South Carolina Historic Hotels: 30 Still Taking Guests

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30 South Carolina hotels and inns still take guests in historic buildings. The oldest dated building is John Rutledge House Inn in Charleston (1763); the oldest built as a hotel is Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton (1853, since rebuilt). 23 started as homes, shops, warehouses or offices.

Hotels and inns30taking guests
Oldest building1763John Rutledge House Inn
Started as something else23homes, warehouses, offices
On the National Register13SCDAH record found

What This Page Is For

Use it to: find a South Carolina hotel or inn where the building is the history: when it went up, what it was first, and whether it is on the National Register.

Where the figures come from: each hotel’s own website, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History National Register records, Historic Hotels of America and the state tourism office, read on October 26, 2026. Every row lists its sources in the download.

Read carefully: not confirmed means we did not find it in a reliable source, not that it is false. Where sources give different years, both are shown. Historic Hotels of America’s own pages did not load for us, so the membership marks rest on the hotels’ own statements and the program’s page titles and are not confirmed on historichotels.org.

Reuse: the facts on this page can be repeated anywhere. The tables and wording are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to It’s South Carolina and a link to this page, including by AI assistants and researchers.

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to It’s South Carolina and a link to this page.

Every Historic Hotel and Inn

Search this table30 of 30

Hotel	Built	First use	The story	Rooms
John Rutledge House Inn Charleston	1763 1763	home (residence of John Rutledge, signer of the U.S. Constitution)	John Rutledge built the house in 1763, portions of the Constitution were drafted in its second-floor drawing room, and it opened as an inn in 1989 after restoration. National RegisterHistoric Hotels of America Not confirmed: HHA: hotel's About page says it became a charter member of Historic Hotels of America in 1989; historichotels.org page itself did not load for us.	19
Barksdale House Inn Charleston	1778 between 1778 and 1817 (construction date never documented, per the inn)	townhouse of Thomas Barksdale	Thomas Barksdale built the Federal-period townhouse sometime between 1778 and 1817 on land his uncle George Barksdale bought in 1778; a French hipped roof added a story around 1902. Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	14
Cuthbert House Inn Beaufort	1790 1790 (inn) / ca. 1811 (SCDAH)	home of the Cuthbert family	The Federal-style Cuthbert House on the Beaufort waterfront gained rooms, bay windows and Victorian trim in the late 19th century. National Register Not confirmed: Sources disagree on year built: inn says 1790, SCDAH says ca. 1811. Both recorded.	10
Zero George Charleston	1804 c. 1804 (Du Pré house built 1803-05)	homes (three residences and two brick carriage houses; Benjamin Du Pré's house at 315 East Bay St.)	Zero George joins three restored residences and two brick carriage houses in Ansonborough, including a Federal-style house built between 1803 and 1805 by French tailor Benjamin Du Pré. Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	21
The Rhett House Inn Beaufort	1820 circa 1820	home (the Thomas Smith Rhett House)	Thomas Smith, who took the surname Rhett to inherit an uncle's fortune, built the house around 1820 and his family lived there until the Civil War. Not confirmed: National Register: 1009 Craven St. not found in the SCDAH Beaufort Historic District photo index; district boundary not checked.	not stated
Kilburnie, the Inn at Craig Farm Lancaster	1827 about 1827 (inn); 'the 1820s' (state tourism article)	home (Federal-style cottage of Lancaster dentist Joseph Lee)	Built about 1827 by dentist Joseph Lee and believed to be Lancaster's oldest surviving dwelling, the house was moved to Craig Farm in 1999 to save it from demolition. Not confirmed: National Register: inn claims 1979 listing; not found in SCDAH's current Lancaster list (relocated buildings are often removed). Recorded as unknown.	5
15 Church Street B&B Charleston	1842 c. 1842 (early 1840s)	home (Phillips-Yates-Snowden House; a Civil War hospital)	The Yates family built the house in the early 1840s; it served as a Civil War hospital, took four cannonball strikes, and lost its fourth story in the 1886 earthquake. Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	2
