at the A. Pickney. It is nice, though a little rough around the edges. Scuffed doors and stairs, industrial carpeting. Nothing dirty or uncomfortable. The showers could have more water pressure and the pretty plantation blinds let in a little too much morning sun. The onsite parking should be avoided if you have anything larger than a compact car. We were able to park across the street at the Bank of America lot and were comped by the inn.
We ate breakfast on the rooftop patio looking over the city. Lovely!


The Indigo Inn, just down the street, looks very nice and has great parking.

After touring the campus all afternoon we were too exhausted to make the 9:00 reservation at FIG so we ate at Mercato near our inn. It was an enjoyable meal. They mix very interesting and different flavors but the execution could be better. I had swordfish with eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and raisins which was delicious but the swordfish was a little overcooked.

DD loved CofC. I think its great that students don't need a car, however, there aren't any direct flights to Tidewater VA and the Amtrak is an overnight ride.

Thank you again for all your help. I would love to return for a longer trip.

Hi Birdie! Glad your DD liked CofC; mine wasn't interested in it, and we left halfway thru the tour. We stayed at the Indigo Inn and loved it ... it has a beautiful courtyard, delicious breakfast, and yummy snacks provided in the afternoon. It's now our new favorite place to stay. Glad you enjoyed Mercato. We passed by it when we ate at TBonz (not that great), but we loved Kaminsky's for dessert (twice!). My other favorite place to eat was Poogans Porch. Anyhow, glad you had a nice trip and that the weather turned out gorgeous. Good luck with the college hunting!

It is funny how quickly they can get a good or bad impression of a college. I think your daughter will get a very different vibe from W&M.
Mine also liked Wake which we visited on the way home. I think she would like to transplant the students from Wake and put them on the CofC campus. LOL

Go Deacs! Did you overnight when you visited WFU? If so, where did you stay and where did you eat?

cmcfong - We stayed at the Courtyard over by the stadium and then ate at Milnor's (sp?). What a beautiful drive it was over to Milnors!

DD liked Wake. It is a beautiful campus and she liked the fact that the majority of the girls were wearing t-shirts and shorts without any makeup. That's the kind of girl she is. Plus, their exercise science program looks like a good one. The downside to Wake is that it is out there by itself. You can't walk anywhere.

Great choice, Milnor's. It is one of my favorites. I love their succotash.
Was the Courtyard OK? I have recommended it to a number of folks over the last couple of years.
Did you go to Reynolda Gardens? It adjoins the campus and is a gorgeous walking area of several hundred acres plus the shop area called Reynolda Village.

The Courtyard was fine. A typical Courtyard. It was quiet and clean, the beds were comfortable, and the shower was nice. That's all I need.

We missed the gardens and the village. It doesn't even appear on the campus map. Darn. But it was a very quick trip for us.