This Historic Hotel in Charleston's Oldest Neighborhood Just Got a Rebrand — And It's Better Than Ever

When we pulled up to the hotel, it was still the iconic red-brick building we’d passed on other trips into downtown Charleston. Only this time, the hotel, formerly The Ansonborough Inn, wore its new name in gold script above the lanterned entrance. It was a subtle upgrade, but the simple act of dropping the word “inn” put all the attention back on Ansonborough — a name and neighborhood on which so much of this historic hotel’s story rests.

Some of that story lies in the hotel’s secret poker room. As Luis, the receptionist who led my mom and me to the space hidden behind a bookshelf in the warm and inviting lobby, explained, the hotel and its neighborhood share the same namesake: George Anson. Anson was a British Royal Navy officer who lived in Charleston in the 1700s and won the land that’s now called Ansonborough in a high-stakes card game against a man named Thomas Gadsden.

The Ansonborough’s poker room is its way of recognizing the area’s origin story and weaving it into the guest experience. It also served as my first glimpse into the thoughtful additions, design choices, and renovations that went into every corner of the new and improved property.

Photo: Amber Dunlap

Before it was a hotel, the building housing The Ansonborough belonged to a stationer’s warehouse that was built in 1901. This is perhaps most apparent in the tall (sometimes 20-foot-tall) ceilings and industrial-sized picture windows — that and the exposed brick and original wood beams that feature prominently in each of the hotel’s 45 rooms and suites.

Our room for the weekend — a Double Luxury suite on the ground floor with accessibility features like extra wide doors, grab bars in the bathroom, and a handheld shower head in the combination tub and shower — blew us away. We’d been told that The Ansonborough has some of the most spacious suites in Charleston, but this was on another level at 717 square feet.

Our bedroom had two queen beds, a dresser, and two closets. A door separated it from our living room, which was outfitted with a wet bar, a 65-inch TV, a bistro table, and a comfy couch. In the middle was a bathroom with an LED mirror, brushed gold fixtures, a gorgeously veined quartz countertop, beautiful blue-green porcelain tiles in the shower, and bold wallpaper featuring a vintage maritime map on the rest of the walls.

The living and sleeping areas were designed just as impeccably, weaving in textures like antique mirrored subway tiles climbing up behind the wet bar and a palmetto-inspired carpet that mimicked the wallpaper behind the TV. The art on the walls reminded us of what awaited outdoors for us the next day — scenes of salt marshes at sunset, palmettos standing tall in front of historic storefronts, and block prints of heron and palm leaves bent and craning.

Every room at The Ansonborough has a slightly different layout, owing to the fact that it was also a condo complex before it was a hotel. While our suite could sleep a family of five, including the dog — yes, dogs are allowed — there are also much smaller studios for couples and solo travelers. Some have open floor plans; others have dividing walls between the living room and bedroom. The hotel has bigger suites than ours, too, including the two-level Premium Loft with two bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms and the 871-square-foot Admiral Suite with multiple rooms, a dining table, a Peloton bike, and two love seats nestled in front of a gas fireplace.

Prices fluctuate by season, with studios ranging from around $470 to $570 per night and the premium suites starting at $629 per night.

Left: Scarborough & Squirrel Bar. Right: The Ansonborough’s rooftop garden Photo: Amber Dunlap

The Ansonborough’s amenities don’t stop at the hidden poker room and suites with in-room climate control. The ground floor has a 24-hour fitness center with cardio machines, gymnast rings, and a full collection of weights, medicine balls, and kettlebells. There’s also a complimentary coffee and tea station off the lobby lounge and a lobby bar called the Scarborough & Squirrel Bar where you can get drinks or complimentary breakfast pastries from Saffron Bakery, seasonal fruit, and fresh-squeezed orange juice in the morning.

Take the glass elevator up three levels and you’ll find the hotel’s rooftop garden, laced with palms, plenty of seating, firepits, a mural painted on the brick by Christine Crawford of Girls Who Paint Murals, and views of the Charleston church spires, Cooper River, and Ravenel Bridge. In the warmer months, live music and other acts are planned for this newly unveiled and event-ready space. Winter-friendly events, like talks with a local historian every other Wednesday and live jazz, continue around the lobby bar or fireside in the atrium near reception.

Upper-left: Harken Cafe. Bottom-left: Malika. Right: The Italian Boy Photo: Amber Dunlap

As food goes, The Ansonborough only serves its menu of light bites, breakfast fare, signature cocktails, and local draught beer that’s available daily at the Scarborough & Squirrel Bar. But there are a few off-property restaurants and cafes within walking distance or a short 10- to 15-minute drive from The Ansonborough that are worth checking out.

