Hampton Inn – Charleston, SC Historic District

image from TripAdvisor

Destination: Charleston, SC
Date: September 2015
Hotel: Hampton Inn
Brand: Hilton
Elite Status: gold
# of travelers: 2
nights: 1

Making the Decision

When Justin and I decided to take a weekend jaunt to the beautiful city of Charleston, we decided to give an old favorite a go. In 2014 when we arrived to Charleston without a room, the Visitor's Center assigned us to this hotel. And we loved it! We were given a lower floor room with a door that exited straight to the pool. And surprisingly, during that stay, we were the only ones visiting the pool at night. So? win?

Other bonuses included: a shuttle that took you to downtown Charleston and, assuming you'd rather walk, it is also an easy walk to the market place. Because who wants to pay crazy fees and struggle to find parking when you can one nominal fee at the hotel and park your car, for the duration of your trip, there?

I think it's easy to see why this hotel was on our radar. Plus, I wanted a newer stay at the hotel to review over a stay that took place two years ago. How can you really make recommendations about a hotel when it's been awhile since you've stayed there?

Getting There & Location

We drove from Atlanta.

Compared to a $300+ flight, driving seemed like a good alternative. After all, Charleston is only approximately four hours away. If we were to fly, we'd have to drive an hour to the airport, arrive to the airport two hours early, and then, still, travel from the airport to the hotel. And how? By rental car? By shuttle? Either way you are looking at at least four hours in travel time. #notworthit

As for other methods of transportation? I can't think of any. Maybe by boat? The harbor is kind of close, but you would still probably want a taxi. Southern cities are typically sprawled out and, more often than not, require a car to get around. Of course, once you are there, you can take advantage of the local shuttle, but, in my experience, we never do. *shrugs*

If you do in fact drive, whether by rental or personal vehicle, the hotel provides a parking garage spot for $15 a day or you can use their valet parking service. Both of which are pretty reasonably priced if you decide to use the hotel shuttle rather than move your car from lot to lot. You won't pay extra for taking your car in and out of the lot if you decide to spend a day at the beach too, so that's nice. :)

image from TripAdvisor

Checking In, Room, Elite Status Perks, View, & Amenities

When we arrived for check-in, everything went smoothly. Our room was ready and waiting on us. They had put us on an upper floor in the northeast corner of the building at John St. and Meeting St. The room wasn't quite as nice as the lower floor two queen bed rooms that exit out onto the pool, but the corner room with multiple windows also had it's perks. (Namely: two windows instead of one.)

Did we get upgraded? It's hard to say. If you count be putting in a corner room as an upgrade, then yeah. Sure. Otherwise the room was smaller than what I expected (after my last experience), but pretty typically sized for a Charleston hotel. Our view (from those two windows) wasn't half bad either – looking out onto the street. No, it wasn't a view of the harbor or even the beach, but I thought it was nice enough. I was grateful to not be looking out onto a parking deck or another hotel. :)

As with most Hilton chain hotels, the Hampton Inn provided a blow dryer, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. There was a desk for working, a tv for watching, and free internet. They also provide a business center (pay per minute, pay per print), a pool, and dry cleaning. Pretty nice hotel, right?

Breakfast

After a late night on the town, we awoke early for breakfast. The hotel offers a buffet breakfast for all guests free in the lobby. On the breakfast bar, you can find cereals, juices, fruits (apples, bananas, oranges), coffee and hot chocolate, bacon and sausage, eggs, yogurt, and milk. Enough food to constitute as breakfast, but nothing that will necessarily keep you full all day. #sugar

Photo credit: Hunky Punk via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA

Overall Review
★★★ (average)

While the hotel is far from perfect, every time we encountered any problems, a manager was quick to listen. (The problems didn't always get fixed, necessarily. Like the elevator AC unit wasn't working. We mentioned it to the manager, and it never got fixed.) Our room was lovely and we enjoyed our view of the northeast side of Charleston from the two windows we had in our corner room. After my first stay at this hotel, I didn't feel like (as a gold member) I necessarily received the upgrades that I think I ought to have, but I certainly could have received a worse room and service than I did. The breakfast was a typical mediocre meal, but, as usual, it's nice to have when it is included in the cost of the room. I also liked that the hotel, while charging for parking, was located next to a shuttle pick up making it easy to navigate downtown without paying for the privilege. I would definitely consider staying at this hotel again due to its closeness to downtown Charleston and all the perks I received as a guest (shuttle access, free breakfast, free coffee/tea/hot chocolate).

Your Turn

Do perks make or break a hotel stay for you? Have you ever visited a hotel a second time, after a first good experience there, only to be surprisingly disappointed or let down by it? (Like, you thought it was worth 4 stars, but maybe, after the second visit, you think it's only worth 3?)