We are 3 teachers planning to visit Charleston, S.C. for 3 nights during our spring break. Would like the flavor of Charleston without all the expense. We're thinking of splurging and staying at the French Quarter Inn for two nights and then switching to a Hampton Inn on the outskirts of the city for the third night. (We had considered Charleston Place but read that their standard rooms (which is all we could ever afford)were not that large for 3 people and they had little storage space)
My question is for those of you who have stayed at the French Quarter Inn. Are their rooms and dressing areas large enough to accommodate 3 women without being overly crowded? (We would hate to pay around $275 a night and feel cramped.)
Also, does anyone know which Hampton Inn around Charleston is the nicest(newest?),with the largest rooms?
Any and all help with our planning would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

There is no compelling reason to stay outside Charleston at a Hampton Inn if all your activities are downtown. I cannot imagine the savings would be worth the headache of parking etc.

Someone just posted that the Days Inn is a great deal. It is next door to The Charleston Place.

One of my favorite hotels is the Doubletree. The rooms are huge, manny two story and the vanity is separate from the bathroom. Excellent location.

The location of the FQI is escaping me at the moment. Do you have an address?

Another option is The Mills House.

The Days Inn we stayed in was not next to Charleston Place but across from the tourist bureau--a bit away from the historic district but on the trolley line. Have you shopped Meeting St. Inn (NOT 2 Meeting St.).

Can't help you with hotel choices, if you are splitting your stay between super-nice hotel, then the Hampton Inn; do it in reverse. Start at the Hampton first, then switch to the nicer place. It will be a bummer to move down in hotel quality but for the same total price you can move up in hotel quality -- I know from experience.

I agree with GoTravel. The Doubletree would be a great place to stay.

The standard rooms at Charleston Place are no smaller than any other "normal" hotel...that is, they aren't New York small. I don't think the rooms at Hampton Inn would be any bigger. I've stayed at CP w/ 3 people before and never noticed a problem.

Michele,
We stayed Charleston last August, at The Ansonborough Inn. It was one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in and I think it may be just what you are looking for since all the rooms are suites. We booked direct with the hotel via their website at http://www.ansonboroughinn.com/home.asp
It was very reasonable and you are right in the centre of things downtown, we paid $139 per night. No doubt you will have to go more than that during spring break.

While you are there make sure you have a cocktail on the rooftop bar of the Vendue Inn at sunset, its a great way to start the evening.

Have a great trip, Greybeard

Thank you for all your suggestions so far. Mightylsis we do realize it will be a let down, but the reason we are thinking of changing to a cheaper location the last night is because it would be a Friday which has the higher weekend rate(we will be staying from Wed.-Sat.)and we would save about $150 or more. We thought that we'd tour Middleton Plantation, take boat ride out to Fort Sumter, or explore Isle of Palms which means we would have to drive anyway and would not be "in town" that last day. Not only would we save on the room but also on parking and tips.
We chose French Quarter Inn because it has more stars and hoped it might be more of a treat. Charleston Place was my first choice as it looks beautiful, but they only have King or Double beds and we would need a roll away. Thought that would make the space smaller.
I've never stayed in a Doubletree before, but have stayed in Embassy Suites. Had always thought they were rather comparable. The suite idea is appealing though and the Ansonborough Inn does look interesting also. I plan to run these suggestions by my friends again before I make the final reservations.
Again, thank you for all of the suggestions, and keep them coming please. (I wish we didn't have to worry about money, but that is always a major consideration when you are in the field of Elementary Education.)

Greybeard, April is peak season for Charleston and August is off season.

Michele, you cannot compare the Doubletree to an Embassy Suites.

I have always stayed outside of downtown and never had much trouble finding parking (sometimes a lot will fill up around dinner time, and you just have to drive a few blocks to another, but this only happened to me once). There are several parking decks in the main historic district and a large one beside the visitor center on the north end of the historic district. If you are going to explore the outer areas, such as Isle of Palms, Middleton Place, or Ft. Sumter (you can go to Ft. Sumter from downtown by the aquarium or Patriots Point by the way), it really isn't a bad drive from downtown, but you should also consider Mt. Pleasant. You can get a decent room just over the river and pay around $100 to $120 a night. As far as driving from Mt. Pleasant to the historic district, I have only encountered significant traffic once during nearly two weeks of stays there (that was around 5:00, going back to Mt. Pleasant).

Michele2..Hi..We are group of 3 teachers from Knoxville, Tn. We always stay on the Isle Of Palms ( about 20 min. from Charleston ) at the seaside inn right on the beach..Nothing fancy..but, the price is right because it's the off season. Room has 2 double beds small fridge..etc.. always extremely clean and staff is friendly..also, they offer a continental breakfast each morning. We find this time at the beach the most relaxing as there are not alot of people there.Perhaps you could stay there a day or 2 and then go to Charleston..We always just drive into Charleston from there. toll free # 1-888-999-6516 or call hotel direct..843-886-7000..fax..843-886-0921.Have Fun..

