I’ve always loved Charleston. It’s near the beach, the city embraces the old and the new, the people are friendly, there’s an endless number of restaurants to try with seafood at every corner, and there are so many Southern Bed & Breakfasts that I honestly want to stay at them all! We also recently started watching the Bravo reality show, Southern Charm, which is set in Charleston, so I plan on making Charleston the family beach trip go-to!
One of the first episodes of Southern Charm took place on Folly Beach, a barrier island just 30 minutes from Charleston. I had visited Folly Beach during my college years and remembered it fondly. So this time around, I chose to stay on Folly Beach, at a romantic Bed and Breakfast called Regatta Inn.
Regatta Inn is a beautiful waterfront luxury hotel located at the end of the street on Folly Beach, super quiet and romantic. Every room has a screen porch or balcony, and the water views were breathtaking any time of the day. We even saw dolphins from our window. (Later on on the beach of Folly Island, we actually saw an alligator!)
Service and amenities were wonderful at the Regatta Inn. There’s breakfast in the morning, afternoon wine and tea, plush bathrobes, in-room fireplace, free parking and more. We first stayed at The Poseidon Room, it was big and comfortable, located on the top floor of the inn, with a big open deck for a great view of the river. For the final night, we upgraded to The Olympus Suite. The Olympus Suite is one of the best hotel rooms we’ve EVER stayed in. It definitely made the trip.
Southern Charm Tour
We spent most of the trip checking out some locations that were filmed for the show Southern Charm. It’s a little silly but we found it kind of “charming”. If you ever want to plan your own Southern Charm tour, check out these locations:
- The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. As the name suggests, this bridge is named after the father of one of the main cast members of the show, Thomas Ravenel.
- Isaac Jenkins Mikell House, located at 94 Rutledge Ave. This is the home of Patricia Altschul, one of the main cast members.
- The George Robertson House, located at 1 Meeting St. This is the house Thomas was living in at the VERY beginning of the show.
- Murdock-Cheeseborough House, located at 24 Church St. By season 1 episode 3, Thomas started living in this house.
- Lewisfield Plantation, located near Moncks Corner, is Kathryn Dennis’s family home.
- Sewing Down South, located at 493 King St, is a pillow business owned by Craig Conover.
- Mesu Restaurant, a Mexican/Sushi fusion restaurant located at 570 King St, owned by Craig Conover and Leva.
- Republic Garden and Lounge, an upscale bar located at 462 King St, owned by Leva and her husband.
Places to Eat
Charleston has a GREAT selection of restaurants. I feel like I can eat out everyday and never finish trying something new. The following restaurants are what we tried on our trip:
We tried the Blue Crab Boil Special. I definitely recommend getting one of the boils. The blue crabs were kind of small so it made it difficult to get the meat out, but the flavors made up for it. The interior was beautiful with tongue and groove and lots of “crabby” decor. Our boil came with 3 crabs, and while small, 2 of the 3 crabs were very meaty!
We had several meals at BLU because it’s the nicest restaurant on Folly Beach. All of our meals have been great and I love the ocean view and their amazing cocktails.
It’s also great that they are open for 3 meals a day.
One thing to keep in mind – there’s no free parking at the BLU, so unless you are staying at Tides Resort (where BLU is at), you will have to pay for parking just for eating there. We parked at a parking lot next door and that was $10.
We enjoyed Toast, one of the all-day breakfast options in the West Ashley area of Charleston. They have great southern inspired dishes and some great Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas.
Lolo’s is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Folly River. It serves seafood right on the water. The menu is simple. You’ll find some fried seafood as well as some sandwich options. There is minimal service and but it’s a great place to be watching sunset with a beer in your hand!
Hall’s Chop House was featured in Southern Charm. It’s a favorite restaurant of several cast members and the owners of Hall’s are familiar with everyone from the show. When we walked up to the restaurant, we saw lots of people outside and I thought we would have to stand in a long line. I was wrong. By the time I walked closer to the door, a host had opened the door for me and ushered us in. They confirmed our reservation and immediately led us to our seat. It almost felt like we were some kind of celebrity – and I know lots of reviews have mentioned a similar treatment, so it’s not us!
Hall’s has forever spoiled me. They had some of the most tender steak ever. And the service was impeccable. The entire experience was just phenomenal. Come here if you want to be pampered!
Lost Dog Café is a breakfast restaurant on Folly Beach. As the name suggests, it’s very pet friendly. Honestly the entire Folly Beach Island is quite dog friendly. That seems to be the vibe here. There’s a beautiful garden area at the restaurant and nice wooden tables and chairs. There’s a doggy bowl on the ground at every table. I ordered the Folly Benedict (a crab cake eggs benedict) and it was very good!!
Stars was featured in Southern Charm a few times. It’s a nice modern American restaurant with seafood, steak, and great drinks.
Uptown Social is a great bar and event space that also serves wonderful pizza! As most other restaurants on this list, you can catch glimpses of Uptown Social on Southern Charm as well!
NICO is a New Orleans inspired seafood restaurant owned by Naomi Olindo’s father. I ordered the beeline snapper – an item that wasn’t on the official menu but I saw someone else having it so I asked about it and they said they had one left! Lucky me! (I have tried beeline snapper at other restaurants since then and none has come close to the flavors that NICO’s had.)
FINAL THOUGHTS
I loved eating so much seafood everyday. No matter if it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there is always some seafood options on the menu. Although Folly Beach was somewhat of a let down – the beach was great but there wasn’t many upscale restaurants (there really was only one, BLU). Next time when we come, we will try to stay in Charleston or maybe Mount Pleasant, where we would be closer to the nicer establishments. But I’m glad we stayed on Folly this time because Regatta Inn was amazing!