The Pass and The Italian Boy is a tiny-but-mighty corner eatery within walking distance of The Ansonborough that’s home to not one but two restaurants. By day, The Pass is an artisan deli known for its gourmet sandwiches. After dark, The Italian Boy serves a five-course tasting menu. Behind it all is Philadelphia native Chef Anthony Marini whose other culinary adventures have landed him mentions in Bon Appetit, The New York Times, and more. Wander in for a lunchtime panino of roast beef on a sesame roll or imported ricotta and prosciutto on toasted focaccia, then make a reservation for later. Dinner promises an intimate, Italian-inspired fine-dining experience alongside just the chef and a dozen other diners.

In the nearby Mount Pleasant Town Center, Malika (meaning “queen” in Urdu) is a woman-powered fast-casual Pakistani chai canteen that’s the first of its kind — not only the Charleston area but in the entire state. Its street-food-inspired menu of curries, kababs, biryani, naan pizzas, and rolls is a dream come true for owner, mother, and Chef Maryam Ghaznavi who wanted to bring a taste of Pakistani culture and cuisine to the Lowcountry. Go for a signature thalis, a tray full of your choice of meat or vegetarian curries and kababs served with basmati rice, mint raita, and onion chutney. Wash it down with a cardamom mango lassi.

A local favorite, Melvin’s BBQ is technically known for its mustard-based barbecue and the waves that it made in the Lowcountry when Joseph Bessinger, Melvin Bessinger’s father, first introduced it in 1939. Today, there’s a whole host of items on the menu that keeps people coming back, from the colossal donut-style onion rings and sweet potato soufflé to Betty Bessinger’s famous banana pudding. You’ll find Melvin’s in both Mount Pleasant and James Island — both locations are about a 10-minute drive from The Ansonborough.

Located on Queen Street in the French Quarter, just a 13-minute walk from the hotel, Harken Cafe & Bakery is a rustic-chic neighborhood cafe that’s known for its creamy cappuccinos, bold and buttery biscuits (especially the ricotta one), and Best Friend cookies — triple dark chocolate chip cookies sprinkled with sea salt and named after the ride-or-die best friend duo behind Harken and its sister restaurant, Harbinger Cafe & Bakery, on Upper King.

Top: Charleston City Market. Bottom: Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge Photo: Amber Dunlap

At The Ansonborough, you’re steps away from some of Charleston’s most iconic sites. I discovered this firsthand when I went for a run through the neighborhood on my first morning there. Even just going a few blocks down East Bay you’ll come across the Corinthian columns of the US Customs House, Charleston City Market’s painted pavilion, Waterfront Park’s iconic Pineapple Fountain and misty gardens, and eventually the eye-catching Antebellum facades of Rainbow Row and the nearby wharf.

In the other direction, you’ll find the Charleston Harbor, the International African American Museum, the South Carolina Aquarium, the Fort Sumter National Monument, and eventually the pedestrian-friendly Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, a popular running and walking spot and the setting of the Cooper River Bridge Run every April.

My mom and I spent some of our free time wandering through the historic Charleston City Market, which always brims and bustles on weekends. We walked its four city blocks worth of stalls and stands, which peddle everything from sweetgrass baskets, pet-inspired poetry, and locally produced candles to fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits, cups of piping hot coffee, and local delicacies like benne wafers (sesame seed cookies) and sacks of grits.

When we reached the far end, we continued one more block to King Street, Charleston’s magnificent mile of designer storefronts and boutique shops. We popped into shops like Blue Bicycle Books, an independent bookshop known for its collection of used and rare books; Candlefish, a boutique candle shop and workshop known for its unique scents and collaborations with local artists; and Séchey, Charleston’s newest no and low alcohol boutique stocked with alternative non-alcoholic aperitifs, spirits, wine, and beer.

In the afternoon, we visited the International African American Museum, which opened in June 2023 at the former site of Gadsden’s Wharf where an estimated 100,000 enslaved Africans were brought into the US. Across the museum’s nine galleries, and over the course of the four hours we spent there, the transatlantic slave trade began to take on a new dimension for us as untold stories were shared through art, culture, history, and the voices of the Black Charleston community today. Outside and underneath the museum, we wandered through the African Ancestors Memorial Garden and its touching “Tide Tribute,” a water feature designed to invite quiet contemplation after experiencing the museum above.

Charleston International Airport (CHS) is just 12 miles from The Ansonborough. From the airport, you can catch the CARTA Airport Express bus (Route 11) that links the airport with the visitor center in downtown Charleston. From the visitor center, it’s a 20-minute walk to the hotel. Alternatively, you can hire a taxi or rideshare. If you’ll be arriving with a car, there’s a lot just across the street from the hotel that’s available for $30 per car per night.

While downtown Charleston is walkable, you can also explore the peninsula via the free DASH shuttle or download the Lime app to bike or scooter around town.