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Four chocolate squares of Astor chocolate are placed on bed at turn down, free newspaper, concierge with historical knowledge of The City of Charleston, heated outdoor pool, exercise room, proximity to Charleston shopping and nightlife, excellent restaurant, Starbucks coffee stand and working gas fireplace in the cocktail lounge. |
By Tom Crosby
(July 2008) The 166-room Renaissance Charleston Hotel (Historic District) sits in the block surrounded by Wentworth, Society, King and Meeting Streets in what was originally a 64-acre area known as Ansonborough.
Guests are only a short stroll from the shopping, galleries, restaurants, museums and attractions of modern day Charleston. As a AAA-rated Four Diamond boutique hotel, the Marriott-owned Renaissance has the Southern virtue of being quietly elegant and gracious amid the hub-bub of vibrant Charleston.
Visitors find the 6-story, I-shaped brick building by turning off one-way Wentworth Street into a driveway divided by an island populated with seasonal flowers in bloom and eight-foot tall palmetto trees. Guests drive under the porte-cochere, where 24-hour valet parking is available.
Before entering, guests may notice an outside sitting area on their left with three wrought iron tables and several chairs. Further left, potted plants sit next to a chest-high pink concrete wall that surrounds four more wrought iron tables accessible in warm weather for service from the hotel’s Wentworth Grill restaurant. The Grill, once known as the Brassiere, has award winning crab cakes.
 Greeting you outside the restaurant entrance is a small fountain with four concrete lion heads. The fountain spouts water to create the gentle sounds of a mountain brook. The bright white wooden and glass front doors have iron palm trees for door handles and are flanked by a pair of ficus trees. Inside to the right is a concierge table and to the left is the gift shop. Straight ahead is the granite-topped front desk.
The long, rectangular shaped lobby shines under three large chandeliers. Immediately on the right is a large sitting area with luxuriously stuffed chairs, couches, and tables illuminated by blue porcelain table lamps. To the right of the front desk, a flat screen displays the hotel’s daily events and the Wentworth Grill offerings. On the right is the red-carpeted Rhettsbury Hall, which is often used for group events and separated from the lobby with decorative iron and glass screens. A small business center along the hall has a printer, copier, computer and ATM. Guests also have access to free internet and can print boarding passes. At the end of the hall is the Charleston Ballroom.
 To ascend to the rooms, the elevators, unique with their fabric walls, are to the left of the front desk. Nearby, a combination of a couch, art deco chairs and benches provide a convenient meeting place for elevator patrons. Beyond the elevators is a Starbucks coffee station and redesigned bar, used as a serving area at night for the cocktail lounge beyond and the award-winning Wentworth Grill restaurant.
Room
Our room had the clothes closet to the right and the bathroom on the left, with a small indented alcove on the wall directly opposite the bed, where a granite shelf with an overhead light and gold framed wall mirror became the place to put small belongings, charge the cell phone and use the hair dryer.
 Next to the alcove was the desk, served by a swiveling desk chair, and topped with wireless keyboard Internet access, a brass lamp, two-line phone and an extensive guest services directory.
Walls were painted gold with an accent wall that is painted a paprika color. The walls are decorated with art photos an ancient urn and a marble bust. The carpet was colored gold and red.
A stuffed chair with ottoman sat next to a window with a floor lamp for illumination. The King-sized bed had a wooden headboard. Bedside was a two-drawer dresser serving double duty as a bed stand topped with a digital clock/radio, lamp and phone.
The armoire holds three clothes drawers, 32-inch flat screen television with movies for a fee and a keyboard for hooking up video games
The closet is behind double French doors that contain an ironing board, iron, hair dryer, padded hangers and regular hangers.
Glasses, ice bucket, a coffee pot, coffee and cups is located in an alcove by the entry door.
 Bathroom
A patterned granite sink contains a pair of water glasses on a criss-cross wooden slat shelf. Toiletries include mint thyme creme rinse, mint thyme hairwash and mint thyme moisturizer and lavender facial soap, all by Lather, a brand name.
The tabletop contains a white porcelain soap dish, a gold-framed mirror above and a pair of brass lamp. A combination tub/shower has a wall soap dish, a small shelf and a silver wall bar to assist entry and exit. A full-length mirror hangs on the back of the bathroom door.
 Other
Hallways in the hotel have settee tables and wall pictures. The third floor houses an exercise room, which contains six top-of-the-line Life Fitness machines with TV screens, aerobic machines, four weight machines, free weights, three benches and a flat screen 42-inch TV on the wall. A room key grants access.
There is a lovely 10,000 gallon outdoor heated pool 3-4 feet deep on the third level surrounded by nearly a dozen lounge chairs and two tables for four. Strategically placed potted ferns provide a warm ambiance. (Updated July 2008)
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