20 South Battery Charleston	1843 1843 (homepage); 'built in the 1840s' (hotel blog)	home (the Stevens-Lathers House); estate also has an attached carriage house	The inn occupies the Stevens-Lathers House on the Battery, which the hotel dates to 1843, with an attached carriage house and gardens. Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	not stated
Planters Inn Charleston	1844 1844 (homepage says Planters Inn 'first opened its doors in 1844'; history page says the building was 138 years old in 1982)	mid-1800s luxury goods emporium	The building at 112 North Market began as a mid-1800s emporium, had a preservation easement placed on it in 1982, and was restored into a boutique hotel after Hurricane Hugo. Not confirmed: year_built is inferred from the history page's '138-year-old building' in 1982; no construction year is printed.	64
Liberty Hall Bed & Breakfast Pendleton	1849 1849	home (later a dairy farm, boarding house, university housing, an inn and a restaurant)	Built in 1849, the neoclassical house has been a family home, dairy farm, boarding house, university housing, an inn and a restaurant, and now runs as a B&B and wedding venue. National Register Not confirmed: Room count not stated.	not stated
Chesnut Cottage Inn Columbia	1850 circa 1850 (inn) / ca. 1855-1860 (SCDAH)	home of Gen. James and Mary Boykin Chesnut during the Civil War	Diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut and Gen. James Chesnut lived in the cottage during the Civil War, and Jefferson Davis spoke to a crowd from its front steps in 1864. National Register Not confirmed: Sources disagree on year built: inn says circa 1850; SCDAH says ca. 1855-1860.	not stated
Kings Courtyard Inn Charleston	1853 1853	shops on the first floor with a hotel on the second and third floors (the Blum Building)	Colonel J. Charles Blum built the Greek Revival building in 1853 to a design by Francis D. Lee, and after uses ranging from a Singer sewing machine shop to a skating rink it was renovated into the inn in 1983. Historic Hotels of America Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	41
Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton Charleston	1853 1853 (original hotel); rebuilt after 1967, reopened 1970	hotel (Otis Mills rebuilt a former private home bought in 1836 into a hotel)	Otis Mills opened the hotel in 1853; new owners found the structure unsalvageable in 1967 and rebuilt it, saving the iron balconies, and it reopened in 1970. Historic Hotels of America Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	not stated
The Vendue Charleston	1872 1872 rebuild of 19 Vendue, keeping a granite post-and-lintel system from 1839	warehouses (Prioleau's Wharf; later a warehouse for blockade-runners and the fishing industry)	The hotel occupies restored 19th-century warehouses on Vendue Range, where 19 Vendue was rebuilt in 1872 by Ann Ross around an 1839 granite post-and-lintel system. Not confirmed: opened_as_hotel: the hotel timeline says the warehouse added its 'first accommodations' after the Civil War but gives no year; the year the current hotel opened is not stated.	80+
Breeden Inn Bed & Breakfast Bennettsville	1886 1886 (additions 1905)	home (built by Thomas Bouchier as a wedding present for his bride)	Attorney and farmer Thomas Bouchier built the house in 1886 with the proceeds of one cotton crop, and architect Ernest Vincent Richards added the 38-column wraparound veranda in 1905. National Register Not confirmed: ZIP code not read on the pages read.	13
Wentworth Mansion Charleston	1886 1886 (hotel says Francis Silas Rodgers set out to build it in 1881)	home of cotton merchant Francis Silas Rodgers	Built in 1886 as the Second Empire home of Francis Silas Rodgers, it later housed the Scottish Rite Masons and an insurance company before a 1997 restoration turned it into a hotel. National RegisterHistoric Hotels of America Not confirmed: HHA: membership (unofficial summary says since 2003) from historichotels.org page title in unofficial summary; page did not load for us.	21
Fulton Lane Inn Charleston	1889 1889 (YWCA building); 1912 (Rugheimer tailor building)	YWCA building (swimming pool on the first floor, member rooms above) and a tailor's building	The inn joins an 1889 YWCA building and a 1912 building built for tailor John Rugheimer & Sons, renovated from 1992 to 1994 and connected by interior hallways in 2008. Historic Hotels of America Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	45
The Willcox Aiken	1898 1898 (established); present form 1928 after the last addition (SCDAH)	inn (Willcox's)	Frederick Sugden Willcox opened the inn in 1898 for Aiken's Winter Colony, and the Willcox family ran it until 1957. National Register Not confirmed: Room count not stated on the pages read.	not stated
