The Cottages On Charleston Harbor

⭐️⭐️ We have stayed at Charleston Harbor Cottages twice before and absolutely loved our experiences, which is why this visit was so disappointing. Just two hours before check-in, we were informed that our beloved Cottage 10 was unavailable. Instead, we were told we would be moved to an "upgraded" cottage, which was described as a staff favorite. Unfortunately, this was not the upgrade we were hoping for. Given that this location is under consideration for a Condé Nast award, I truly have no idea why. The interior walls and doors are in serious disrepair—maintenance even mentioned they have a long list of repairs needed. It's baffling that guests are expected to endure such conditions. The hospitality was also lacking; staff members leave between 4-6 PM, and when we went to the pool at 6:30 PM, there were no clean towels available. We had to use our bath towels from the cottage. Throughout our stay, I was in constant communication with the staff, visiting the office multiple times and even texting the office manager. While there were some highlights—like the usually relaxing porch with a nice view, comfortable beds, and the full kitchen with three bathrooms—our enjoyment was marred by noise from nearby neighbors and the presence of bugs. On a positive note, we did enjoy seeing "Alfred," the alligator we named, sunning on the lawn, which was a fun sight for the kids. It's disheartening to write this review as this has been a favorite place for my family. We were celebrating my birthday during this visit, and in previous stays, the staff would always check in to ask if we were celebrating something special. This time, there was no such inquiry, which only added to our disappointment. Overall, this stay was not the joyful experience we had anticipated, and I sincerely hope the management addresses these issues for future guests.

Even from before we arrived, our hosts, Lisa & Betty went above and beyond to ensure our time at The Cottages was perfect. We stayed in Sweet Blessings (cottage #3) which is the closest cottage to the water and has the most spectacular setting, along with its two bedrooms, three full bathrooms, high ceilings, and tons of natural light. It was hard to leave our sprawling back porch, which offered serenity and beauty, including the sights and sounds of local wildlife (countless birds and dolphins!), along with huge cargo ships that enter and exit the harbor with barely a sound. During our stay, we enjoyed downtown Charleston, which was a convenient water taxi ride away, as well as all the activities and history Mount Pleasant offers. Checking out Pitt Street, and kayaking and dining along Shem Creek were highlights for us, not to mention the USS Yorktown, just around the corner on Patriots Point. On a more lazy day, we enjoyed the lovely onsite pool, bicycles, and clubhouse available to all guests. If you are searching for a place to stay during your visit to this area, look no further than The Cottages on Charleston Harbor. We are already looking forward to when we can return. Thank you, Lisa & Betty and the entire Cottages staff! Yours is a truly special place.

We did a group family vacation here in August. Grandparents, siblings, kids and even the dogs. My husband and our two sons (8 & 10) did a cottage on the bay (Cottage #2). It was 2 bedroom, 3 bathroom, great kitchen, living room, massive porch, laundry and Adirondack’s on the lawn to overlook the bay. Other members of the family did a cottage on the pond and others did a room at the hotel on property. On arrival the clubhouse is wonderful. Staff very friendly and a pleasure to work with. There was a lounge area overlooking the pool which had a great variety of small snacks, coffee, tea, water and juice. Despite other reviews, I found it very nice and adequate. The pool was beautiful and overlooked the bay with gorgeous palms and foliage surrounding it. It is 3-4’ deep but perfect for the hot humid days. There was ample shaded seating, lounge chairs in the sun, umbrellas, pool accessories, clean/well appointed bathrooms and towels. The clubhouse also offers wagons for carting items to and from the cottages, as well as great bikes for a scenic ride around the area (on or off property). We enjoyed all of these items. Our cottage was just gorgeous! Truly spacious, wonderfully decorated, cozy, high ceilings, ceiling fans, TVs in all of the rooms. The washer/dryer was so convenient. They do provide a small amount of laundry soap and fabric softener to get you started. The beds were so soft and comfortable. The view of the bay was amazing. We saw birds hunting for food in the rocks, dolphins, fish jump from the water, ships pass by, storm clouds roll through and amazing skies. My son caught a hermit crab right on the lawn. The kitchen is perfect. I recommend bringing some food storage containers if you plan to cook meals or syran/foil/ziplock bags. They provide trash bags, 2 rolls of paper towels, dish soap and washer pods. I loved cooking in the kitchen and we hosted a seafood and pasta night for 3 generations comfortably. The freezer does have an ice maker. We also brought ice packs. They provided good coffee, sugar, creamer, tea, honey. The bathrooms were beautiful. The master had a separate water closet, great shower and large soaker tub as well as two separate vanities. The other two bathrooms were equally beautiful and well appointed. They provide toilet paper, ample towels, shampoo/conditioner, soaps, etc. The back porch was phenomenal! I spent every single morning on it with my coffee. Enjoying the peace and tranquility. The view, the breeze (the ceiling fans were great), the wildlife all lent to a very relaxing moment. It would also be great for card games, meals, lawn games. We just did not get the chance to do so. The proximity to everything was perfect. It was so close to downtown Charleston, a ton of other towns, shops, restaurants, attractions…yet you could also feel so removed from it all if you wanted. My children are huge outdoor adventurers and loved catching lizards, toads, frogs. They also loved that there was a local gator living in the pond and would ask to walk there every single day to try and catch a glimpse. They enjoyed walking the beach, finding shells, looking for shark teeth and “trying” to fish. I do wish there were more fishing options on site or within walking distance. They could fish for hours. It would also be really neat to have a background story/sign with info for the resident gator. The boys made up their own name, Greg, and guessed on age. We were able to go hang out with our family staying in the hotel: use the very large pool/hot tub complex, bars, restaurant, pier, etc. However, if you are not staying at the hotel or have guests staying there, then you are not technically permitted to use it. If we weren’t able to do so we would have been very disappointed and they should develop a working relationship being that they share grounds. Ultimately, I highly recommend The Cottages on Charleston Harbor! What an amazing stay! I always research reviews and must say there were a lot of wild misses. We loved it! The kids are already asking to go again every year! Thank you!

