Litchfield Plantation

Litchfield Plantation is a 1750 manor house on 600 acres of former rice-plantation land along the Waccamaw River, near Pawleys Island in coastal South Carolina. Thirty-eight rooms across the manor house, the gatehouse, and a row of beach villas a short drive away on Pawleys Island itself. The property has been operating as an inn since the late 20th century, with the historic main house preserved and additional accommodation buildings added carefully over time.

The Lowcountry's hotel inventory includes a number of properties on former plantation land. The straightforward acknowledgment of that history is part of the experience here — the manor house, the rice fields, the live oak alleys, the era's architecture. The inn is one of the substantive small properties on the South Strand between Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

The setting

On Kings River Road in Pawleys Island, in the Waccamaw Neck region of coastal South Carolina. The drive south to Pawleys Island's beach is five minutes; north to Murrells Inlet's restaurants is fifteen. Brookgreen Gardens (one of the country's larger sculpture gardens, on adjacent former plantation land) is ten minutes south. Charleston is ninety minutes south on Highway 17; Myrtle Beach is twenty minutes north.

The drive from Charleston International Airport is ninety minutes; from Myrtle Beach International, twenty.

The building

The 1750 manor house — Georgian symmetry, two-story brick construction, full-width porches on multiple levels, the traditional Lowcountry plantation-house silhouette — sits at the head of an oak alley running toward the river. The gatehouse and additional accommodation buildings are dispersed across the grounds. Beach villas at Pawleys Island serve guests who want direct beach access.

The aesthetic is country-estate with refined-Americana coastal overlays in the beach villas. The renovation work has been historical-preservation-grade in the manor house.

The rooms

Thirty-eight rooms across the manor, gatehouse, and beach villas. Manor and gatehouse categories range from compact rooms (around $295) up through suites with the period bones. Beach villas are larger one- to three-bedroom units with kitchens and direct beach access. Beds are queens and kings, linens are heavy, bathrooms are updated. The manor-house rooms feel period; the gatehouse rooms run quieter; the beach villas are oriented around beach use.

Food & drink

There's no full on-site restaurant. A continental breakfast is included for inn guests. For dinner, drive ten minutes for Frank's Restaurant, Quigley's, or the Hammock Shops casual options. Murrells Inlet's MarshWalk is fifteen minutes north — a row of seafood restaurants on the marsh.

On the property

A small Lowcountry property with multi-location accommodations.

• Continental breakfast included
• Heated outdoor pool at the manor
• Beach villas with direct beach access (a five-minute drive away on Pawleys Island)
• Live oak alleys and former rice-plantation grounds for walking
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers doing a Lowcountry long weekend — Charleston, Beaufort, Pawleys triangle
• Couples and families using beach villas for multi-night stays
• History travelers interested in 18th-century Lowcountry architecture
• Repeat Pawleys Island visitors looking for the substantive small-property answer

Who it's not for

• Travelers seeking a contemporary boutique aesthetic
• Anyone who wants direct beach access at the main inn (you drive to the beach villas)
• Light packers — multi-location accommodations means choosing manor or beach early

Nearby

Drive five minutes for Pawleys Island's beach and the iconic Hammock Shops. Drive ten minutes south for Brookgreen Gardens — the country's first public sculpture garden, on adjacent former plantation land, with a meaningful collection of American figurative sculpture. Drive fifteen minutes north for Murrells Inlet's MarshWalk seafood-restaurant strip. Drive twenty minutes north for Myrtle Beach for the boardwalk and the casual coast. Drive ninety minutes south for Charleston — Rainbow Row, the Battery, Husk and FIG, the Charleston City Market.