Charleston, a couple of nights in the Inn at Middleton Place is just the thing. However one feels about the design from the outside, it certainly provides gorgeous views from every room! And the peculiar fact that the Inn is not widely known lends its own special charm. A breathtaking escape from the everyday without leaving the county – I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "What a gift to be at home in the Lowcountry!" "After 23 years, reactions still are mixed over the design of one of the Lowcountry’s more unusual inn properties, which also happens to be one of the area’s more off-the-beaten path accommodations. There is no golf course here, no shopping and no beach. It isn’t in historic Charleston and it isn’t near the airport. Yet some guests return every year to this 53-room lodge made up of a cluster of contemporary buildings that hug a wooded, 6½-acre tract of land along the Ashley River.
The modern design of The Inn at Middleton Place is what caught the eye of Deborah Plumm while she was flipping through an AAA travel magazine on her first trip to Charleston.
'I thought the architecture was so different and so wonderful,' Plumm said. 'I will try anything once, and I’ve tried it 10 times.'
The modern design of The Inn at Middleton Place is what caught the eye of Deborah Plumm while she was flipping through an AAA travel magazine on her first trip to Charleston.'I thought the architecture was so different and so wonderful,' Plumm said. 'I will try anything once, and I’ve tried it 10 times.'
Abigail Martin, the inn’s general manager, said nearly 50% of the inn’s guests are repeat visitors. The inn isn’t widely advertised and shares most of its marketing efforts with Middleton Place Plantation and Gardens. It was built on part of the plantation property and in spite of its remote location, occupancy has grown 15% during the past three years.
Celebrity guests include decorating mogul Martha Stewart and actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
Among the visitors who fall in love with the inn are architecture students who sometimes stay as guests or make day trips just to study the buildings. 'It shows our staff new appreciation for the buildings when we get architecture students on the property,' Martin said. 'They sit out here for hours and draw and sketch the buildings, the lines and the angles. They explain to us more than anyone else how unique the buildings are.'
The Inn at Middleton Place opened in 1985 and is owned by Charles Duell, a direct descendant of Arthur Middleton, who built Middleton Place plantation and who also was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The inn and other buildings on the property, including the Lake House conference center that opened in 1998, were built with respect to the scale, proportion, texture and even the color of nearby historical structures, even though the inn is not visible from the remains of the original house and gardens.
The contemporary, geometric inn buildings, designed by a former Charleston architectural firm, Clark & Menefee, are a stark contrast to the remains of the plantation’s 18th century manor house. Two years after it opened, The Inn at Middleton Place received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects."
Celebrity guests include decorating mogul Martha Stewart and actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
Among the visitors who fall in love with the inn are architecture students who sometimes stay as guests or make day trips just to study the buildings. 'It shows our staff new appreciation for the buildings when we get architecture students on the property,' Martin said. 'They sit out here for hours and draw and sketch the buildings, the lines and the angles. They explain to us more than anyone else how unique the buildings are.'
The Inn at Middleton Place opened in 1985 and is owned by Charles Duell, a direct descendant of Arthur Middleton, who built Middleton Place plantation and who also was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The inn and other buildings on the property, including the Lake House conference center that opened in 1998, were built with respect to the scale, proportion, texture and even the color of nearby historical structures, even though the inn is not visible from the remains of the original house and gardens.
The contemporary, geometric inn buildings, designed by a former Charleston architectural firm, Clark & Menefee, are a stark contrast to the remains of the plantation’s 18th century manor house. Two years after it opened, The Inn at Middleton Place received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects."
For the full Charleston Regional Business Journal article: http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/pub/13_23/news/10761-1.html
For the Inn at Middleton Place: http://www.theinnatmiddletonplace.com/content.asp?catID=6295 
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