Two recently launched boutique hotels in the Charleston area were named on a new roundup of top lodging debuts in the world.
The Loutrel, a 50-room property that opened on the peninsula in November, and the Post House, a restaurant and seven-room inn in Mount Pleasant’s Old Village that was revamped and opened in August 2020, both made the cut for Travel + Leisure‘s “It List” of 100 new and recently reopened hotels across the globe.
Of those, 35 are in the U.S.
The Loutrel’s description on the list makes a reference to how many boutique hotels have popped up in Charleston — they’re “a dime a dozen in the Holy City,” it says — but adds that this garden-inspired property captured the “intimacy and comfort of a Southern home in a modern setting.”
Along with its 50 rooms and suites, The Loutrel features a lobby bar, a guests-only “Clubroom” and a rooftop terrace.
The hotel was developed by IBG Partners and Boston-based Spaulding Slye Investments. It’s managed by Mount Pleasant-based Charlestowne Hotels. Its State Street address is right next to The Spectator, another boutique lodging that’s operated by the same management group.
The Post House in Mount Pleasant’s Old Village has seven guest rooms. Provided/Basic Projects
Across Charleston Harbor, the Post House at 101 Pitt St. was launched in its current form by Basic Projects, a local hospitality and design studio, after a major redesign.
Travel + Leisure’s list described the makeover as giving each of the historic inn’s rooms “unique appeal, without kitschy themes.” The first-floor restaurant “fully elevates the experience,” it says.
When it was opening, Ben Towill of Basic Projects had described the feel they were going for at the property as a “restaurant with rooms,” reminiscent of the small inns in England’s southwest coastal county of Cornwall, where he’s from.
Last year’s “It List” also featured a Charleston property: Emeline, which opened in mid-summer 2020 in a former DoubleTree on Church Street near the City Market. It was the only South Carolina hotel that made the list last year, and the magazine described it as an “inspired newcomer,” giving nods to its locally roasted Second State coffee and in-room record players.
Wage study
The S.C. Restaurant & Lodging Association is asking hospitality employers across the state to participate in a new wage and benefits study.
The survey will provide data that could be helpful to businesses that have been saying they’re having a hard time making hires, the Columbia-based trade group said.
“Survey, wage and benefits benchmarking data is important, especially in this era of extremely low unemployment,” chief operating officer Douglas OFlaherty said in a statement. “Many of our members are saying they are challenged to recruit the workers they need to operate and grow.”
A recent notice about the study said it would provide benchmarks on wages and benefits provided by hospitality employers in the state and provide data that the association can use to market the state’s industry “to the next generation of talent.”
Anyone who provides data for the survey will have free access to the results when they are released, regardless of membership status with the group, according to the notice.
Surveys can be submitted through April 30 on the SCRLA website.
