Belmond Charleston Place: Hotel Review

If you follow along on Instagram, you might have already seen that I stayed at a beautiful hotel in downtown Charleston last weekend, Belmond Charleston Place. This was my second visit to this gorgeous place and I already booked my third! Since it is becoming a favorite of mine, I figured I would do a hotel review post and share my thoughts on everything about it, especially for those of you who might be planning a special Charleston getaway in the future! I'll break things down to the room, the hotel in general, food, location, and yes, even the price.  

The Hotel

Ryan Sides Photos

As soon as you walk into this hotel, you know you are in for a luxurious escape! You're treated so well and there is stunning decor everywhere you turn. Inside of the lobby, you will find restaurants and shops that will lead you directly out onto Market St. and Meeting St. only to find even more restaurants and shops. I'll get into the location more a bit later but just know it gets an A+!

On the 4th floor, you'll find a relaxing spa complete with the most peaceful pool underneath a retractable roof and rooftop lounge chairs by a poolside bar. You can get a 360 degree view here.

The Room

Ryan Sides Photos

Ryan Sides Photos

As you can imagine, the room was more than I was expecting! The way it was felt so cozy and clean yet astoundingly luxurious, it made me never want to leave! The bathroom was my personal favorite part of the room, built in nothing but white and grey marble. The entire room had a calming color scheme of soft greys, blues, tans, and white... basically all of my favorite colors in one room. There was no way anybody could complain when they walked into one of these beautiful rooms. 

The Location

Ryan Sides Photos

If you're visiting downtown Charleston, you can't beat the location of Belmond Charleston Place. It is located right on Meeting St. and if you plan things the right way, you may never even have to move your car during your stay! It's within walking distance to basically everything downtown which saves a lot of headaches as trying to find parking around there can be frustrating. When taking into account how much the cost of the rooms are, it's best to keep in mind the location which is key! We even walked to Rainbow Row in the 95 degree heat although the charm and beauty of the city was totally worth it. 

The Staff

Every staff member we met at this hotel was on top of it! They treated you like royalty, made sure you didn't need anything else, kept your room clean (our housekeeping lady even lined up my hair products in a perfect row....need her at my apartment!), offered the best recommendations on wine, and were so friendly. 

The Food

Ryan Sides Photos

I considered writing an entire post solely on food. It was my #1 favorite part of the hotel, no joke! First of all, we stayed on the Club Level floors (top 2 floors) where they have complimentary heavy hors d'oeuvres, snacks, and drinks at all times. No matter what time it was during the day, you could walk to the snack bar and have complimentary cake, crab, meatballs, cheese, macarons, quiche, and the list would never end. This is the 2nd thing to keep in mind when booking a room at Belmond Charleston Place since it really saved a lot of money rather than going to a restaurant for every meal. Those Charleston restaurants can get to be pricey so this snack bar took treat yo'self to another level, literally.

Overview

Ryan Sides Photos

Overall, this hotel was a dream! The rooms are definitely way pricier than your average hotel though so, personally, I would only book it for a special occasion such as an anniversary trip, girls weekend (split the cost), wedding, conference, etc. You could probably find a deluxe room for somewhere in the $400's but it could definitely range. When noting the location, club level food/drink perks, quality of everything, it may just be worth the extra cost though! 

I cannot wait to share some more photos of our stay with my friends Molly, Holly, and Marianne! We had a girls day and took some photos while getting ready for dinner one night so check back for those next week! 

XO, Shelby

This post is in partnership with Belmond Charleston Place. All opinions are my own. 

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Summer in New England

Today I'm sharing some photos from early last month when we traveled up to Rhode Island to pay tribute to my Uncle Pete along with my mom's entire side of the family. Our family planned a gathering and it was so nice to be able to catch up with all of them in the same place. We had a cookout in the perfect 70 degree New England summer weather and I was able to snap some fun photos that evening! It's always nice to contribute something to this type of gathering to say thanks so I decided to bring over a couple bottles of Sequoia Grove wine. My family loves wine. They love drinking wine and my parents even have their own little vineyard! So, needless to say, these bottles were a hit. 

