Checking-in on Charleston’s hotel surge

You know the saying: every time a bell rings, Charleston City Council approves another hotel? We kid— though it’s true that the Lowcountry is home to an absurdly high number of hotels. At last count, there were 4,930 hotel rooms on the peninsula alone. That’s 14 rooms per 100 people.

As tourism continues to surge, the demand for more rooms shows no sign of slowing down— which creates a tricky problem for city planners trying to accommodate visitors without tanking the quality of life for those that live here year-round.

It’s a complex issue and one that CHStoday isn’t going to solve (not today, anyway).

In the meantime, we’ve scoped out a handful of the peninsula’s newest planned hotels to give you a better idea of exactly what all those cranes downtown are doing.

📍176 Concord St. | A 225-room hotel is planned along the Charleston Harbor, near the State Ports Authority Building. The approved project involves filling in wetlands to expand Waterfront Park to reach the property of the development. A public dock + marina in the Harbor are also set to be built.

📍Hotel Bennett | An 8-story luxury hotel at 404 King St., overlooking Marion Square, was set to open this summer, 2018, but is still undergoing construction. Creating an estimated 350 jobs, the hotel will contain a spa, rooftop eatery, a French Patisserie, + even a so-called ‘ladies’ bar’ named Camellias.

📍158 Church St. | A boutique hotel is planned on Church + Cumberland Streets, in the building that once housed former Italian restaurant Bocci’s.

📍40 N. Market St. | The pink-hued Rainbow Market building is turning into a 50-room hotel that will feature a sun-soaked glass roof, pool, bar, + café.

📍6 Anson | Another 50-room hotel is set to be built right around the corner from the Rainbow Market building, on what is currently a parking lot next to Anson Restaurant.

📍Hotel Bella Grace | The boutique Marriott hotel at 115 Calhoun St is now open. It combined with the historic 2 ½ story Delaney House– the neighboring home built in the 1830’s– to serve complimentary breakfast, small plates, + evening cocktails.

📍Market Street Plaza | A seven-story, 135-room luxury hotel proposed for the vacant parking lot near the City Market. The plans– which have not been approved by the city– would include upscale condos, retail space, a public park, + the construction of three Charleston single homes.

The Holy City skyline was once known for the prevalence of church steeples jutting out far beyond the tops of buildings. Today, those steeples are nothing compared to all of the cranes.

We’re planning to talk a lot more about all the growth happening around town— and all of the side effects that come with it. Let us know which issues impact you the most— and which developments you want to read more about— by emailing hello@thechstoday.com.

—The CHStoday team