Monday, March 28, 2011

Where we stayed and where we ate in Charleston

There were so many options as far as where to stay and where to eat in Charleston, South Carolina. We had a hard time narrowing these options down for our 4-day stay but we knew we wanted to be near a beach and we knew we wanted to eat a lot. =)

We decided to stay at the Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms, South Carolina:

Wild Dunes in Charleston, SC by SweeterThanSweets

The hotel itself gorgeous! It is right on the beach and there are tons of options for rooms depending on how much you want to spend... from small hotel rooms to homes on the golf course to deluxe beach villas. There were 3 pools and 3 restaurants within walking distance of our room. It was a 5-minute walk to the beach and that is where I blessed enough to do my Out Run CF run.

You know how there's always a "spender" in every marriage? My Sweets is generally the spender and I'm the saver, so I wanted to stay in the basic hotel room but he wanted the 1-bedroom. We went to Charleston to celebrate his birthday, so when I booked the stay I decided I should probably get him what he wanted. When we got into our room, I had to admit that he was right. It was amazing! This is the bedroom, and the bathroom was just about the same size:

bedroom at Wild Dunes in Charleston, SC by SweeterThanSweets

If you looked at just the right spot off the balcony, you could see a little bit of the ocean! =)

Enough about where we stayed, now on to one of my favorite parts of traveling, eating! When my college roommate and I studied abroad for a year, we traveled around Europe where our stomachs led us. We would squeeze in sightseeing around our meal, snack and dessert plans. Now my Sweets is stuck with this eat-travel-eat habit of mine.

I love using Urbanspoon.com to find new restaurants when we travel, and it did not let us down on this trip. Our favorite meal was at Poogan's Porch, where we all enjoyed Charleston's "Lowcountry cuisine" on the patio for Sunday Brunch. My Sweets ordered the she-crab soup (we'd seen it on all the menus in Charleston) and he and Little Sweets both loved it! I am not a fan of any kind of seafood, but I had a delicious breakfast--Cinnamon French Toast with Pecans. We all has to pass on the Fried Alligator. This was the view from our table of the hotel across the street:

Poogan's Porch in Charleston, SC by SweeterThanSweets

Our favorite dessert in Charleston was, by far, the cupcakes at Baked. We got the chocolate caramel cupcake with chocolate and fleur de sel frosting, the red velvet cupcake with vanilla bean frosting, and the vanilla cupcake with white chocolate frosting:

cupcakes from Baked in Charleston, SC by SweeterThanSweets

We decided to stop at Baked after reading that this cupcake bakery has one other location in New York City that has been featured on Martha Stewart, Today Show, Food Network and in magazines including Oprah, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine. However, the menu at their Charleston location was nothing like the NYC Menu, but good cupcakes nonetheless. Here's their cute little store front on the main road in Charleston:


Delicious and beautiful Charleston... we hope to come back one day!

**Don't forget to check out Part 1 - Quintessential Charleston**

9 comments:

  1. Wow - you have sold the trip to me - when can I go : )

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  2. Looks like it was a great place to stay and eat . . . mmm cupcakes, you're making me hungry.

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  3. Thank you for that nice trip to Charleston, enjoyed it very much:) Also, thanks for the help with my hair style:):)

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  4. Love the place... and I also love to use Urbanspoon!

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  5. Looks like a lot of fun!! I would love to do a trip like this with my little family soon!

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  6. It was so fun to have a little getaway even if just for a few days. I'm glad I have been able to show off some of Charleston's charm!!

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  7. I have wanted to head back to Charleston so badly. I haven't been there in years, and I know my husband will love it. Maybe I can surprise him...

    Thanks for the post!

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  8. You're welcome, Lulu! Hope it inspires you to make the trip!

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  9. Your resort room looks amazing, and the food yummy, especially the cupcakes.

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