by Scott Laird
Last updated: 1:00 AM ET, Fri January 13, 2017
Photo by Scott Laird
Nearly every room at The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina has a view of the Holy City across the Cooper River, and regardless of whether it's morning or evening light, rain or shine, the view always looks like a period painting. With a view like this, sitting on the balcony or indoors on a cold day with a comfortable chair and a warm fireplace, it's hard to leave the room.
And what gorgeous rooms they are. A new build in which no expense has been spared, the hotel's oversized rooms feel more like a vacation rental than a hotel. Marble bathrooms have large soaker tubs and separate showers, seated vanities and luxurious antique-style washbasins. Sleeping rooms have plush-yet-pleasantly-firm beds and nautical accents such as local area marine charts and nautical knots adorning the walls. Details include painted accents on side tables and a plastic crab to be left on the sheets should guests wish for bed linens to be changed.
The resort's public areas are stocked with aggressively curated furnishings and attention to fine detail. A series of smaller rooms give the impression of a private home instead of a grand hotel, with plenty of small alcoves both indoors and out for enjoying lurid sunsets over the river, perhaps while sipping a beverage from the lobby bar or seasonal poolside tiki bar. For the strategically minded, there's life-sized chess adjacent to the pool.
Speaking of pools, there are two, heated year-round: a main pool with graded entry and a quiet pool where the music is softer, cabanas offer semi-privacy, and the atmosphere is more focused on relaxation than high-energy fun. Fire pits dot the exterior for the cooler months and evenings.
For dining, guests need only step next door to the Charleston Harbor Fish House for fresh seafood cooked in the Lowcountry style, in particular sumptuous breakfast offerings such as blue crab cake eggs benedict and shrimp & grits. Room service breakfast is similarly prompt and friendly with memorable French press coffee on offer.
The staff is friendly and accommodating, and the standards set forth by the Leading Hotels of the World whose flag the property flies are apparent-the charmingly southern hospitality is familiar, yet gracious. The Estuary Spa offers a full range of spa services, albeit without wet areas. The Nirvana Stress Relief Massage proved as transcendental as the name suggested.
While it's difficult to be all things to all travelers, the hotel offers services for both families, such as family suites with two beds and two baths, with a pair of single beds in the second bedroom, and business travelers, such as quiet garden view suites and lavish meeting rooms, including a private theater for presentations. For either, the pace of the Lowcountry lifestyle is one easily pondered while lingering in a gorgeous indoor or outdoor space while watching the world float by on the river.
The Damage: We found low season rates from around $199 and high season rates from $350
Instagrammable Moment: Any of the gorgeous detailed touches in the rooms are worth a shot, as are the unforgettable sunsets from anywhere on property.
Loyalty: Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club Members enjoy benefits when booking through LHW.
Don't Miss: The hotel operates a free shuttle into town at intervals throughout the day. Holy City Hospitality operates a number of fabulous restaurants in Charleston-we enjoyed Tomato Pie at Virginia's on King, cocktails with high-ceilinged ambiance and homages to Ernest Hemingway at Victor's Social Club and luscious steaks and seafood at Michael's on the Alley.
Accommodations and some meals were furnished by The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina and Holy City Hospitality in preparation for this story.
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