The Outer Banks: Rainy Day Edition

I'm back with one last OBX post for you. If you follow along on my blog, you might have read my top favorite things to do in the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. The majority of that list revolved around outdoor activities because after all, it is the beach! But you never know if you'll have a rainy day or two on your vacation and there are a lot of hidden spots you'll want to know about in times like those.

My Favorite View in Rhode Island

Top: Meadowbrook Blouse || Pants: Pilcro Hyphen Chinos || Shoes: Slide Sandal || Hat: Straw Fedora || Sunglasses: Aviators || Watch: Classic York 36mm || Earrings

I grew up visiting my mom's side of the family up in Rhode Island each summer and this past weekend we were able to visit for just a short time! It's such a unique place. You have to visit to really understand how beautiful it is. You get a panoramic view of the ocean there are rock cliffs overlooking the water. Last Saturday, we woke up extra early before family gatherings and we drove out to one of our favorite views!

What To Do In The Outer Banks

As I mentioned last week, I visited The Outer Banks a couple weeks ago with TJ and we were determined to become OBXperts! You can follow along on the hashtag #DareYouToOBX on Instagram to see more photos of what the entire group did that week. The Outer Banks is truly a special place that is not only rich in history but also rich in adventure! These beautiful islands off the coast of NC are home to several unique landmarks including numerous lighthouses and fishing piers, Jockey's Ridge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, wild horses in Corolla, and beautiful beaches to relax or do all types of water sports. It really is the perfect summer spot for just about anyone whether you like to relax and not move from your beach chair, explore, swim, fish, drive on the beach, see horses, ride horses, or eat some really good seafood.

Today I am sharing a list of things I would consider some of the best activities to do while visiting The Outer Banks. All of these activities are outdoors so they'd be perfect for a sunny day. It rained a couple days we were there so maybe next week, I'll talk about my favorite things to do on a rainy day!

Summer Day in Manteo, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk

June has always been one of my favorite months of the year. It usually involves the most traveling, boat rides, beach trips, marks the start of summer, and I go into a summertime state of mind. I feel the most alive this time of year, while the anxious thoughts of work and life fade away. So, you could probably imagine I was beyond excited to partner with The Outer Banks this month and become an #OBXpert!

Favorite Things To Do in Hilton Head in 48 Hours

Hilton Head Island is one of my favorite places to go for a relaxing mini vacation. It has everything you need - good food, live music, pretty beaches, shopping, outdoor sports, and much more. It doesn't have too much which is what I need when I crave relaxation rather than a crazy weekend. We were so excited to be able to spend last weekend there with two of our friends and I wanted to share a list of my personal favorite places to eat and things to do for those of you who might be planning a trip there soon. 

A Day At Create and Cultivate + 5 Things I Learned

I've been thinking of how to organize this post all week so hopefully it will come out as my brain envisions it.  Last weekend, I attended the Create and Cultivate conference in Dallas, a one-day creative conference for female entrepreneurs in the digital space.  It was filled with all different types of bloggers, business owners, or even girls just thinking of starting a business.  It had panels with speakers I've been following for a long time (Happily Grey, Gal Meets Glam, The Skinny Confidential), workshops, keynote speaker Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere, and SO many more.  I'll give you a run down of how the day went and also 5 things I learned over the weekend so if you have any questions at all, leave me a comment! All photography is a combination of Jessica Bordner Photography, Melissa Enid Photography, Zelle, and my phone!

Toyota Adventure in Wrightsville Beach/Wilmington

Last weekend, TJ and I packed up our weekend bags and headed to the coast in the new 2016 Toyota Camry.  We had the opportunity to test drive it for the weekend and had the best time! We've always loved taking a weekend during December to spend at the beach.  There is something about the simplicity, non-existent crowds of people, and feeling like you have the island to yourself that makes going to the beach in the off-season really special, especially during one of the busiest and craziest months of the year! 

10 Things I Learned This Summer

I think it is safe to say that summer is pretty much over, sadly.  Signs of fall are everywhere and yesterday's weather definitely felt like fall to me for the first time this year.  Before I say adios to such a wonderful season, I wanted to reflect on how much I truly enjoyed this summer through some of my favorite photos and also what I learned over the past few months.