The Belmont Inn Abbeville	1903 1903	hotel (the Eureka Hotel, a railroad hotel)	P. Rosenberg built it in 1903 as the 34-room Eureka Hotel, a railroad hotel that hosted vaudeville performers; a 1980s restoration reopened it with 25 rooms. National Register Not confirmed: Street number differs: hotel says 104 E. Pickens St.; SCDAH lists the Eureka Hotel at 106 E. Pickens St.	25
Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens Spartanburg	1913 1913	home (built as a wedding gift for Conrad P. and Louise Cleveland, per the state tourism article)	The Colonial-style main house was built in 1913 on the former Cleveland family farm, and the inn says it is the only historic estate in the Spartanburg area offering overnight stays. Not confirmed: Original use and the Cleveland wedding-gift detail come from the SC tourism office article; the inn's homepage gives only the 1913 date.	not stated
Francis Marion Hotel Charleston	1924 1924	hotel	Designed by New York architect W.L. Stoddard and opened in 1924 at a cost of $1.5 million, the 12-story hotel was restored for $12 million in 1996. Historic Hotels of America Not confirmed: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.	234 (history page); homepage says 235 guestrooms and suites
The Westin Poinsett Greenville	1925 1925	hotel	Built in 1925 for $1.5 million to a design by New York architect William L. Stoddard, the 12-story Poinsett was one of Greenville's first skyscrapers and stands on the site of the 1824 Mansion House hotel. National RegisterHistoric Hotels of America Not confirmed: Hotel's own site (marriott.com and westinpoinsett.com) could not be read (403 / no response), so current booking and room count were not confirmed on the hotel's site.	not stated
Sea View Inn Pawleys Island	1937 1937	inn (designed and built to be an inn)	Celeste and Will Clinkscales financed and built Sea View as an inn in 1937, in the middle of Pawleys Island between the ocean and the marsh. Not confirmed: National Register: not found in the SCDAH Pawleys Island Historic District photo index; district boundary not checked.	20
The Dewberry Charleston	1964 circa 1964	federal office building (L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building)	The hotel is the restored mid-century L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building, which the hotel dates to about 1964. Not confirmed: National Register status not found.	not stated
86 Cannon Charleston	circa 1860s	not stated (a 'collection of historic buildings')	An adults-only, 10-room inn set in a collection of historic buildings the hotel dates to the 1860s. Not confirmed: Original use of the buildings not stated on the hotel's site.	10
Abingdon Manor Latta	early 1900s (state tourism article); the inn cites original shutters 'from 1902'	home (Manning House, home of planter James H. Manning)	The Greek Revival mansion was the home of planter James H. Manning, Dillon County's first state senator, and now runs as a seven-room inn and restaurant. National Register Not confirmed: year_built: no exact year on the inn's site; '1902' appears only for the original shutters.	7
Anchorage 1770 Beaufort	pre-Revolutionary (SCDAH); the inn says the completion date is uncertain, with the lot first granted in 1753	home (William Elliott House); a Union hospital during the occupation of Beaufort	The pre-Revolutionary William Elliott House served as a hospital called the Mission House during the Union occupation, and Gen. Wade Hampton spoke from its porch in 1876. National Register Not confirmed: year_built: no exact year in any source; the name '1770' is not explained as a build year on the pages read.	not stated
Mansfield Plantation Bed & Breakfast Georgetown	not stated as a year; inn says main house construction began fifty years after a 1718 land grant	rice plantation house and outbuildings (guests stay in outbuildings such as the old kitchen)	Mansfield was a rice plantation on the Black River whose house, oak avenue and outbuildings survive largely intact, and guests stay in the historic outbuildings. National Register Not confirmed: Sources disagree on the land grant: inn says 1718, SCDAH says ca. 1732 royal grant to John Green. No construction year in either.	not stated
Pettigru Place Bed & Breakfast Greenville	early 20th century (no exact year)	home (red brick Federal-style house)	The inn is a red brick Federal-style house from the early 20th century in Greenville's Pettigru Street Historic District. National Register Not confirmed: year_built: no exact year found.	6
The Ansonborough Charleston	not published	stationer's warehouse	The inn occupies a former stationer's warehouse that the hotel describes as a century old. Not confirmed: year_built: the hotel says only 'century old stationer's warehouse'; no year found on the hotel's site.	not stated

