Our Lovely Stay with 86 Cannon

Our spontaneous trip to Charleston last weekend for our third anniversary was short, yet somehow it felt as if time stood still just enough for us to accomplish everything we wanted to eat, see, and do. Charleston is by far one of my favorite places to visit, and after visiting three times in the last three years, I have slowly but surely grown familiar with its historic streets, quaint restaurants, and lovely boutique hotels. We knew going into the trip that it would fly by, so we did our best to take advantage of the 72 hours we did have. Perhaps the most memorable piece of this trip was our stay with 86 Cannon.

I discovered 86 Cannon shortly after it opened a few years ago while researching for our honeymoon. The details of our honeymoon road trip through the South are a story for another time (spoiler alert: our car broke down on day 2). Though we did not stay with 86 Cannon back in 2017, I knew someday we would most certainly have to! I mean, do I really need to say much about this lovely hotel, or do the pictures speak for themselves?

Location

The Inn is tucked away in the lovely Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighborhood, just a short bike ride away from King Street, South of Broad, The Battery, Waterfront Park, Hampton Park, and more. Despite its prominent location, though, Cannon street itself was very quiet both during the day and in the evenings. Sitting out on the piazza felt like sitting out on our own front porch.

Check-in & Arrival

We only stayed with 86 Cannon on the final evening of our trip. Check-in at the hotel is after 3pm, but to our surprise, the owner texted us around 11:45 am to inform us that our room was ready if we wanted to check-in earlier. In a text the day prior, we received the warmest welcome from Lori (the owner) who intentionally asked for details of our trip. We felt so taken care of before we had even arrived. Lori accommodated our plans far more than we expected by allowing us to check-in so soon, and we quickly made our way to the Inn so that we could take advantage of the complimentary bycicles!

From the moment we pulled into the stunning driveway of this historic-home-turned-boutique-hotel, we felt at home. We were greeted at the front door by Lori and her two dogs, and were then given a tour of the property, a brief history of the home, and helpful information regarding the best restaurants, sights, and streets to travel on their complementary bikes. After settling into the Piazza King, Caleb and I both mentioned how hospitable the owners were.

By the time we checked-in, admired the room, took a few photos and a short cat nap, it was around 12:45. We had a reservation set for 1:30 at The Darling Oyster Bar on King Street, so we freshened up, hopped on the bikes, and made our way to our late lunch.

Unique Personal Touches

Every evening between 5 and 6, 86 Cannon offers nightly wine and cheese service. We passed on the wine, because we just don’t drink, but we gladly accepted the lovely cheese board. It made for the perfect pick-me-up before heading back downtown to take photos with Karen Schanely, a (soon-to-be) local photographer. After wandering the streets and snapping photos with Karen, we made our way over to Pitt Street Bridge on Mount Pleasant to watch the sunset over the water. I shared a full 72 hour itinerary of our trip here if you would like to read more.

Our trip up to this point was filled with places to see and things to do, but neither of us wanted to leave feeling drained or exhausted. We were thrilled to head back to 86 Cannon to relax and enjoy our last night in dreamy Charleston. We arrived at the door of our room only to find a sweet package of chocolate truffles hanging on the door knob. They were delicious and filled with honey and vanilla bean cream.

Breakfast

As sad as I was to wake up knowing we only had a few hours left at the lovely hotel, I was also very excited to enjoy European-style continental breakfast. Again, I just have to highlight the clever organization of the owners, who provided us with an order card when we checked-in. We simply filled out the card, noting the breakfast items we wanted and our preferred time of delivery, and then texted our order to Lori. Promptly at 8:30 am, Lori texted us to let us know our breakfast was ready and waiting in the adjoining cafe.

Our order included homemade granola and yogurt with mixed berries, artisan toast with butter and apricot jam, hard boiled eggs, a gluten-free strawberry muffin (delicious, by the way), orange juice, and grapefruit juice. We thoroughly enjoyed every item, so much so that I have already purchased the ingredients needed to make my own homemade yogurt and granola!

Decor

I need not say much about the environment of this space. The photos speak for themselves and my words will simply fall short. The moment you enter the front door, you immediately fall in love with the sophisticated, yet warm and inviting design. The owners, Lori and Marion, collaborated with a local designer, B. Berry, when curating this space, and every little corner of the historic inn is photo worthy. I couldn’t help but take photo after photo. I am also now very fond of white lilies. Aren’t they stunning?

Check Out

We could have easily just made ourselves at home in our cozy room, but sadly the time to check-out came shortly after breakfast. Fortunately, we still had a few sights left to see before our flight later in the evening, including Hampton Park, Dolphin Spotting at Waterfront Park, and the delicious desserts at La Patisserie by Hotel Bennet. We cleaned up our room, loaded the car, and took one more bike ride on the hotel bicycles. Despite needing to check-out of the rooms, Lori and Marion allowed us to use the bikes until we departed that evening, and we certainly took them up on the offer!

Perhaps one of my favorite moments of the whole trip was spent playing dutch blitz on the piazza with Caleb as we recapped the exciting whirlwind that the previous 2 days had been. Though we only stayed for one night on this 72 Hour trip, we cannot wait to return in the future. Thank you Lori and Marion, owners of 86 Cannon, for welcoming us into your warm hotel. It felt as though you welcomed us into your home!

Whenever you head to Charleston next, we highly recommend that you look into 86 Cannon! Also, don’t forget to check out our 72 Hour Charleston Itinerary filled with our favorite Charleston restaurants, sights, and things to do.