Post House Inn

A Pale Blue Storefront on Pitt Street

Pitt Street is the spine of Mount Pleasant’s Old Village, a stretch of clapboard houses, live oaks and porches that predates the bridges and has never entirely noticed them. Halfway along it stands a pale blue trimmed storefront put up in 1896, a building that has served as shop, eatery and guest house in various combinations ever since. Kate and Ben Towill of Basic Projects took it on with one instruction to themselves, that the finished inn should feel as though it had always been there. Seven bedrooms upstairs, a dining room and bar below. That is the whole of it, and it is enough.

Why It Works

An inn with a genuinely good restaurant underneath it is unusual. An inn whose restaurant belongs to the neighbourhood is rarer still. Guests come down in the morning to a room that fills with locals by evening, and that changes the character of a stay more than any list of facilities. The bedrooms are the work of a former film set designer, and the difference shows in what was chosen rather than what was spent: William Morris wallpaper, Turkish and French rugs bought at an antique fair, rattan beds, wide plank floors. Pink bicycles lean against the front for guests to take.

Why This Location

The Old Village is the oldest part of Mount Pleasant and the quietest way into this corner of South Carolina. Walk to the end of Pitt Street and the road stops at the Pitt Street Bridge, a former causeway now given over to sunsets, fishing lines and dog walkers, with the harbour opening toward Fort Sumter. Shem Creek and its shrimp boats lie a short ride north, and Sullivan’s Island and its beach sit over the water to the east. Downtown Charleston is a straight run across the Ravenel Bridge. Staying here means choosing the village and driving to the city, rather than the other way round.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Lowcountry village, design led, sociable, low key

• Rooms: Seven, each furnished individually, wide plank floors and American made mattresses

• Best For: Couples, food led travellers, anyone who wants Charleston without sleeping in it

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The pink bicycles by the door, which turn the ride to the Pitt Street Bridge into the best part of the day

• Dining: Ground floor restaurant and bar built on shared plates, with in room breakfast of croissants, coddled eggs, prosciutto and taleggio

• Amenities: Bicycles to borrow, a minibar stocked with benne seed crackers, a village street instead of a car park

• Attractions: Pitt Street Bridge, Shem Creek, Sullivan’s Island, Ravenel Bridge, downtown Charleston

Rooms Put Together by a Set Designer

Seven rooms means seven decisions rather than one template. Some have plain white walls, others powder blue, others the full floral weight of William Morris paper. Beds are rattan, floors are wide planked, rugs are Turkish and French and were chosen one at a time. Artwork mixes modern pieces with antiques, and the bedside lampshades were made to order. The effect is domestic rather than hotelish, and it holds up on the second look, which is the real test of rooms assembled by someone used to being filmed.

The Dining Room Downstairs

The ground floor does the work of a lobby, a bar and a restaurant at once. Marble topped tables, wooden chairs, booths built for two, porcelain sconces from an English maker and local artwork on the walls. The kitchen works in shared plates, lamb sausage among them, and the bar draws the Old Village in on its own account. Breakfast can go upstairs instead: croissants, coddled eggs, prosciutto, taleggio, fruit. Either way the food is a reason to book rather than a consequence of having booked.

What to Know Before You Book

This is a seven room inn on a residential street, so expect the rhythm of a village rather than a hotel: quiet late, busy at dinner, no pool and no spa. A car helps for the beaches and for downtown, though the bicycles cover the Old Village and the bridge comfortably. Book a table when you book the room, because the dining room fills with people who live here.