Michael Bennett, a Charleston businessman and hotelier, demonstrated quite a bit of patience over Hotel Bennett’s evolution. His family purchased the prime land bordering the popular Marion Square back in the early 1990s, but the hotel didn’t open until January 2019. When it did, though, it did so in glorious fashion.
Bennett’s team worked diligently to erect a building that honored its Southern roots with stately rotundas and family paintings while also showing an understanding of today’s travelers through massive flat-screen TVs and remote-controlled drapes. The result is a sophisticated address where you’ll find a girl walking her dog in the marble-clad lobby past a 70-something couple planning a birthday dinner at the concierge desk, and no one appears out of place.
Just as the space seems a natural fit in Charleston, it also looks the part. The 179 rooms are a dashing display of how antebellum grace and contemporary comforts can work together. The four dining options sway from fast to formal, yet they all emit a certain flair. And then there’s The Spa at Hotel Bennett, a sanctuary that whisks you to another world even though it’s only one floor above bustling King Street — which, when you think about it, is probably what Mr. Bennett envisioned for this entire downtown getaway when he first dreamed of it years ago.
Two entryways with limestone steps, curved benches with tufted headboards, gold-leaf sconces and Jill Biskin-drawn murals merely foreshadow the attention to grand detail the property shows at every corner.
The lobby boasts marble at your feet and dazzles with aged cypress in the ceilings. With a bar on one side, Camellias champagne parlor on another and a grand piano in between, the space echoes with a consistent buzz yet somehow remains calm and contained.
Even more impressive that the hotel’s awe-inspiring design touches may be the astuteness of its staff. Yes, you expect warm valet greetings and anticipatory service at meal time, but concierges whom you’ve never met addressing you by name is always a pleasant touch. But then again, once you realize the hotel is managed in a collaborative effort by the meticulous Salamander Hotels & Resorts, it all makes sense.
Guests who reserve a King’s Club room gain access to the Club Lounge, an exclusive space for a quick bite, a quiet drink and some of the best downtown Charleston views from its wrapped veranda.
Rooms in The King’s Club not only come with private concierge service but also provide access to the Club Lounge, where you’ll find complimentary champagne and all-day culinary options.