This southern city is home to hundreds of historic homes located on a peninsula across from Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter where the Civil War began.     Photo by Gene Korte.

Charleston continues its rise in the ranks of top destinations worldwide.  And why not?  More than 300 years old, Charleston, named for England’s Charles II, began its colonial life as a flourishing seaport. Because of that centuries-old history, this place is filled with hundreds of historic homes. And among the attractions of the countryside are grand old plantations full of sweeping movie-scene vistas.

Over the centuries, Charlestonians have been shot at, burned out, beset by earthquakes and hurricanes. More than a few were forced to walk the plank on pirate ships. The British occupied the city for more than two years after the Revolutionary War. And the most devastating war of all here, of course, the Civil War, began at Charleston’s very own Fort Sumter.

Despite all this, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which caused billions in damage, Charleston has dusted itself off and reinvented itself.

Once rich from slavery, today Charleston celebrates its black culture, becoming a 21st-century destination for history and music festivals, food, fun and beaches, too. Charleston is the New South.

A grand and glossy hotel

The Charleston Place on Meeting Street, charlestonplace.com, has all the earmarks of an Orient Express hotel. No matter where their hotels are, they will have the perfect blend of welcoming style and comfort. And the location is always perfect, too. In Charleston that means this eight-story landmark hotel, with a staff full of Southern hospitality, is in the heart of the historic district near shops, parks and the city’s Museum Mile. One of the many ways this posh hotel shows its family friendliness is the Spa Kid program where children can enjoy the Cinderella treatment, too.

The hotel’s celebrated Charleston Grill is not the place to be for a quick bite between meetings. Rather, it’s where you want to take your time, enjoy the feast of flavors and textures and say to heck with worrying about the bill. From the first taste of the thinly sliced venison carpaccio and the teeny tiny lettuces with champagne vinaigrette we savored the moment. It was difficult to choose from the menu because we couldn’t have everything. Evening favorites were the grilled kahala fish from Hawaii, even the humble collard greens, and at the evening’s end — all that chocolate.

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