Nathaniel Russell House — Attraction in Charleston

We were excited about seeing historical places on our vacation to Charleston. We drove from Upstate NY. The gentleman with the dark hair at the register acted like everyone was a bother to him. We stood in line and could hear his interactions with guest's. When it was our turn we almost walked out. Again he acted like it was a bother to him. Took our money and WE had to ask him about the tour. You're supposed to listen to it on your phone with headphones. We had one phone on us with a partial battery . We did not know this was how the tour was done when we decided to walk 30 minutes to be able to see the house. I asked him if we could have two of the devices they offer to hear the tour. He said they've been used a lot and do not have a full charge. I asked for them anyway. He handed them over but was clear he seemed annoyed. I had to ask for headphones. His reply back was we only have two left. Two was all I needed for me and my husband. I really have no idea why he acted this way. If he is tired of dealing with tourists he should not be there. My husband's device had a glitch and didn't work for the tour. It kept going back to the beginning. He didn't want to ask for a new one because he did not want to deal with the guy at the desk again. The older gentleman and woman working the tour were very pleasant and helpful with giving information about the home. They had no issues answering any questions you may of had about the home. The home was beautiful and interesting to hear the history. After the tour we heard other people in the gardens commenting about the man behind the counter. A group of people came in and asked my husband about the tour. Is it worth going in? He told them about our experience and they left. If only someone told us before we entered. If you go make sure you all have your phones fully charged and don't forget to bring headphones. After all, doesn't everyone carry...

We really enjoyed our visit to the Nathaniel Russell House. House museums are always my favorite historic sites, and this one did not disappoint. We took a guided tour, which was wonderful. The docent was knowledgeable and an engaging storyteller. The restoration of the house has been immaculate --- gorgeous decor, structural elements, and architectural details, including some very impressive original glass doors. The floating staircase is the real showstopper and is justifiably famous, as it appears to defy gravity and engineering logic. It is beautiful! The only thing that was slightly disappointing to us was the fact that the furnishings (beautiful as they are) are mostly not original to the house. We volunteer at a house museum that is even older than this one and in which almost all of the furnishings are original, so it's always a teeny bit disappointing to us when a historic home has few pieces belonging to the original family. This house has only one chair which actually belonged to the original owners of the home. Nevertheless, the Federal era furnishings are absolutely breathtaking and absolutely convey the sense of the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by...

He was very nice actually. The one that I didn't like too much was the other one that you can buy joining tickets with. The other one needs a lot of work but that's how they're just leaving it to be preserved like that. But it's it's okay too but this is a really nice house... The only thing I didn't like about these houses was that they give you this thing which looks like a little telephone with headsets but you have to like stick them inside your ear well! I finally did it cuz the lady that was there was a retired nurse and she said oh don't you worry I sanitize everything even the long wire but then when I came back and I forgot which house was it Nathaniel or the other one but when I came back and turned it in some lady some other old lady was there that was supposed to sanitize them and all she did was to spray it from far away and put it back in the pile so I didn't like the fact that when she does it and most people probably they don't really clean it so you are putting this thing in your ear that other people have put in their ear! Ouch! They really need to do something about this but the...