Where We Stayed

Belmond Charleston Place 

The Belmond was in the heart of Charleston.  I have never received better customer service in my life.  Everyone was so welcoming and we always had someone closely if we needed extra towels, toiletries, etc.  On top of the amazing customer service, the Belmond is DOG FRIENDLY too.

The Belmond had a full workout room, swimming pool and hotter with both indoor and outdoor seating, a full service spa, and if you sign up to be a VIP you can get access to the VIP lounge.  A lounge where you can get complimentary bites and drinks all day long.

The Belmond is right on King Street, the main shopping street in Charleston, across the street from the market, and within 10 minutes walking distance to any restaurant and historical spot in town.  We never needed a car to go shopping or out to dinner our entire trip.

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Where We Ate

Breakfast

• Millers All Day: $$If you are looking for a classic breakfast spot,   Millers All Day is the place to go.  Every part of our meal was amazing.  We both got the biscuits, eggs, bacon, grits platter/potatoes.  Everything was made from scratch and the coffee was delicious.  There was also a bakery inside where you can get just about any “made from scratch” pastry known to man. Millers All Day is family friendly as well!

• 82 Queen: $$$: This was hands down the best brunch and quite possibly one of the best meals of our trip!  They offer both brunch and dinner, but I was told that the brunch is more popular.  The majority of the restaurant is outdoor seating and has live music.  It was VERY beautiful. The fried chicken and biscuits were amazing! They were topped with the most amazing gravy and mike said it was one of the best friend chicken he’s ever had.  We also split the creme brûlée french toast.  IT  WAS HEAVENLY!  The portion sizes are pretty big.   I highly recommend making reservations beforehand during busy season. They are know to get booked for entire weekends! **The street that 82 Queen has a ton of photo spots.

Lunch/Dinner:

• Rodney Scott’s BBQ $$: If you know Mike, you know he loves his BBQ.  We researched top BBQ places in Charleston and Rodney’s was one of the top recommended.  It is the perfect lunch spot and it great for the entire family.  Rodney’s has the most amazing ribs and what I loved about  Rodney’s is that they will take you back to the smokehouse to see them prepare the meat if you ask.  It was so cool and made everything seem more personal. We also loved how Rodney (the owner) was on site when we went.  We felt so welcomed!

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• Lewis BBQ $$: Lewis BBQ was the #1 rated BBQ in Charleston.  After waiting in the long line and devouring the food, we now know why.  Mike is super picky when it comes to brisket and he said it was the best brisket he has ever had.  We also saw the owner walk on site giving tours of his kitchens! If you are looking for a good pulled pork or brisket I would recommend Lewis BBQ

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• 5 Church $$$: 5 Church was also one of our favorite meals of the trip.  It is located inside of a church right off of Market Street.  This is another restaurant that can book up during busy season so I would recommend getting reservations ahead of time.  The fried green tomatoes were to die for! I loved how they has an asian twist to them!  We also split the oysters as an appetizer and they were the first “real” oysters I have ever had.  (We had to Google how to eat them haha) For our main entree’s Mike got the petite filet and I got the halibut.  Both were EXCELLENT!  If you have room I highly recommend getting the cookies and creme beignets or the strawberry napoleon.

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• Magnolia’s $$$ : Magnolia’s is the staple southern cuisine in Charleston.  If you are looking for a true southern comfort food experience, Magnolia’s is your place . It is a bit on the pricier side, but the food does not disappoint.  I would HIGHLY recommend making a reservation ahead of time because the weekend we went it booked up for the weekend.  We were kind of full from the day so we got a bunch of appetizers and they were phenomenal!!! The fried green tomatoes were AMAZING!!!!   We also loved their mac n cheese, scallops and this sounds kind of lame but the caesar salad was SO GOOD!!.

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• Poogan’s Porch $$$: Located right on the historic Queen street and a few yards away from 82 Queen.  Poogan’s Porch is exactly what it sounds like.  Poogan’s is located in a very old southern home and it feels like you are coming over to a friend’s house for dinner.  We had the opportunity to eat on the front porch which was so beautiful! Mike and I got their two staples: the fried chicken and the shrimp and grits.  They were unbelievable.  They also serve homemade biscuits.

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• Husk $$$: Husk has a similar vibe to Poogan’s porch, but it is a little larger  It is actually right next door and on the beautiful Queen Street.  Husk was the #1 most recommended restaurant to us.  It usually books up each weekend so we made reservations ahead of time.  I would highly recommend requesting a table on the upper porch! The biscuits were sooo delicious and I would highly recommend the oysters and just about every entree is amazing.  Husk’s menu changes everyday and is based locally on what is brought in.  I also loved how there was a outdoor seating/bar area for guest who are waiting to be seated.  You can also order meals their too if you do not want to wait.

• Restaurants we didn’t have time to go to but had a BUNCH of people recommend:
  • Toast!
  • Fig
  • Prohibition

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Beaches:

Folly’s Beach:  (Public restrooms on site) Folly’s is the most popular/touristy beach in Charleston.  It is about a 15 minute drive from downtown on a non busy day.  During busy season it can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes if you get there past 11.  No pets are allowed on the beach in between 10am-6pm during the months of May-September. We really wanted Denver to see the beach so we got there at around 8am for a few hours.

We liked Folly’s but it was a little too touristy for us.  If you are looking for a fun party beach, then I would suggest Folly’s beach for you!

Sullivan’s Island Beach: (No public restrooms – must go into town) OUR FAVORITE BEACH! Sullivan’s beach is a little more of a drive but far more relaxing and quaint.  This beach is more of where the locals go. It took us about 25 minus to get there, but it was worth it.  The drive actually worked out because two of the BBQ places we wanted to try were on the way, Rodney Scott’s BBQ and Lewis BBQ.  I would suggest going to either of those places for lunch or dinner!  (We liked Lewis’s a tad more)

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Photo spots:

Rainbow Row: 83 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401  This is the most iconic street in Charleston.  For the best lighting for photos  I would recommend morning or evening.   The morning is probably better because there will be fewer people.  However, I had no problems getting pictures during the evening at Rainbow Row.

Waterfront Park: This park is right on the water and the start of where the Battery Begins. We would often start our morning runs from this park and run along the Batter each day.  The beautiful Pineapple Fountain is also located in this park and Rainbow Row is right across the street

Queen Street:  Husk, Poogan’s Porch, and 82 Queen are all located on this street.  Just about every spot is picture perfect.  I would recommend going before 10 am and during the evening for best lighting.

St Michael Church: 71 Broad St, Charleston, SC 29401 This is the beautiful white church in Charleston.  Across the street you will find beautiful white marble stairs.  Along this street are beautiful photos spots as well as a park.

 

King Street: This is the major shopping street.  However the alleys and storefronts make beautiful photo spots!

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Running Routes:

The Battery: Out and back – up to 7 miles (3.5 miles one way)  This route is a sidewalk that is along the coast.  You can easily run a 7 mile out and back run on the Battery or as long or short as you please!  If you are looking for a longer route take this all the way to Colonial Lake.

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Colonial Lake (.5 miles around): We would run to this lake in the morning and I would do a few laps.  Colonial lake is also about a half a mile from the battery.  You can easily run from there and continue your run along the batter.

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Shopping:

King Street: King Street has just about every store know to man.  It is a long stretch of store after store and is right in the heart of the city.

The City Market: This is more of a city market feel and you can purchase more “touristy” items.  there are also a ton of fudge shops and candy stores along this road.