Charlotte - 1 Night, Where to Stay/Eat
 

We will only be in Charlotte one night so would like a hotel that is close to dining and possibly a bar/lounge? What are the liquor laws for that area -- we are from Wisconsin and have very lenient laws as well as bars on every corner.

Thanks and any suggestions for hotel, restaurant, nightlife would be great.

Stay downtown so you can stay in a hotel and walk. Don't believe we are a bunch of bible-thumpers who dont have a good time. The south is the home of Bourbon. But what we do have are very strong drunk-friving laws. So stay downtown, eat at a good resturant and go to one of the many bars.

The Hilton downtown would be a good stop and walking distance to many restaurants and bars. Liquor by the drink is relatively new to us--20 years maybe--so we don't tend to have the neighborhood bars that are common up north. Try Mimosa Grill (on Tryon, near your hotel)for dinner and then maybe go down the street to the Cosmos (on college and 5th , I think).

I live in Charlotte as well. I agree with Gretchen's response, the Westin uptown is also very nice. Cosmos' is a wonderful choice!

Expect Southern Hospitality as this is the south, but Charlotte is not the 'assbackwards' city many believe!

Angie

One of my favorite hotels anywhere is The Park Hotel in South Park in Charlotte. Everytime I stay there on the club floor I run into someone famous. I've run into Jimmy Buffet there one two different occaisions and Micheal Jordan once.

You are correct about the Park--a jewel of a hotel. It is sort of out of the way for walking however to a number of restaurants however.

Sorry...I wasn't saying the south wasn't sophisticated, but have heard that some areas require membership and we certainly don't know anything about membership to drink up north (they'll let just about anyone drink). Is the downtown area very far from the expressway? We are heading to Asheville the next morning.

No, we don't have "memberships" any more. And "uptown" Charlotte is not far off the "expressway" = I77. I recommend an uptown hotel like the Westin or Hilton. You will enjoy walking to your restaurant selection and then a "bar" like Cosmos. Hope you have a great time.

It seems like if someone even makes the slightest references to a difference between a northern and southern state, they assume that its a northerer thinking they are assbackwards. When will the inferiority complex stop?! The man/woman could have said the same thing if they were talking about any other northern area... it just so happens that WI is a lenient state in this regard. It doesn't mean the South is full of bible-thumpers or whatever other conclusion you all are drawing.

Charlotte is great, kacollier. I went to a great bar called Town, the last time I was there. Its not in the most central part of the downtown, but its good. Oh, and there was also a nice blues bar. I stay with friends there, so I can't refer you to a hotel. Sorry.

Incidentally, in Raleigh, there are memberships at some places and I thought it was because of state law, so that wasn't an unreasonable question either.