The Loutrel

A Garden Hotel in the French Quarter

State Street is a short, shaded run through the oldest part of Charleston, close enough to the City Market to hear it and far enough not to. The Loutrel sits behind a Georgian facade there and organises itself around a walled garden, which is the whole idea: fifty rooms and suites arranged so that the courtyard, not the lobby, is the centre of the house. Above them, a planted rooftop terrace opens over the quarter's tile and slate. The register throughout is Southern and comfortable rather than showy, the kind of luxury that shows in the linen and the shade.

Why It Works

Two decisions make this house. The first is the garden, which gives a downtown hotel something almost no downtown hotel has: an outdoor room at ground level, in a city built for exactly that. The second is the clubroom on the mezzanine, kept for guests and stocked with refreshments through the day, which turns the hotel into somewhere to come back to at three in the afternoon rather than somewhere to sleep. Add the rooftop for the evening and the Veranda Lounge for the hour before dinner, and the building works at every hour.

Why This Location

The French Quarter is the walkable heart of the peninsula. The City Market is a couple of blocks north, the Dock Street Theatre and the church steeples that give Charleston its skyline are within a few minutes, and Waterfront Park with its pineapple fountain is east toward the harbour. Rainbow Row and the Battery lie south along East Bay Street, an easy stroll. What the address imposes: this is the visited quarter, so mornings are quiet and midday belongs to the carriages, and the garden is where you go to sit that out.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Georgian, garden-centred, Southern, understated

• Rooms: 50 rooms and suites, including Double Queen, Corner King and Garden Suite categories

• Best For: couples, first visits to Charleston, travellers who want to walk everywhere and drive nowhere

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the clubroom on the mezzanine, open to guests through the day, which very few hotels this size bother to staff

• Dining: the Veranda Lounge for cocktails and small plates off the lobby, plus private dining and rooftop event spaces

• Amenities: walled garden courtyard, planted rooftop terrace, guests-only clubroom with refreshments, fitness studio with Peloton bikes, private event spaces

• Attractions: Charleston City Market (a couple of blocks), Dock Street Theatre, Waterfront Park, Rainbow Row and the Battery (south along East Bay Street)

Rooms, and Which Aspect to Ask For

Categories run from Double Queen up through Corner King to the Garden Suites, and the difference that matters is what the window gives you. Corner rooms take two exposures and the best of the light. The Garden Suites open toward the courtyard, which is quiet, green and shaded through the afternoon. Rooms facing State Street get the texture of the quarter, the carriages included. The finish is consistent, so ask by aspect rather than by category, and mention the garden if that is what you came for.

The Garden, the Roof and the Clubroom

These three spaces are what a guest actually uses. The courtyard is the morning room, shaded and walled off from the street. The clubroom, on the mezzanine, carries the middle of the day with coffee and something to eat, and is the reason people stay in rather than hunt for a cafe. The rooftop terrace takes the evening, with the quarter's rooflines and steeples in front of you and a drink from the Veranda Lounge in hand. It is a small, well-sequenced building.

What to Know Before You Book

Charleston is a walking city and this address is built on that assumption: park once, or arrive without a car, and use your feet. The house is not set up for pets, so plan accordingly. Spring and autumn are the seasons everyone wants and the garden rooms go first. Check-in is mid-afternoon and check-out late morning, with luggage held on either side, which is worth using given how much of this quarter can be covered in a spare hour.