A Weekend in Newport

Southern Blog Society Conference

Photography by Kim Graham Photography

Girls Weekend in Savannah

Do you have a city that just feels right when you're staying there?  A city that when you visit you feel comfortable and almost like you're at home?  That is how I feel about Savannah, Georgia.  Last weekend was my second time visiting this charming, spanish moss covered city and it was such a great time.  Warning: This is going to be a heavy-worded post so if you just want a quick list of favorite places, scroll down to the very bottom!

Each year, my close friends from high school plan a girls weekend trip somewhere. We chose Savannah this year because only a couple of us had visited prior to this.  Basically, I had the best time.  The first time I stayed there (about a year ago), we stayed in a beautiful pink row house.  This time, we stayed in a spacious 2 bedroom condo.  An awesome part about Savannah is how you can visit and not move your car the entire time.  You walk literally everywhere which is perfect for making up for all the amazing food you eat and drinks you drink.

I'll give a recap on what went down each day:

Friday
Since we arrived so late on Thursday night, we didn't really do anything until Friday morning.  We woke up, walked to B. Matthew's for brunch, and had a delicious meal before we started our explorations.  B. Matthews was so good and the atmosphere was perfect... not too fancy but still charming.  We made a reservation the day before so I would definitely suggest doing that if you plan on going.  Their breakfast sandwich was on the best toast of my life. 

After eating at B. Matthew's, we walked all around town just exploring and taking a lot of photos on cobblestone streets.  After a few hours of walking and shopping, it was time to eat again.  I'm going to go ahead and let you know that this trip consisted of a lot of eating. We ate lunch at Moon River Brewing which had a really cool patio outside with music playing.  I'm normally not a huge beer fan but I really liked their beer called Wild Wacky Wit.  It was light, refreshing, and citrus-y.  I'd highly recommend this place too.

By the time we were done with lunch, we were all pretty exhausted from walking so we walked back to the our condo for a quick nap.  We rested and then got all dressed up for the night.  We walked to The Cotton Sail Hotel which had a rooftop bar called Top Deck. We all had a drink and just talked a lot while taking in the awesome view overlooking the river and bridge.

We finally decided to walk to where we were eating a late dinner - Chive.  Chive is a seafood "lounge" which was interesting.  I had never really been to such a glamorous restaurant.  There were gold chandeliers, velvet pillows, marble countertops, sequins, and an overall Great Gatsby-themed environment.  I had crab stuffed flounder on top of some delicious cheesey orzo. 
After dinner, we walked over to this area known as City Market which includes a bunch of restaurants, bars, entertainment, and shops.  There was always outdoor live music being played in this area which I really liked.  We ordered some Wet Willies drinks (might I suggest Miami Vice) and sat on the big benches circling the oak trees to figure out our next move.  There was a big tree-house looking bar called Treehouse which we decided to venture into.  We ended up hanging out there for a while, did some dancing, and then walked home for the night.

Saturday

One of my favorite places from my very first Savannah trip was this little hole-in-the-wall breakfast place called Clary's Cafe.  We didn't wake up quite as early this morning so the girls who did walked to Clary's Cafe and brought back food for us.  If you ever go here, you HAVE to try their bacon biscuits.  We later walked down River Street, did some shopping, bought a selfie stick (necessary), and walked into Dockside Seafood. We then headed back over to City Market where there were a lot of different types of music going on... from live country music to the local hip-hop radio station. We met a bunch of interesting people during this time. It was soon time for our Savannah Slow Ride tour.  This was SO awesome.  We pedaled around the city and stopped at 3 different bars. My friend hooked her phone up to the speakers and was on the request line so I requested quite a few good ones.  After the dinner, we stopped by Treehouse again and ate at B&D Burgers.  Other than the Savannah Slow Ride, this was probably my favorite spot.  They had a huge outdoor area with cornhole boards, live music, and a big screen projected on a wall.  The band was playing some really good country songs and we all just danced the entire time. It was the best time. Also, the burgers there were quite exquisite.

Overall, I loved every place we went but I'll provide a list of favorites for those thinking about visiting Savannah in the near future.  This is a list including places from both trips I loved.  Also, I would LOVE to hear any other suggestions of places where I haven't been!

Favorite Recommendations
B&D Burgers
Savannah Slow Ride and Hearse Ghost Tours
Forsyth Park
B. Matthew's
City Market
Leopold's Icecream
Top Deck
Moon River Brewing
Chive
Clary's Cafe