PILLOW TALK

Classic Comfort

Francis Silas Rodgers, the original owner of Wentworth Mansion, organized the city’s first professional fire department.

BY MARY SUE LAWRENCE

Take a step into the past by staying in one of Charleston’s many historic inns.

WENTWORTH MANSION
www.wentworthmansion.com; 888-466-1886
This handsome brick AAA Five-Diamond property was a private home when it was completed in 1887. Its massive wood doors open to reveal stately Second Empire style with original Tiffany glass windows, tiled floors and dark wood furnishings. Even the spa reflects this grand décor, although the treatments are anything but old. While stays include breakfast and evening wine and hors d’ouevres, don’t leave without a meal at the award-winning Circa 1886.

JOHN RUTLEDGE HOUSE INN
www.johnrutledgehouse.inn.com; 800-476-9741
Sleep in the former home of John Rutledge, one of the 55 signers of the US Constitution. (In fact, Rutledge drafted part of the Constitution here.) The AAA Four-Diamond inn is one of just 15 existing homes that once belonged to the signers—and the only one with overnight accommodations. Built in 1763, the house has been restored with opulent flourishes: ornate ironwork, carved marble fireplaces, original plaster moldings and parquetry floors.

PLANTERS INN
www.plantersinn.com; 800-845-7082
Located in two historic buildings—one a former store dating to 1844—this Relais & Châteaux property is the only historic inn overlooking City Market. With fat pine floors, 10-foot ceilings, and large guest rooms with handmade reproduction furniture, opulent fabrics, fireplaces and piazzas with views of the garden courtyard, this 62-room inn easily recalls its antebellum roots. The on-site Peninsula Grill, with its supper club-style atmosphere, is one of the city’s favorites.