The best thing about the DoubleTree is the location. In the heart of the historic district, you can walk anywhere you might want to go in the most beautiful section of Charleston. The outdoor market where hundreds of local crafts people and peddlers converge to sell their wares is
literally right outside the front door. I started an invigorating morning run down Market, up East Bay and over to the Battery by simply stepping out onto the sidewalk (approximately a three-mile loop.)
So what was the hotel itself like?
Pull your car up to the hotel and a valet will drive it to the DoubleTree's private lot. (This is not the pay lot you'll see across the street.) Enter the building and go up a carpeted ramp. (A bellhop will take your bags.) You'll see a large chandelier in the grand entrance. The front desk is up and to the left.
After a quick check-in during which they gave us all cookies (Yummy!), we went upstairs to our suite. Our rooms were more expensive than the standard rooms and can run well over $200 a night at the height of the tourist season. (The executive suites are even more.) However, the suites are not lush and elaborate. I would instead describe them as comfortable.
We had a separate living room complete with armoire and TV, fold out couch and extra chair. No one slept on the fold out, but this would be good to have if you had a lot of kids in tow. There was also a kitchen area equipped with microwave and refrigerator, cabinet space, a small table and the bare essential dishes. Great for a long stay to save some money. One thing I found interesting here, however, was there was no minibar.
The bedroom itself had two doubles. Yellow bedspreads covered in large, pink flowers matched the window treatments and red carpet. Generic Charleston watercolor prints adorned the walls. Another TV came in useful here for my family because our son wanted to watch cartoons in the living room.
The bathroom is small but serviceable.
All is clean.
Turn down service puts mints on the pillows.
Any extras worth a mention?
As HHonors members, we enjoyed a complimentary buffet breakfast of grits (cooked correctly!), bacon, eggs, danishes and coffee in the restaurant downstairs. (If you don't get this perk, this morning meal would run you $9/person.) The restaurant looks out over a pretty fountain in the hotel's courtyard.
There's a fitness room here, but it's small.
Service on all levels was very good.
Ask at the front desk for $2 off coupons if you want to hire one of the horse and carriages lined up on the street in front of the hotel for a tour.
Bottom line?
We enjoyed our stay here. It's not lap of luxury, but it is a nice, comfortable hotel.