Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Charleston / Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton
Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton
Charleston, South Carolina, United States · Curio Collection · Accessible Luxury
Grain merchant Otis Mills bought the Grimke family's Charleston manor in 1836 and commissioned architect John E. Earle to build a grand Italianate hotel on the site, which opened in 1853 as 'the finest hotel south of New York City.' The original building survived the Civil War and the Great Fire of 1861 but was demolished in 1968 when it proved unsalvageable; a faithful replica, using the salvaged ironwork and cornices, reopened in 1970 and became Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton, in 2022.
- 199 rooms
- Opened 1853
- Neighborhood: French Quarter
- Architect: John E. Earle
- Interiors: Ealain Studio
About Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton
- Sarah and Angelina Grimke grew up on this manor before it became a hotel. Robert E. Lee is said to have used the house in the war.
- Holiday Inn and Wyndham Grand came later. RLJ bought it in 2017. Historic Hotels of America inducted it in 2024.
History
Otis Mills bought the Grimke manor in 1836 and opened an Italianate hotel here on 3 November 1853, about $200,000, hailed as the finest hotel south of New York, with running water, steam heat, and gaslight. It survived the Great Fire of 1861 and the Civil War. Theodore Roosevelt stayed during the 1901-02 Exposition. The 1853 building came down in 1968; salvaged ironwork and cornices went into a seven-story replica that reopened 9 October 1970 as the Mills Hyatt House. After Holiday Inn and Wyndham years, RLJ Lodging Trust renovated it with Ealain Studio and relaunched it in 2022 as Curio Collection, Hilton's first South Carolina Curio.
The setting
At Queen and Meeting Streets in Charleston's French Quarter. The Gibbes and the City Market are a few minutes. The hotel is the pink Mills House.
Restaurants and bars
- Iron Rose — Bar · Bar
Amenities
- Pool
- Fitness center
- Fine dining
- Pet-friendly
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