Incredible venue, property and staff! Ideal for any occasion. Cottages are immaculate and well appointed. Thank you for spoiling me❤️. Perfect getaway-

The view is the best in Charleston! Great porch view, pool and just magical! THE STAFF very welcoming and the snacks and pool house were perfect

Our family absolutely loved The Cottages on Charleston Harbor! Spacious, clean, oversized screened in porches, gorgeous views, free bike rentals, nice pool, and super friendly staff! Great location as it was easy to get to downtown Charleston and the Shem Creek area. Highly recommended for families and friend groups because you can stay all together in one place vs separate hotel rooms! Enjoy!

I am a Charleston based wedding officiant and I LOVE having ceremonies here. The privacy and view that the back lawn provide is very unique to the Charleston area. The cottages are very clean and nicely decorated. If you're looking to have a small, intimate wedding, this is a great place to have your ceremony. Thank you, Kasey King, Wedding Officiant

So I’ve seen a few negative reviews on here and honestly they need to chill the $&@# out. Cottages on Charleston Harbor are amazing. The staff are some of the nicest people I’ve met. I told them we were coming to stay for my wife’s birthday and not only did they put up a “Happy Birthday” banner but they left us some Prosecco, and dropped off two small cakes. I’ll also add THEY’RE DOG FRIENDLY. Just give them a heads up before and they’re amazingly accommodating. There’s even a cottage with a little puppy run. I could not recommend these guys more. Amazing staff, immaculately clean, and so close to the water that we literally saw a dolphin 5 feet from the shoreline.

If we could spend most of the time out on the porch and on the lawn, then this would be 5 stars. The Cottage is well decorated. albeit dated- this is fine. The issues arise when you further jump into the cleanliness. Upon arrival, there was dust, dead flies, and smudges of dirt or unknown stains throughout the unit. The bathroom light switches were particularly bad. I can live with primed and unpainted surfaces, but the real kicker is that the floors were filthy. Absolutely filthy. They turned our daughter's socks black after an hour of arrival. I went through 6 swiffer pads to no avail. We let management know the next morning after our arrival and hoped to come home to a unit that had been mopped after a day out in Charleston. Unfortunately, the floors are still filthy, the shower did not seemed to be cleaned from a previous guest and I am just lifting up heavy prayers on the cleanliness of everything else. We let management know of the situation and still they seemed to not be concerned. Hopefully, someone will take some initiative and put a good faith effort into cleaning this unit and providing a stay worth the money. UPDATE:After speaking to management, no one came to address issues. We still have dead flies, roach hatchlings and other debris spread throughout the filthy cottage. If you are concerned about relaxing in a sanitary space, please avoid. The fixtures are caked in dust, there seems to be a bit of mold growing in certain areas, the soap scum from previous guests still remains in the bathroom areas. We spoke with management again and they comped one night, which did not change the fact that we went three nights before any legitimate attempt at addressing any issue was made. They were surprisingly defensive and stated that floors were unsealed so they would stain your socks. We have unsealed floors at our personal home and are able to keep them clean. After being argumentative about the existence of filth, management hinted that we should let it go since she comped one night. All I would've appreciated was them sending someone to clean on the first day that we made them aware of the issues. if you are dead set on staying here, bring your own cleaning crew. The views are great and Charleston is too. I don't know if this is the treatment that most guests receive, but I know we stood out on one characteristic. I cannot imagine why sending a cleaning crew to address the issues was so difficult. On the penultimate day of our stay, they sent someone to "clean". The floors were a bit better, but all of the other issues remained. There also seemed to be some sort of dead animal under the fireplace section of the cottage. Proceed with caution. It was a wonderful location and I would love to stay there after an actual cleaning crew comes in.

