Hello! We'll be visiting Charleston for the first time in mid-March. We're considering a visit to a plantation and I'm looking for opinions/experiences about Middleton and Magnolia. Those are the two that I found with a quick search, but feel free to suggest others too. Thanks in advance for sharing the good, the bad, the ugly... (although from what I hear, ugly is pretty hard to find in Charleston!)

I visited the Magnolia Plantation and Boone Hall Plantation. Don't miss them. The guide at Boone Hall said that Drayton Hall was the only plantation that was not damaged during the war. Unfortunately, I did not get to Drayton -- yet.

Charleston's Visitors Center is a good resource and the plantations have websites.

I found nothing 'ugly' about Charleston and look forward to visitng again. Enjoy Charleston in March.

And our favorite is Middleton. There should be at least the beginnings of color.

My favorite is Drayton Hall because it wasn't damaged and hasn't been restored.

Middleton.

We love both Middleton and Magnolia. But we're more interested in handsome gardens than in "plantations." Magnolia is pure garden; Middleton has some of each. They're very close to each other-- and truly quite different from each other. If you love gorgeous gardens (very widespread--lovely walking), I urge a visit to both. (We have less interest in places like Drayton.)
We adore Charleston. (among our favorite cuisine in the country)

Loved Drayton Hall for the same reason as artsbabe.

I think I've done all the plantations and gardens at least once. While I love both Magnolia and Middleton, if I only had time for one, I'd make it Magnolia Plantation. I've been there almost every time I go to Charleston.

We loved Middleton Place; we also had a great low country lunch at their restaurant. Also enjoyed Drayton Hall and Boone Hall.

Another vote for Middleton--and lunch.

I think it partly depends on what you want out of your plantation experience. My personal favorite is Drayton Hall, because it is so authentic and the guides there are amazing. I have been three times and all three times I've learned something new. I would say that it is hands down the most informative house tour in the area. However, the house has not been restored, only preserved, so it has no furniture and this fact turns some people away. Next to Drayton Hall, I really like Middleton Place. Middleton has the oldest planned gardens in the US and they are definitely worth visiting. Only a wing of the original plantation house remains, but you can tour it for an additional cost. Middleton has a good restaurant on the grounds and they also have farmyard demonstrations that are interesting to watch.

Magnolia and Boone Hall, while beautiful, do not appeal to me nearly as much as the other two, because they are not as authentic. The house at Boone Hall is a replica that was built in the 1930's. Both of them seem almost like the amusement park version of plantations. However, Boone Hall does have interesting activities on the grounds and Magnolia's gardens are beautiful, so I guess your decision lies in what part of all that is most important to you.

Depending on the amount of time you have, you could easily see two, possibly three, plantations in one day. Drayton Hall, Middleton Place, and Magnolia are all within a few miles of each other and we've done both Drayton Hall and Middleton in one morning by starting at Drayton Hall and then eating lunch at Middleton.

May I suggest something different? I know you asked about Middleton and Magnolia -- my personal favorite is actually Hopsewee, north of Mt. Pleasant on Route 17. It is authentic, well furnished, and if you're in luck, you'll get an extensive almost private tour. Grounds aren't much, comparatively speaking, but up the road you can:

Go to Brookgreen Gardens, another must do I think. Should be spectacular at the time you're there. Exceptional sculpture.

And you can have lunch at either McClellanville (great little fishing village) or at SeeWee along the way (seafood, Southern sides). Would make a great and unusual day.

Worth renting a car for the day if you don't have one.

Thanks so much for all of your responses--they were exactly what I was looking for! 'Not that we're any closer to a decision...

Be aware that Brookgreen is 75 miles north of Charleston in Pawley's Island--and is absolutely beautiful. It is not a "plantation" as such but an extensive garden to show the sculptures of Anna (I think) Huntington. It is a treasure.
If you have time to venture this far up the coast you can also visit Georgetown, a Revolutionary War era town with wonderful homes, and then the beach at Pawley's Island with their historic district. This was the place the Charleston plantation owners came to in the summer to escape the malarial mosquitoes of the Low Country plantaions.