The Wonderer Charleston — Restaurant in Charleston

I first knew about the wonderer after touring the facility for a private event for my now husband. At the time there was a different events manager than there is today. She was punctual, excellent to work with, we found the food/bev excellent and overall experience impressive. I ended up going back a year later to officially join the club. At the time there was a different events/membership coordinator (Anna) who was also great to work with.

Overall during my time at the wonderer I found that the staff, availability of the facility, quality of events, frequency/availability of services were incredibly inconsistent. I found myself having to call on a daily basis to determine if I was even able to get into the facility as often you had staffing issues or there were not enough guest to justify keeping the building open. Additionally, there were several occasions where staff seemed genuinely confused or lacked any knowledge about the policies/protocols.

Food quality in general was good but also highly inconsistent when it came to availability/timing/etc. there were multiple occasions where I had planned dinner with friends/family just to find out the kitchen decided to close early because of lack of people.

Security of the facility was also highly questionable. Make no mistake this facility is not in a great part of town. At more than one occasion I noted random people coming into the parking lot who clearly were not parked there, people attempting to enter the facility/check doors, and the space has multiple unmanned points of entry that are incredibly easy to bypass. I stopped feeling safe/comfortable coming to the location when it was dark for this exact reason.

An enormous (literal) offering of your facility is the outdoor pool. Legitimately, it is unusable during the winter or on even slightly cooler days because staff refuse to heat it or dont have the ability to. It is a large pool and barely feels above 68-70 degrees. I had asked about it when I joined and Anna had assured me it was a heated pool. Ive asked a staff member before about this at a later date and flat out they told me “ Brad doesn’t want to spend the money.” Which I thought was rude.

One of the benefits of the wonderer that was expressed to me was the partnership program with other facilities around the world/country. However I do not think staff are trained properly to explain how this program works. I tried on multiple occasions to use partner facilities as I travel frequently, only to discover they were not communicated to about my membership, or there was another protocol I didn’t follow, or I was supposed to call/not email or vice versa. It was frustrating to the point that I stopped trying after the third failed attempt to visit a partner facility.

The guest policies also changed probably 5-6 times over my membership. It made it difficult to know/understand when it was OK to bring a guest vs when I would be charged vs when if I just talked to the right person at the right point of day, the policy didn’t matter.

Overall, I think the concept of the wonderer is great, but the operational struggles and inconsistencies I had to deal with as a member did not make the cost justifiable, especially if as a member of the general public I could just pay on a per event basis to go to some of the larger events. As a member I felt overlooked and upcharged at every possible opportunity and closed out of being able to access the facility consistently and easily with proper information. I would recommend joining a coworking space with a gym. It's a...

I stumbled upon the Wonderer about four months ago in my quest for a workspace that ticked some boxes. I needed a place to escape the confines of my house a few times a week. When I bought a water cooler for my home office and started gathering around it to tell jokes to my house plants, that was the last straw.

My options were as follows: there was this fancy joint on James Island, charging an arm and a leg for a desk; then there were a few downtown spots that were cheaper but just offered the basics with terrible parking options.

Ahhhhh, The S̶h̶i̶r̶e Wonderer - I was initially intimidated and didn't know what to expect. I mean, I've never been much of a club guy—never even bothered with a gym membership. And posting pool selfies is not my jam. What I found was a delightful bunch of folks—hard-working, friendly, non-pretentious, and not afraid to engage in a bit of banter. The Wonderer isn't just a place to work, play, and chow down; it's a whole vibe, man. It's like being part of this eclectic little community where you're encouraged just to be yourself, quirks and all.

The staff are the real MVPs here. Audrey in the café? Total sunshine in human form, and her cappuccinos ruined me for all other coffee. MC and Jenna are lovely and always ready with smiles and a helping hand. And Mickey? Gal's got jokes for days. Oh, and Hutch at the bar? Look out for a Charleston Best Bartender Award coming someday. My dude hustles! Madison is fantastic at check-in. Tom, James, Paul, Gavin, and anyone I missed are top-notch people. I also appreciate Brad, the GM, checking in with me whenever I see him to ensure everything is copacetic. I can't say enough about the staff.

Evoke—the workspace. It's a solid space, with plenty of tables, conference rooms, and even phone booths for those meetings where I need to flail my arms while I talk. Chill lighting and the occasional Keurig coffee are about all you need. Word is they might add a phone booth or two, which would be a dream.

Bhava—the restaurant. Michael is the culinary maestro here. I've developed a severe addiction to the Tuna Poke', but the breaky burrito has saved my hangover more times than I can count.

Pool bar—where work and play collide in a glorious haze of productivity... or Hutch's drinks.

Gym—sure, it's got all the standard gym stuff, but have you tried the Zero Gravity sensory dep table? It's like floating in a cloud made of dreams. To scared of the plunge pool but someday, someday.

Rooftop bar—perfect for when you need a change of scenery but also don't want to, you know, go outside.

And let's not forget about the pool, cabanas, and all that jazz. It's like a mini tropical paradise right in the heart of wherever the 'neck' The Wonderer is located.

Now, the only downside? The commute from my house can be long. If only I lived closer, I'd set up camp here permanently, so it's for the best. Shoutout to the Wonderer staff for making my stay so enjoyable. See you...

This place has all the potential to be good but just wasn't. We got a free day pass through our AirBNB and they make it sound great (bougie, almost spa-like) on the website, so we were really looking forward to it, but it was far from it. The pool didn't feel like it was heated, but no big deal. You get used to it quickly. The place was dead though, and, after experiencing it, I could see why. Besides me and my husband, there just were five girls celebrating a bachelorette party and two other random guys. There were two bartenders, and lots of other staff wondering around, so they were definitely adequately staffed. Kaleb, our bartender, was so nice. He was the highlight. But my first drink, a strawberry daquiri, tasted like pure syrup with no alcohol. Kaleb was happy to top off the top to make it drinkable, so ok, we're good. Then we ordered some fish tacos with fries, and not only were they not good, but both the tacos and fries were COLD! Not sure how that happens when they're so well staffed, but Kaleb was happy to take them back and re-fire them. Sadly, only the fries were warm when they came back. Tacos were still cold and flavorless. Kaleb seemed like he genuinely felt bad and offered me a free cocktail to compensate, which was super nice. Like I said, he was the only thing that made the place semi-redeemable. I also appreciated that he informed me when I checked out that the tip had already been included. Most servers never point that out and often end up getting double tipped, which I find extremely dishonest and frustrating. I'm not a fan of places adding tips to begin with though, and that might be a deal breaker for me, in and of itself. Pay your staff appropriately and, IF they EARN a tip, they'll get one! The idea that tips are received even if service is bad really ticks me off, and would keep me from coming back. It provides no incentive for servers to provide good service. Incidentally, Kaleb was so nice, that I tipped him another $5.00 on top of the 20% ($5.40) tip that was already included. One last point is that it's right by the rail road, so it's a bit noisy, but something you could probably overlook without all of the...