Parking is scarce in the historic district. On-street parking (especially overnight parking) is generally by "resident permit". A few hotels, like the Best Western King Charles, have their own lots and include parking in the room rate; however, The Mills House does not.

The Mills House has an arrangement for dedicated spaces, with "in and out" privileges, in the adjacent municipal garage, where rates are largely determined by the city. Good news is that this garage is covered, well-lit, and secure; and it is attached directly to the hotel by a walkway on the second level.

You may find better rates if you don't mind walking to your car and if you don't object to leaving the car in an open lot. Here is a link to a map of parking lots and garages in Charleston. Click on the "P" symbol to see rates and description for individual lot locations. http://www.charleston-sc.gov/shared/docs/0/parking.html

And isn't there some differences in meters and the charges for them with onstreet parking? That cute bookstore, The Blue Bicycle "warned" about it on their website.

Thanks! Is there a safety issue with leaving the car in an outside lot overnight? Don't really plan on driving the car once we get to Charlestom.

We stayed at the Mills House last month. To save time and the need to think (It's early morning here in LA) I'll copy a segment of the trip report I'm in the process of posting.

Pertaining to Charleston parking:

There is a parking structure directly behind The Mills House with a passageway leading from the structure to the interior of the hotel. Very convenient. Also very expensive. Rates run $21 for 24 hours, no in and out privileges; $24 if handled through the hotel valet service, in and out privileges. We parked there for the short time it would take us to check in and get our bags to our room ($2 or $3). Then we drove over to the Visitors Center a couple of miles down Meeting Street, the same street the hotel is located on. We could park our car in the adjacent parking structure there for $10.00 per 24 hours. This worked out very well for us since only once during our stay did we take the car out, and that was to go to Drayton Hall on the Ashley River Road and after that the Middleton Place a bit further down.

This is a good time to talk about DASH a free trolley service offered by the city. You can see the route maps by clicking on http://www.discovercharleston.com/maps (See Maps and Transportation) to help with planning, and, of course, you can also pick up a route map at the Visitors Center, 375 Meeting Street.

Note: You can pick up the DASH trolley right at the corner to your right when exiting the Mills House, and it'll take just a few minutes for you to reach the parking structure by the Visitors Center.

Hope you enjoy Charleston as much as we did.

Since you don't plan to use your car while you are in Charleston, the convenience of being right next to the hotel is not important to you. You can unload your bags and get them inside the hotel while parked in a temporary place, without even bothering with the garage. Then, drive your car to the preferred parking location.

Just keep in mind that, since taxis aren't usually are NOT available for hail on the street, you will need a plan for your transportation back to the hotel ... phone for a taxi, walk, use DASH or CARTA, etc. When you pick up your car for check out, you repeat the process in reverse.

I don't know of any specific safety issue with leaving your car in an open lot overnight in Charleston; however, a well-lit, closed structure with monitoring seems like an extra measure of security.

Enforcement of parking rules at meters, in residential permit zones, and in private lots is intense. Ticketing, booting, and towing are necessary to keep the city running... given the limited space available in the historic district.

Not to be snarky, but for those of us in places like Boston, NY, and Chicago, these prices are unbelievably low.

This doesn't mean I wouldn't try to beat them, of course!

Here's a link to Charleston parking.

http://www.charleston-sc.gov/shared/docs/0/parking.html

Thanks for all the replies. tried to use the parking map provided, but the prices it showed turned out not to be the correct $ for the garages/lots we tried. What was on the site was not what the actual price was. we ended up just going to the one behind the hotel. In any case had a great time in Charleston and as one poster said, compared to where we live $20 a day is a bargain!