Charleston Place Planning & Tips

Getting There
Charleston Place is 10 miles from the Charleston International Airport. The hotel does not have a shuttle bus, but you can book transportation through Lowcountry Limo (800- 222-4771).

All About the Extras
The hotel has a top-notch concierge who can arrange tours, make customized sightseeing itineraries, or engage babysitting services. In case the historic district inspires you, the concierge can also arrange for you to borrow one of the hotel's Inspired Artist kits, consisting of a portable easel, sketch paper, and charcoal. (Additional art supplies -- such as oils, watercolors, pastels or colored pencils -- can be delivered to your room.)

Fitness Center
The hotel's gym and fitness room is located past the spa and right off the pool and offers free weights and various cardio machines. Professional trainers provide private instruction by appointment and also lead classes in aerobics, body sculpting, yoga, and even power walking through the historic district. (If you visit in the spring, you might see the New York Knicks working out here; they stay at the hotel during their spring training and have been known to use the gym quite a bit!) The Fit Kids program for 3- to 5-year-olds includes games and fun exercises designed to help develop motor skills.

Spa
The hotel spa offers facials, pedicures, manicures, body scrubs and wraps, hot stone therapy, aromatherapy and a variety of massages (including Swedish, deep tissue, reflexology and pregnancy massages). Kid spa services for children 12 years old and under (accompanied by an adult) include manicures, pedicures and gentle facials for both girls and boys. Teenage girls will salivate over the 50-minute Chocolate Cake Body Scrub treatment (exfoliating salt, plus vitamins, herbs and spices in the flavor of your choice, plus a 30-minute body massage). The spa also offers 50-minute acne facial treatments.

The Shops at Charleston Place
About two-dozen upscale shops and boutiques, including Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, and Godiva Chocolatiers, on the ground floor of the hotel. The hotel's signature VSOE shop sells gifts themed to its sister property, the famous Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train, as well as items from local artists and a limited-edition collection of Charleston Limoges gift boxes.

The Art of Smart Timing
If you stay here at Christmastime, your kids will love the miniature replica of the Orient-Express train traveling on a 300-foot track placed between the wings of the hotel's Georgian open-arm staircase. The train looks like the real deal, right down to the smokestack and the whistle, and the winter wonderland it winds through features miniature European Alpine homes, tiny churches, realistic stables and even a blacksmith shop.

The first two weeks in June is an especially good time, thanks to the city's Spoleto Festival, the most comprehensive arts festival in the country. This impressive conglomeration of dancers, musicians, artists and actors culminates in a firework finale at Middleton Plantation. Going on at the same time is the informal (and affordable) Piccolo Spoleto, which showcases the best of the area's regional talent. This offbeat festival includes sidewalk art shows, jazz, classical music, film, poetry readings, crafts, theater, dance, ethnic cultural presentations and a long list of daily activities for children.