Today we are featuring a chic southern girlfriends getaway by A�Erica J of Elevated Occasions. This Charleston, SC trip is everything you need in your life to get away from it all. Make sure to consider Charleston the next time you and your girls want to have some fun with loads of Southern Charm. Check out 5 ways to enjoy a Girlfriend Getaway from Erica J with some great tips and resources below, not to mention a beautiful team of Black Southern Belles by her side!
Images provided by Sloan PhotographyA�except where noted
Everyone loves a fun weekend to kick back and relax with friends! A�A few years ago, my grad school besties and I decided to have an annual a�?Girls Tripa�? reunion. A�We all moved to different cities after graduation, so the annual trip is our chance to catch up in person! A�Charleston has been on our weekend getaway list for a while now – having lived in the Carolinas for business school, the South will always have a place in our hearts! Charleston has beautiful architecture, rich history, great food, and tons to see/do! A�Wea��ve shared our trip highlights, and already can’t wait to visit again!
1- Hotel
Charleston has lots of hotel choices, and everything in the downtown area is often within just a mile or so. We enjoy trying boutique hotels that have a distinct look and feel. We stayed at the lovely Zero George Street boutique hotel. Lots of bloggers post about it, so I knew this was the place I wanted to be! A�It has excellent rooms, top-notch service, and an amazing concierge staff (seriously, we texted them for a same-day Spa appointment, and they texted us back within minutes with options).
The reception and lobby are in a renovated historic brick house, and the guest suites are in beautiful historic buildings just next door. The grounds have tons of hidden gems to explore, including beautiful patios, gardens, and sitting rooms. The hotel also has cool retro bikes that you can take for a spin around the block! The outdoor areas at Zero George are the picture perfect places to relax after a long day and sip on sweet teaa��or champagne! A�
2- Scenic Stops/Sightseeing
Our favorite sightseeing activity was just walking around this historical area admiring all of the colorful buildings!
Rainbow Row: Iconic set of 13 colorful houses that are always featured in Charleston photos. These were mostly built in the late 1700s and restored in the early 1900s.
Waterfront Park: Park overlooking Charleston Harbor, featuring a gorgeous pineapple-shaped fountain that represents Charlestona��s wonderful hospitality.
Charleston Market: The market features numerous vendors selling souvenirs, food/candy, and art. A�One of the items that stood out the most to us were the hand-woven baskets made by the Gullah people. A�The Gullah are descendants of enslaved Africans who lived in coastal areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and surrounding sea islands.
3- Where to Eat!
Hominy Grill: This is a quaint, casual restaurant serving Southern comfort food from James Beard award-winning chef Robert Stehling. We saw (on many tables) the Charleston nasty, which is fried chicken in a biscuit with sausage gravy poured over – so we had to oblige and try some ourselves!
Husk Restaurant: The a�?Must Seea�? place on our Charleston wish list. Ita��s yet another restaurant helmed by a James Beard award-winning chef, Sean Brock, that fully delivers!
Martha Loua��s Kitchen: At the recommendation of the Chef at Zero George Inn, on the last day of the trip we stopped by Martha Loua��s for some bread pudding! Martha Loua��s is an authentic restaurant, known for a�?Food that brings people together.a�? The down-home feeling and stellar food make this a must-see.
Xiao Bao Biscuit: Asian + Southern fusion in a converted gas station. My friend was craving some Asian amidst the southern fare, and this hit the spot on the last day of the trip!
Callies Little Biscuit: We didn’t actually go here, but Zero George gets their biscuits each morning for breakfast, and they were freshly-made…sweet or savory, it was just what we needed!
4- Shopping
Sometimes you just want to shopa��and thata��s just what we did. A�It was fun exploring the interesting stores and boutiques such as Moon & Lola. We stumbled across some great finds and enjoyed just taking a leisurely stroll. We even stopped to cool down with a sweet treat at Belgian Gelato!
(photo by @Elevated Occasions)
5- Cooking Class
We couldna��t come all the way to Charleston and not immerse ourselves in a culinary adventure! A�Thus, we signed up for the cooking demonstration at the Zero George Street boutique hotel. The class, led by Executive Chef Vinson Petrillo of Zero Restaurant + Bar, was a journey in gastronomy. We learned about flavors, cooking techniques, and even what types of oils to cook with! A�The food was great, and it was wonderful seeing a real chef in action! I think this will be a new tradition for us when traveling!
Candle Making
Wea��re always looking for unique activities, so we took a scented candle making class at Candlefish. I was impressed with how darn cute this place is! A�They have a candle library along one wall where you can smell hundreds of candle scents. A�The rest of the main part of the store has a cool mix of candles and gift items such as art prints, notebooks, tote bags, etc. Nestled in the back of the store is their candle making area. A�There were about ten other folks in our class, and we all put on aprons and pulled up a chair to our chandler stations. Our instructor was a bundle of energy and told us more than I ever knew about candles! A�We got to pick our scents, pour the wax, and even make a custom label for our scented creations! Definitely a must do for a trip to Charleston! Classes fill up early so if you are visiting, plan ahead!
I hope you guys enjoyed this recap! Let us know in the comments any other local favorites or insider spots that we missed and have to go back for : )
Image by Erica J of Elevated Occassions
Hotel:
Restaurants:
Activities:
Cooking Class at Zero George + Bar http://zerogeorge.com/cooking-classes/
Candlefish (candle making) https://www.candlefish.com/
Moon & Lola https://www.moonandlola.com/
Photography: All photos (unless otherwise noted in caption) by Sloan Photography http://www.sloan-photography.com/
Travel Planning: Trip planned and curated by Elevated Occasions (@Elevated Occasions)
Heading to Charleston? Get more travel tips here!
Comments
I so love reading about your girls getaway …in September of 2017 I will be enjoying a seven day trip to Charleston with my girlfriends can not wait and hope to visit some of the places you talked about…..hope we have as much fun as you and your girlfriend had????
My father lives in Summerville and I absolutely LOVE Charleston!! I fell in love with the Gibbs museum on my last trip. Can’t wait to meet my girls there! Thank you for this wonderful article.
Great article, very informative….makes me want to pack a weekender and go!!!!
I really enjoyed reading about your girls trip. I have been procrastinating about planning a girl and now I am ready and very excited thanks to this article.
July 2017, my fiancé and I will be staying at the Zero George Hotel. So excited, can not wait to stay at this beautiful historical place. We have also booked a carriage ride and plan to go to Hominy Grill.