The Anchorage 1770

The Anchorage 1770 is the rare Lowcountry inn where the year in the name actually means something. The main house was built in 1770 on the banks of the Beaufort River, served stints as a private mansion and a Civil War headquarters, and was restored as a 15-room inn after a long quiet stretch. The result is one of the more committed historic restorations on the South Carolina coast.

It also happens to be in Beaufort, not Bluffton — a distinction that matters. Beaufort is the older, more architecturally serious town. Bluffton is closer to Hilton Head and busier. If you've done Charleston and want the next quieter step south, this is the place to land.

The setting

Beaufort sits on Port Royal Island, about an hour north of Savannah and forty-five minutes south of Charleston. The historic district — antebellum mansions, oak-shaded streets, the kind of waterfront park that other towns aspire to — is essentially unchanged in scale since the 1800s. The Anchorage faces the river on Bay Street, the town's main waterfront drag, walking distance to most of what brings people to Beaufort in the first place.

The drive in from either airport is straightforward. Charleston International is the closer luxury option; Savannah/Hilton Head is closer in mileage but smaller.

The building

A 1770 mansion in the Federal style, with the deep porches and tall windows the climate requires. Materials: clapboard, brick, heart pine, plaster. The restoration kept the bones — moldings, fireplaces, wide-plank floors — and updated the systems. Public rooms feel like a private house that happens to take guests, which is the goal.

The rooms

Fifteen rooms across the main house and a few outbuildings. Layouts vary because the building does — some have river views, some have garden views, some have working fireplaces. Bathrooms are clean and contemporary inside historic walls. Rates start around $395 in shoulder seasons and run higher in spring and fall, when the Lowcountry is at its best.

Food & drink

Ribaut Social Club, on the ground floor, is the on-site restaurant and a serious operation in its own right — not an afterthought hotel kitchen. Lowcountry seafood, a real wine list, oysters when they're in. Non-guests book regularly, especially on weekends. The bar runs late by Beaufort standards.

On the property

The Anchorage is small enough that the building and the river are most of the program.

• Ribaut Social Club restaurant and bar on the ground floor
• River-facing porches and gardens
• Walking access to all of downtown Beaufort
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples doing a Charleston-to-Savannah swing who want a quieter middle stop
• Architecture and historic-restoration travelers
• Pat Conroy readers — Beaufort is the setting for much of his work
• Anyone who finds Charleston's historic district overcrowded

Who it's not for

• Beach-first travelers — the Atlantic beaches are 30+ minutes east on Hunting Island
• Families with young kids — the property is calmer than that
• Travelers wanting a spa, gym, and pool on site

Nearby

Hunting Island State Park, with one of the best beaches on the South Atlantic coast, is about thirty-five minutes east. Penn Center on St. Helena Island, central to Gullah Geechee history and the Civil Rights movement, is twenty minutes. Old Sheldon Church Ruins, north of town, are worth the half-hour drive. Savannah is an hour south for a day trip; Charleston is forty-five minutes north for the same.