Pillow Talk: Between the Sheets of Emeline Hotel, Charleston
In this old-world South Carolina city, it’s tempting to stop all the clocks. But this fresh stay reveals new reasons to kick back at neighborhood restaurants and rooftop bars.
With its carefully conserved historic districts and horse-drawn carriages clopping past antebellum mansions, Charleston is a city with a strong sense of its past. A sultry tropical climate and palm-lined streets give the South Carolina city an almost Caribbean feel, while its famously warm Lowcountry hospitality comes with a side-serving of southern charm. It’s there in spades at the Emeline Hotel, set within a century-old grocery store, now spruced up with timeless interiors and luxury details in every nook, all primed for exploring Holy City’s highlights.
1. Hotel Emeline
Hotel
From its extensive vinyl collection to its note-perfect vintage touches, it’s clear a lot has gone into the making of this swish hotel. Its illustrious 181 Church Street address used to house the largest grocery store in the south and its ample space has been put to excellent use. Centered around the wood-fired oven, its indoor-outdoor restaurant, Frannie & The Fox, is now one of the neighborhood’s finest. A cozy, buzzy cafe, Clerks Coffee Company, serves up warm pastries, gourmet coffee and a breakfast menu of egg-white frittatas and crispy grits with kale. Like everything at this hotel, it’s a menu that millennials will love that also chimes with traditionalists, too.
2. Charleston City Market
Market
4. The Charleston Museum
Museum
5. South Carolina Aquarium
Aquarium
6. Halls Chophouse
Restaurant, American
Among numerous bars and restaurants lining busy King Street, Halls Chophouse stands out for its Sunday Gospel Brunch. You’ll find the usual items on the menu, but with lovely Lowcountry twists, like crabcake eggs Benedict with Creole hollandaise and sweet Southern potato pancakes, all to be enjoyed to the strains of Gospel music. Dinner also offers soul-food classics like lobster mac ‘n’ cheese and creamed corn, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better quality steak in South Carolina.
7. The Rooftop Bar
Bar, Cocktail Bar, Cocktails
8. Gibbes Museum of Art
Museum
Occupying a handsome beaux-arts building complete with a stately columned facade and Tiffany-style cupola, this museum is a work of art in itself. It also boasts a collection of over 10,000 artworks spanning four centuries, mostly by American artists and many with a connection to the city. If you want to learn more about the works, visit during “docent hours” and you’ll find experts stationed throughout the museum ready and waiting to answer any questions.
9. Charleston Music Hall
Historical Landmark, Theater
Built as a passenger station of the South Carolina Railroad in the mid-19th century, this eye-catching piece of gothic revivalist architecture was reborn after 60 derelict years as the city’s top live music venue. With just under a thousand seats, the space can feel intimate but still attracts some of the bigger names – David Byrne and Joan Baez among them. Catch local legends, the Charleston Jazz Orchestra, who play regularly here. It’s a popular stop on the comedy circuit, too.
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
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