The Meeting Street Inn: Charleston – A Comfortable Place In Time

I’ve been to Charleston more times than I can count.  Almost four decades of exploring the unique city. I’ve stayed downtown in the historic district, but that was over twenty years ago.  This year it was time to give the downtown another go.  Charleston has changed and for the better.  Better restaurants.  Better shopping.  More restorations.  Walking tours. Carriage tours. Instead of one of the big hotels, I chose a Bed & Breakfast.

Staying in the historic district sets the stage for Charleston’s whole velvet touch, salty smell, and colonial charm.  Also, truth be known, I have a little more jingle in my pockets.  The historic district ain’t cheap. 

There are lots of choice Inns in The Holy City offering four-poster beds, a history dating back to when the United States was a youngster, and the convenient closeness of prime eating and drinking.  None of the Bed & Breakfasts cater to the poverty stricken.  Figure over two hundred bucks a night for a place to lay your head.

My choice was The Meeting Street Inn.  Why pick that one?  Opportunity.  The rest of the downtown burst with tourists.  Bed & Breakfasts overflowed.   In the end, I took what I could get.  But, right up front I’ll tell you, it was a great choice.  Comfortably elegant, and in a town not noted for an abundance of parking, there were parking spots only steps away.

The bedroom at Meeting Street was all I’d dreamed of.  Tall, four-poster bed, and antique furniture. But, remember, this is an historic building.  The floors creak, the porch slants, the elevator is tiny, and the bathroom is small.  Look, either you want historic or you want a modern glass and concrete, cookie-cutter motel.  Can’t have both.  The room also featured a flat screen TV, polished wood floors, and a spotless bathroom.

My window overlooked a delightfully shaded, brick patio, with wrought-iron tables and chairs.  Across the street, greenery played against the buildings.

After an easy check-in, it was time to explore. Charleston is layered in history.  Everyone pictures The Civil War, with Ft Sumter sitting in the middle of Charleston Harbor as a reminder.  People forget Charleston was one of England’s earliest New World cities, the heart of colonial America in the South.  The Meeting Street Inn peels that onion nicely.  Here’s a link that gives you the details.  http://www.meetingstreetinn.com/about-us/history.htm

To really see old Charleston, a central location is a must.  From this Inn you can walk everywhere in the historic district.  Right down the street is the nationally known City Market, which I’ll tell you more about another time.  A block in any direction offers first class restaurants and notable watering holes.  Antiques shops.  Even a walk to Marion Square for the Saturday farmers’ market is literally no sweat.

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Stroll in the other direction and you can be in front of the Old Exchange, where George Washington entertained and where the Declaration of Independence was first read to South Carolinians.  The basement was once used as a British prison.  The building, now a museum offering tours, is a National Historic Landmark.

A few blocks up the street is the famous Four Corners of Law, with solid stone buildings representing local, state, federal, and God.

Each morning’s breakfast at the Inn was a treat, served buffet style, in a living room that looks every bit like an early 20^th Century parlor.  Lounge on a plush sofa with your coffee, or take your feast outside to the patio.  The place looks as if Gatsby could stroll in any minute, old boy.

The breakfast selection was both diverse and beautifully presented.  The eyes are ever the pathways to the taste buds.  Fruits.  Yogurt. Pastries. Eggs.  Meats. Lots more. This was not a packaged breakfast from Motel X; this was scrumptious fare that made you jump out of bed with a smile.  On a sideboard, coffee and iced tea and ice water stood ready, day or night.

Another nice thing about The Meeting Street Inn:  people.  The Inn’s parlor is a cluster of chairs and sofas here and there, so you end up meeting other early risers.  Got into all sorts of conversations about politics and taxes, education, travel, and favorite books.  One fellow from New Jersey gave me a lot of insight into The Garden State.  He’s moving out and based on what he said, I’m not moving in anytime soon.

Conversation is just one more thing a B & B has over a motel.  When I’m on vacation, I enjoy meeting people.  Everyone’s got a story.  Visitors come to Charleston from all over the world.  And, in the end, people are what make travel, and life in general, so interesting.  Picture a city with no one there but you.  I rest my case.

To take it one step farther, what is history really, but what people have done, where they have lived, and what they said?  Ah, but history discussions are for another day.

So, what’s the bottom line?  The Meeting Street Inn is a delightful place to spend a few days and wander the historic district of one of America’s oldest and most well preserved cities.  Tap into the highlights of this country’s earliest years. Stroll down the street for some seafood, or a visit to the famous market.  Go to the waterfront and sniff the salty air.  Stop into a nightspot for an after dinner drink.  When evening begins to turn back into day, curl up in your four-poster bed.

In the morning, jump up for a feast of a breakfast and scintillating conversation.  This is what I call a vacation.  Don’t forget the name:  The Meeting Street Inn.   And, oh yes, there is a swimming pool.

If only more businesses would take this to heart.