Charleston over the holidays with Kids
 

We are considering a 5 day trip to Charleston between Christmas and New Years. We typically vacation to Wild Dunes in the summer but have never stayed in Charleston. Sounds like the Doubletree is our best best for a suites hotel with a pool. Any other suggestions? The reviews of the Embassy Suites from Trip Advisor are not favorable.

I think the Doubletree is great for families. Also, their location is perfect for being downtown. The only thing they don't have is a swimming pool. To my knowledge, the only dowtown hotel with an indoor pool is Charleston Place but I'm not sure if their prices would work with your schedule. Another good hotel for families is the Mills House (it's a Holiday Inn property) and they do have an outdoor pool but not sure if it would be very comfortable in December...unless we're having a warm Christmas, which has been known to happen.

You're spot on with avoiding the Embassy Suites downtown. I haven't spoken with anyone that has really liked the hotel. Plus they are a little far from the historic district for walking.

There are lots of great things to do here during the holidays. Check out the CVB's site for all the Christmas in Charleston activities (www.charlestoncvb.com/xmas).

Here are some of the ones that I know kids seem to enjoy:

Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park (www.holidayfestivaloflights.com) is always fun...in addition to all the light displays, they have several activities for kids.

The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry (hwww.explorecml.org) as Holiday Events scheduled which should be fun...the creator of the museum modeled it after some of the best children's museums in the country (with Boston's in particular).

Enjoy your visit!

There is also the Residence Inn Downtown Riverview and the Springhill Suites Downtown Riverview. Both are right on the water and both come with breakfast.

My daughter and I arrived there same time of year, on Christmas night in 2001. Nice memories. Can't recommend a specific hotel, but I'd recommend that wherever you choose, to be right in Charleston might be preferable to staying outside the city and having to take the bridge road in. We stayed at the Microtel across the river--a nice place, but we felt that when we next travel there, to get the "spirit" of that historical and lovely city, we'd stay IN it.
Suggestions...We loved the historical buildings and old mansions. There's one almost outside the city which has deliberately NOT been decorated. I can't recall the name--maybe someone can help?? We liked that best of all--eg seeing the smoke from old ovens on the walls, the peeling wallpaper in the ballroom. Amazing and evocative. Another famous building has an excerpt of a diary George Washington wrote about the beautiful women at the ball there! One building was a dungeon--fun and creepy. I'm sorry I can't recall the names, but they are famous sites--just wanted to let you know they feel very "alive" and not dull at all--if you have kids, they'll love these places! My daughter, who was studying US history at the time, and I, loved being in that very room, imagining The Father of Our Country, with the ladies! Also enjoyed the horse carriage ride, the market, and eating all that delicious rich (compared to California's) food. Enjoy planning!

The location of the Doubletree is outstanding! Can't be beat.

Agree with travelgirl, I've stayed at that Doubletree many times even when it was a Hawthorne Suites and don't remember a pool.

The location of the Embassy is a little far out to walk to dining and shopping.

Make sure you visit the SC Aquarium! The kids will flip!

No reason to stay at the Springhill Suites or Residence Inn if you can swing the Doubletree. They are both too far out to walk.

Ragdoll,

We've gone to Charleston several times between Christmas and New Years--going again this year. In the past we've done First Night on New Year's Eve--all kinds of music venues, comedy, puppet shows, etc. all over the downtown Charleston area. Enough variety for everyone in the family and for all ages. I assume that it's still going on. It's been a couple years since we've been down over the holidays.

If you have a car, there is an ice skating rink north of town.

Thank you for the question and the posts. Our family is considering going at Christmas time also. The Doubletree looks like a beautiful hotel and speaking of Wild Dunes - it looks as if they have alot planned for Christmas. How far is Wild Dunes from the historic district?

With the new Ravenel Bridge open, it is maybe 20 minutes at most from Wild Dunes to downtown Charleston.

Both Harry Potter and The Polar Express 3D will be playing at the IMAX (at the aquarium) while you're there. We took in The Polar Express last year and it was great! They loan you 'real' 3D glasses not those paper things. The kids were reaching out to touch the falling snow. You can buy tickets in advance; a good idea since they were sold out on our first try. I also recommend the Aquarium.