We are sharing our experience to protect other couples from the despair and frustration we experienced. We booked our September 29, 2018 wedding at the Cottages on Charleston Harbor in February 2018. We live in Texas and were very excited about our destination wedding in Charleston! We contracted with the venue for more than $8,000 worth of accommodations, including the event space fee. We also signed a room block contract with the neighboring resort - The Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina - for our guests of $4,000. Our contract with the Cottages also required a catering commitment of $6,500 minimum and a tent rental fee of at least $1,000. We were fully committed to our wedding and this venue, to say the least. In August 2018, I asked the Cottages to confirm if the dock between our reception space and the Charleston Harbor Resort had been fully repaired (I had seen guests on Instagram taking photos) and if we could use it for our photos. I was told that we could use the dock for photos before 4 p.m. because a concert would be taking place on the beach... That's how we discovered a national touring indie rock concert had been booked, a double-header, at the exact same time and 10 feet away from our wedding. The Charleston Harbor Resort booked Moon Taxi with Ripe as an opener in July 2018 with Ears for Music (a concert promoter) and did not consult our wedding venue prior to booking. The Cottages and Charleston Harbor Resort are two separate companies. There's nothing keeping each property from throwing a carnival the day of your wedding. They had no written agreement in place, we had no legal opportunity to fight back. The "partnership" is extremely irresponsible. We were told that they would surely solve the situation and waited a full week before being informed that they would not move or cancel the concert. They were able to come up with a "solution" of shuttling our guests to the neighboring golf course for the reception... not sure how they were going to pull that off with 800+ concert guests milling around at the same time. We lost all faith and trust in both the Cottages and the Charleston Harbor Resort at this time. Both properties offered to release us from our contract and we left. Forty days from our wedding and the amazing staff at the Citadel Beach Club took us in (they even matched the amount just due to our awful situation!) When I asked Lisa Crowley, general manager of the Cottages, to reimburse us for new wedding invitations and for the time spent moving 11 vendors, she directed me to the Charleston Harbor Resort as it was "completely their fault." When I asked the Charleston Harbor Resort for a reimbursement of $700 (minimal to what our actual costs were), we were offered an anniversary stay or an upgrade for a guest room... this is where we really, really want you to understand the multiple layers of empathy missing from the general manager, Nick Saltmarsh. HE OFFERED US AN ANNIVERSARY STAY. Because that's what we want to do... stay with you on the anniversary of the day you ruined. Delusional is an understatement. We can't emphasize enough, keep your wedding or special event far, far away from these folks. They caused irreparable damage and refuse to reimburse us in a meaningful way. They value greed over doing the right thing, they run a shoddy, disorganized group and have an absolutely pathetic idea of what customer service means. We are grateful we moved our wedding away from these hacks - that's the only positive we can share.

A bit of a disappointment for the money. Porch view was beautiful but the cottage itself was a bit run down and dirty. Floors were filthy as was shower and toilets. No bathroom cleaning supplies to be found, had to request. Faucets on bathroom sink were very loose as well as shower door. Light bulb in bathroom also burned out. You would think they would check these things to keep things up. The concierge was the worst. Emailed 3 times before we got there asking for restaurant suggestions- never got a response. Was advised that a rental was not needed but seemed surprised we didn't have one. Offered no help in how to get a cab or transportation to get places. Also not interested in helping us set up tours or offering suggestions. I definitely wouldn't go back for that kind of money!

Absolutely LOVE this place! A group of 5 friends and I stayed last week for 3 nights. We couldn't have asked for a more comfortable stay! The cottages are clean, spacious, and beautifully decorated. The kitchen is fully equipped with any dishes/utensils you could possibly need. The office and cleaning staff are super friendly and helpful. The cottages itself and the service are amazing, but the best part in my opinion is the patio at the back of the cottages and the view. The cottages are right by the water and the view is breathtaking! The patios are fully enclosed with net so I didn't have to worry about mosquitos. There's fans out there too so we were able to enjoy the view without burning up in the heat. I also love the location in terms of distance to local attractions and downtown Charleston. It's the perfect spot for a weekend (or longer!) getaway. Highly recommend to anyone visiting Charleston! P.S. The check in staff is in the office until 10pm. If you plan to arrive later than that - you'll need to make prior arrangements to check-in/get your key.

5-Star location and concierge staff is very friendly. If you are in cottages 1-6, the hotel next door is very noisy due to some mechanical equipment that runs 24/7. The morning breakfasts are disappointing. The food and snacks are costco bulk style items. Which is a shame, since Charleston produces some of the best pastries and breads at all the local bakeries. During my stay the southern style treats never appeared. The exterior grounds need some serious attention to detail. Mold was growing in the hot tub, another disappointment. It is a wonderful location and a whole cottage for the family is amazing. However, it's a far cry from 5-Star, but you will pay the 5-star price.

We had a terrific time at the Cottages Miss Kim is absolutely the best! Our cottage was everything we expected and more. Beautiful accommodations, neat clean and charming. I would highly recommend staying here I look forward to my next visit !!!