We really enjoyed being in this wooded plantation setting on the beautiful Ashley River, but the lodging was very disappointing. First, the grounds are very poorly lit at night. We had pre-requested a river view, and were assigned to a second-floor walk-up via an exterior very steep stairs. As depicted on the website, one wall had louver-covered nearly floor-to-ceiling windows, but three of the four large lower double-paned windows (eye level while seated) had broken seals and were very foggy. The room overall had NOT been maintained (built 25 yrs ago) and gave me the creeps.

The bed had a terrible mattress; there was no mattress cover (i.e. the sheet directly covered it). The sheets were old and discolored, and the housemaid needs a lesson on bedmaking, because far too much of bedding was tucked in at the bottom....inadequate to cover shoulders. I discovered on the second night that the blanket had a sheet cover (i.e. it was triple-sheeted), so I removed the top fabric spread that may not have been washed between customers.

The worst problem was the extremely squeaky large sliding door to the bathroom. It sounded like someone was screaming. Once closed there was still a 2" gap, so there was virtually no noise privacy. The bathroom counter tile was moldy; as was the 70's style bathtub, which looked like a wading pool - didn't dare use it. The tap water tasted terrible and the hotel did not supply bottled water.

Breakfast in another building was ample and delicious with 6 kinds of sweet breads -- a special treat. We enjoyed the plantation house tour and historic gardens, and especially liked the grounds and long, long walk at nearby Magnolia Gardens Plantation.

We very nearly left this place as soon as we arrived, but decided not to forfeit the fairly high cost. I do not recommend this place.

I planned a secret romantic weekend getaway for my lover, blind folded him the entire way (3.5 hours). We arrived late night Friday, so it was dark and ground lanterns dimly lit our path to our room. The mighty oaks and aroma of pure nature created a beautiful passageway. Upon entering our room, I had him start a fire...we were provided only a couple of logs, but the following morning realized there was a log pile just outside our room. I wouldn't have known otherwise in the dark. I had requested wine and chocolate covered strawberries. It was really hot in our room from the electric heat, so the wine was warmer than I had hoped. And I ordered a dozen stawberries but there were only 6 provided. It was still a romantic evening. We woke up to a chemical odor which had given us both bad dreams and headaches. The office immediately switched our rooms and gave us another bottle of wine, more chocloate covered strawberreis and a block of chocolate in the shape of the Inn. I had ordered our breakfast be delivered to our room but we ended up having to call them to deliver it and it was an hour late, but it was delicious! I had requested a couples massage in our room at 11. The therapist never showed. So the front desk scheduled another massage therapist for us at 1:30. While we waited for our massages, I had ordered a picnic basket lunch which included champagne. We picked that up at the community center near our room, very convenient! The food they prepared was delicious too. We found a nice little spot by the river to enjoy our basket lunch. Then we came back to room for our massages. When she arrived, she stated that I would have to pay her directly in cash or check (despite having already paid for the massages with my room charge) AND she had only planned to do one massage, as opposed to the couples massage. So that was disappointing, BUT the front desk removed the massage charges completely from my room charge AND credited me $100 for the inconvenience. After massages, we went into the city for dinner. The drive is nice, about 20 miles south. Then we came back, fixed a fire, had our additional strawberries and drank wine. We woke up the following morning, our breakfast was 2 hours late and when it arrived, it was cold :( So, when we checked out I complained about all of our mishaps, they basically CUT OUR ROOM CHARGE in half, and credited the breakfasts, the massages, the strawberries, and everything! That speaks volumes to me and that's why I'm giving this place such an awesome review! Mistakes happen, but communicaton and customer service make up for it! Despite all the little issues, the property, the stay, the people...all wonderful! Don't pass this place up! Great history, great hiking/biking trails. Secluded, off the beaten path. Glorious vacation spot!

This was one of our favorite vacations. The grounds are beautiful and one can spend hours roaming about for several days. Then gardens a amazing, and the animals and birds are great fun to watch. We even walked by a small aligator who was sunning himself! The tour of the plantation home is very interesting as is the Middleton family history and free to guests of the inn.

The Inn is charming, our room had floor to ceiling windows, a fireplace and hardwood floors. The breakfasts are plentiful, dinner and a movie is fun and the restaurant is excellent. Staff at all venues is wonderful, friendly and helpful.

My only complaint (not enough to keep us from returning) is the rooms could do with a bit of soundproofing as it is easy to hear neighbors. Also, our bathroom door was very squeaky and I know it woke up not only my husband and me, but also the people above us. That being said, if you want a restful, lovely spot with Charleston close by ... this is the place. We can not wait to return.

Do not let the few negative reviews stop you from experiencing this place. Our son and his wife gave us a two night stay, with carriage ride, over New Year's Eve. We stayed in room 136, Queen Riverview, and it was just as the pictures show it. It was clean and DID NOT smell musky and there was plenty of room for us. The fireplace was ready to go and there was plenty of wood stocked to keep the fire going!
We had dinner, on New Years' Eve at the restaurant there on the grounds of MIddleton Place. We had called earlier that day and there was no openings at an earlier time, and asked if someone cancelled to call us and surprisingly they did. When we arrived we had a problem getting waited on after we were seated, but when I told someone they immediately took our order. It was a very pleasent experience after that, and the food was excellent.
We then returned to the room, and rekindled the fire, in the fireplace, then took our blanket and our precious Westie, and went and sat on the bench, on the bank of the Ashley River and watched fireworks!!! Ahhh, it was so relaxing and wonderful trip.
There is only one thing I need to tell everyone - please know that the walls are thin and if you are VERY LOUD, the party in the next room will be able to hear you. LOL :)
We will be returning, probably in the spring or fall when the rice planting or reaping is taking place.