Newbies in Charleston - Suggestions and Help Needed!
 

My husband and I will be headed to Charleston in July (5th - 10th) for 5 nights. I have just booked our airfare and are now debating about where to stay. I know its going to be hot when we go so I am not sure if it is important to stay somewhere where there's a pool? I love the look of the Harbourview and also the Market Pavillion.

Or should we stay 2 or 3 nights in Charleston (the historic district) and 2 nights near or on the beach? Also is it ideal to rent a car? Thanks in advance! - Susan

It will be hot and a pool would be nice, if you think you will be at the hotel enough to use it. I've always wanted to stay at the Market Pavilion, and the times I've been to their rooftop bar I've thought their pool looked lovely.

I think if this is your first visit, you should definitely stay downtown. You will have a hard time finding lodging at the beaches, particularly that week, because it's right after July 4, which is very busy at the beaches. You might be able to find hotel rooms on Isle of Palms or Folly, but you would need to look now.

As far as a car, I think it depends on what you want to do. I don't think it's necessary to have one the entire time, but you will need one if you want to drive out to the beaches, the plantations, or over in Mt. Pleasant.

As in Florida, you can expect the heat and humidity to build through the day, with a late afternoon thunderstorm bringing some evening relief. Not always, but a pattern.

Two implications: (1) do your heavy duty touring in the morning, and take a nap in the afternoon as they do in tropical places all over the world and (2) avoid flight delays by trying to schedule your flights relatively early or at night.

Thank you for your responses. We're used to going to the caribbean so dealing with hot weather isn't too out of the norm for us. Plus being from NJ no stranger to humidity! I think we may try a couple nights in town and a couple by the beaches. As of now there is availability -

Thank you again,
Susan

There is zero privacy at the Market Pavillion rooftop pool. The rooftop bar surrounds the pool and people are swarming all over the place, especially at sunset. Great if you're an exhibitionist, but if you prefer a calmer, quieter atmosphere I would stay elsewhere.

Hi!
We're from Jersy too and went to the Charleston area last August...wasn't as hot as we expected. We stayed at the Pelican Villas on Seabrook Island, which is about an easy 30 minute drive south of Charleston.We drove from Jersey, so we had our own vehicle. Did our touring in the mornings and spent the afternoon on seabrook.Truly a beautiful and restful place. One of our favorite activities was riding our rented bikes on the hard packed sand of Seabrook's 3.5 mile long beach.
In the evenings, we drove back into Charleston for dinner and strolling.
Since you're from Jersy, you might want to consider staying at Seabrook or Isle of Palms...the beaches are considerably different from ours, but beautiful.

One last note...we went to Middleton Plantation at 5:00, as we had a 6:00 dinner reservation. While the official sites of the plantation were closed(main house, outbuilding), we were able to stroll ALL over the grounds free of charge.Dinner at the Middleton Place Inn was outstanding!

Thank you for the suggestions! I think I have decided that we are going to stay a few nights at the Harbourview Inn and then stay at the Boardwalk Inn at the Wild Dunes (Isle of Palms) the last couple of nights. I will definitely make a note about the Middleton Plantation. Thank you!
-Susan