Thank you again for all of the great suggestions. Go Travel, Thanks for setting me straight on Doubletree's. I didn't realize and will keep it in mind when traveling. My other two friends would still like to be in town for a couple of days, so we are still trying to decide which the best hotel would be for ambiance, luxury, and affordability. For the long drive, we want it to be a special vacation.

Again, if anyone has stayed at French Quarter Inn or other comparable hotel please let us know if it is worth the extra money. Also, I am not sure which Hampton Inn would be considered the best in the area?
Thank you again for all of your help.

Michele, we stayed at FQI in Sept.'02 . Our room had 2 dbl. beds It was lovely, but not very roomy. Enough for 2 people ! As you have obviously done the research, I don't have to tell you that FQI is a very attractive hotel.. Location is perfect , accommodations really lovely. Afternoon refreshments, 24-hr. coffee/tea service etc. The only drawback was the parking - not the lack of it, but it is the hotel's pkg. lot next door and it is "valet' service. We ended tipping the friendly young guys each time. Hmmm. You might consider that or find out if you could do your own pkg. Be sure to ask the hotel what other kind of rooms are avail., as we only saw ours - and I'm sure there are choices. but at what price ?
Have a great time. Charleston is a super city. We loved it. Going back later this year.

Thank you all for your personal accounts and suggestions. Because of last minute teacher conferences, we needed to adjust our trip to the beginning of the break instead of the end. This ended up ruling out French Quarter Inn as they were booked. We decided the Suite idea did sound appealing though, so we are staying at the Doubletree Inn for Sun. and Mon. It looks like a great location and we hope it is everything it is advertised to be. Our first night will be spent at the Hampton Inn and Suites West Ashley. We had tried to get the Riverview but found most of the Hamptons booked for the weekend. I am assuming because of the Cooper River Bridge Run.

Speaking of that, does any one know if they will be closing the streets or bridges out to Isle of Palms on Saturday? I was thinking of eating at The Boathouse on IOP that first night. Though I'd try to get reservations for 8PM, would streets still be closed or is this even near where we would need to drive?
Again, thank you all. Now we need to think of restaurants with lots of atmosphere but not too terribly expensive. My friend does not like any spices so all the gourmet restaurants would be wasted on her. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!

What do you mean by atmospheric, and what kind of price range do you desire for restaurants? I guess you could call the Shem Creek seafood places atmospheric because of their outdoor seating by the inlet, and the restaurant at Middleton plantation is at a historic site and has very good food, but I assume you are speaking more of places within Charleston proper. I haven't eaten everywhere certainly, but Anson's, Slightly North of Broad, and Poogan's Porch are three possibilities for your requirements.

Just got back from our Charleston trip and absolutely loved the city. All of your suggestions were great. It was so nice seeing all the places in person that I had heard about.
Thought I'd give a short trip report.
Did stay at the Hampton Inn and Suites West Ashley on Sat. night to save money. .(Weekends are much more expensive.)Turned out it wasn't too bad changing hotels, almost like two different vacations when thinking back on it,though I am glad we stayed in the nicer hotel last. We got there in the late afternoon and sat out with a glass of wine in their little walled courtyard by the pool. Then we drove over to Isle of Palms to look at the beach and eat at The Boathouse.(a very busy beach seafood restaurant)Had gotten online reservations so did not have to wait the hour and a half that others did. Good food at reasonable prices. Would recommend.
Drove into the city and stayed in the DoubleTree Guest Suites Sun and Mon.nights. So glad you suggested it. Very nice hotel with a wonderful location. Staff was friendly and the premium suite was perfect for 3 women traveling. We could walk to everything from here as it was in the center of the city. (We walked everywhere, did not touch the car again until we left)

Took the Old South Carriage Tour. (Great company, wonderful Percheon horses and entertaining knowledgeable guides.) Definitely one of my favorite activities while there.
Also took the Spirit Line Harbor Tour. Nice boat and entertaining but make sure you bring a coat if weather is the least bit chilly as on the water it was freezing. (High 60's felt like low 40's on the boat.)
Ate at Anson's for dinner (very Charlestonian,lovely historic home converted into a restaurant, great she crab soup) rather expensive. Had lunch at Blossoms.( good food,nice outside dining in the courtyard.), Drinks at the Market Pavilion Rooftop Bar, (great view of city and water). Had appetizers, drink and dessert at Tristan's.( very edgy, different from any restaurant I've ever eaten in. Attractive,interesting and innovative menu.) We had breakfast in the Palmetto Café at Charleston Place. (great waffles and lovely setting.) We thoroughly enjoyed all of our dining experiences and each one was quite different from the other.
Walked down to the South Battery, lovely water views and beautiful homes. Shopped along Market and King Streets, great little unique shops as well as well known ones. Enjoyed walking down narrow streets admiring the quaint single homes with their palazzos and private walled gardens. Beautiful Churches everywhere. Surrounded by history. Flowers were plentiful and gorgeous. Had wonderful weather. (Do not think I would enjoy it as much if it was hot and humid.)
Did not have time for a plantation tour or museums. Would love to go back and do those another time. It truly is a lovely southern city that I would recommend to everyone.
Again, thank you for all of your help. My friends were quite impressed with all of my inside information.