HarbourView Inn — Hotel in Charleston

My wife and I booked our stay @ Harbour View weeks in advance via the HotelsTonight App for this years 4th of July holiday week based on other great reviews & the convenient location of the hotel to the waterfront activities of Charleston. I have not been to Charleston in 12 years & my wife had never visited this magical southern city. I take my time off seriously by trying to plan & maximize my enjoyment by reading reviews from multiple sites to ensure no bad surprises dampen or ruin a vacation.

Unfortunately, a bad surprise is exactly what happened @ Harbour View to my wife and me hours after checking in. On the very first night of checking in after we had returned from an awesome dinner @ Husk I was lying on the bed and my wife noticed something on the bathroom vanity hopping around - she gasped and then yelled at me to look at what she had caught …. A BIG FLEA (see photo). I then told her was probably an isolated incident of someone sneaking a dog into the room and returned to the bed only to watch 2 more fleas hop onto my leg!!!

We caught 2 of the fleas and showed them to the night manager who apologized and then moved us from room 312 to 305. After entering room 312 another minor unpleasant surprise - upon pulling back the duvet cover we noticed a large smear of human blood on the downside of the blanket = gross! Hoping all of this was an isolated occurrence of bad luck we went to bed.

The second day we returned from sightseeing and went to bed only to awake the next day to my leg covered in bites! (see photo) It was as that point I was furious and contacted Hotels Tonight who promptly called HarbourView and requested the manager release me from the rest of my booked stay so that I could book elsewhere. The Harbour View manager did in fact then call my room and apologize for the insect issues saying that “he had their insect control company out after the first night to room 312 and they found nothing - it's my opinion that there are fleas in the hotel - however, I am going to let you out of your rental contract for the remainder of your say”.

Is disappointing & unfortunate that past guests obviously snuck a dog into the hotel leading to this flea problem on Harbour View’s 3rd floor - however their lack of action is why I wanted to write this review as it was obvious that their management team knows full well what is required to kill a flea infestation in a 100% carpeted hotel like Harbor View - a complete shutdown and flea and tick bombing of the hotel is going to be required and at least this weekend they were more interested in getting me out quietly than fixing the underlying problem which I know will not go away as fleas reproduce rapidly!

I will never stay at Harbour View again - we moved to the Dewberry and it was day and night in terms of the quality of service, hotel cleanliness and responsiveness to our needs given the almost identical...

The HarbourView Inn's location is hard to beat, it's walkable to everything but also away from the noisiness of King St., which we appreciated. They have daily breakfast that can be delivered to your room, happy hour, and evening milk/cookies, all of which were such nice amenities. We also loved taking the bikes out.

With that said, it's expensive for what it is. The hotel is older and the balconette rooms leave much to be desired, as they're located directly above the street and across from a kid's splash fountain and new condo construction.. you certainly don't want to leave your balcony doors open, or even sit near them, given the lack of privacy and noise. There is new construction directly in front, so it takes away any harbor view and peacefulness. We actually requested to be moved to a lesser room due to our disappointment.

I would also warn others not to bother with any special requests. This was our one-year anniversary trip and my husband called weeks prior to our arrival and simply requested to be in a room away from the elevator. We were upset when we checked in and were placed in the one room that is smudged right between the lobby check-in and dining area, and directly across from the elevators and stairs... the exact opposite of what we had requested. Even though my husband purchased every upgrade imaginable throughout our five-night stay, we felt the staff did not care at all, and flat-out ignored the one minor room request we had. Because of the horrible location of the room, we ended up moving to a smaller (and cheaper, though the difference wasn't refunded to us) room without a balcony-- at least this one wasn't directly next to the elevators/check-in, and construction views. However, this is simply unacceptable for a place where rooms run $600+/night.

Even with the few positives, I don't believe we would return. The experience we had was not 4-star and the quality and service doesn't measure up, especially for the price. I would recommend looking at other places for a special occasion or...

We chose the HarbourView Inn for its location near the water and easy walk ability. The doorman was pleasant and welcoming. Ascend the stairway to get to the front desk and a small sitting area where there is a lovely view of the fountain and the harbor. There were two women checking arrivals. The couple checking in next to me were offered a welcome beverage. I was not. I was informed parking is an additional $32 per day. Ouch. We were in a standard room which was clean and relatively quiet. Could hear the elevator operating but it wasn’t troublesome. The beds were comfortable. Fortunately, the construction across the street shuts down on the weekend. It had started back up the morning we departed and it was loud. It is unfortunate for the inn and something over which they have no control. We were told there would be wine and snacks from 5-6 pm every evening. We went down at 5:15. I asked for a white wine. The same young woman who checked me in poured me a glass. I saw no snacks anywhere. So I asked her. She vaguely gestured to the buffet and said they were all out. Maybe come back in 15 minutes and there would be more. Wow. I didn’t bother. Maybe more training for the staff? One orders breakfast by choosing items on a door hanger and placing it on the outside of your door before 9 pm. Pick an entree and an approximate time you want it delivered. That all seemed to work. We ordered the ham and cheese croissant. Just okay. We skipped breakfast the next day. Found a fantastic little bakery on the next block. The inn keeps a coffee and tea station on the second floor sitting area. This was nice and we were able to have a hot cup of tea whenever we wanted. Whatever they say about themselves, I would not classify HarbourView Inn as a luxury hotel. Room fee, parking and tips totaled about $300 a day. Realize that you are paying for...