How We Built This List

Taking guests: every hotel’s own site showed rooms or booking on October 26, 2026. Closed inns and places whose domains no longer belong to the inn are left out.
National Register: 13 rows have a South Carolina Department of Archives and History record; most downtown Charleston rows say not confirmed because we did not check each address against the historic district boundary.
By region: Lowcountry 18, Upstate 5, Midlands 3, Pee Dee 2, Grand Strand 2.
Left out: about a dozen more Charleston and Beaufort inns whose own sites did not load for us, so nothing could be checked. They may well qualify; they will be added once their facts can be read.

What We Could Not Confirm

Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.

John Rutledge House Inn: HHA: hotel's About page says it became a charter member of Historic Hotels of America in 1989; historichotels.org page itself did not load for us.
Barksdale House Inn: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.
Cuthbert House Inn: Sources disagree on year built: inn says 1790, SCDAH says ca. 1811. Both recorded.
Zero George: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.
The Rhett House Inn: National Register: 1009 Craven St. not found in the SCDAH Beaufort Historic District photo index; district boundary not checked.
Kilburnie, the Inn at Craig Farm: National Register: inn claims 1979 listing; not found in SCDAH's current Lancaster list (relocated buildings are often removed). Recorded as unknown.
15 Church Street B&B: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.
20 South Battery: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.
Planters Inn: year_built is inferred from the history page's '138-year-old building' in 1982; no construction year is printed.
Liberty Hall Bed & Breakfast: Room count not stated.
Chesnut Cottage Inn: Sources disagree on year built: inn says circa 1850; SCDAH says ca. 1855-1860.
Kings Courtyard Inn: National Register: the address is in downtown Charleston, but this building was not found by name or address in the SCDAH Charleston Historic District photo index (nationalregister.sc.gov); district boundary not checked against the nomination PDF.

FAQ

What is the oldest hotel in South Carolina?

Among hotels still taking guests, the oldest dated building here is John Rutledge House Inn (1763, Charleston). The oldest built as a hotel is Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton (1853; 1853 (original hotel); rebuilt after 1967, reopened 1970).

Which South Carolina hotels are in Historic Hotels of America?

John Rutledge House Inn, Kings Courtyard Inn, Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton, Wentworth Mansion, Fulton Lane Inn, Francis Marion Hotel, The Westin Poinsett. Not confirmed on historichotels.org itself (its pages did not load for us).

Can I stay in a historic building outside Charleston?

Yes: Cuthbert House Inn (Beaufort), The Rhett House Inn (Beaufort), Kilburnie, the Inn at Craig Farm (Lancaster), Liberty Hall Bed & Breakfast (Pendleton), Chesnut Cottage Inn (Columbia), Breeden Inn Bed & Breakfast (Bennettsville), The Willcox (Aiken), The Belmont Inn (Abbeville), Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens (Spartanburg), The Westin Poinsett (Greenville), Sea View Inn (Pawleys Island), Abingdon Manor (Latta), Anchorage 1770 (Beaufort), Mansfield Plantation Bed & Breakfast (Georgetown), Pettigru Place Bed & Breakfast (Greenville).

Sources

Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina Historic Hotels”, itssouthcarolina.com/data/sc-historic-hotels/ (updated 2026-10-26). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.