Rhett House Inn
An 1820 Greek Revival mansion in Beaufort's Old Point — 17 rooms, the Conroy-and-Pat-Conroy-era inn.
The Rhett House Inn is an 1820 Greek Revival mansion in Beaufort, South Carolina, run as a seventeen-room country-estate B&B in the town's Old Point historic district. Beaufort sits on the Carolina Lowcountry coast between Charleston and Savannah, and the Rhett House has been the substantive small-inn anchor here since the 1990s. Pat Conroy's writing put Beaufort on the literary map. The Rhett House is the inn that the Conroy crowd has historically gravitated to.
It's a B&B in the proper sense — a full breakfast, an evening reception, and a small operation that prioritizes hospitality over hotel-amenity volume.
The setting
In Beaufort's Old Point historic district, a residential neighborhood of 18th- and 19th-century houses on the bend of the Beaufort River. The walk to Bay Street's small downtown — restaurants, the waterfront park, the Beaufort Visitor Center — is five minutes. The Beaufort National Cemetery and the Penn Center on St. Helena Island are short drives.
The drive from Charleston is ninety minutes south on Highway 17. From Savannah, forty-five minutes north. Hilton Head is thirty minutes south.
The building
An 1820 Greek Revival mansion — symmetrical front, full-width porches on two levels, white clapboard, mature live oaks on the lawn. The interior is country-estate: brass and velvet, period millwork, antique upholstery, a sitting parlor with a working fireplace. A small carriage house and outbuildings hold a few additional rooms.
The renovation has been a multi-decade project. The 1820 character is intact and well-maintained.
The rooms
Seventeen rooms across the main house and outbuildings. Categories climb from compact rooms (around $425) up through suites with private balconies, fireplaces, and whirlpool tubs. Beds are queens and kings, linens are heavy, bathrooms are updated. Several rooms have working fireplaces; the carriage-house rooms offer more privacy.
Food & drink
There's no full restaurant. A multi-course breakfast is included, served in the dining room. Wine and hors d'oeuvres run in the evening. For dinner, the walk into downtown Beaufort reaches the town's restaurants: Saltus River Grill, Plums, Old Bull Tavern, Wren Bistro & Bar.
On the property
A small B&B with the right amenities.
- Multi-course breakfast included
- Evening wine reception
- Bicycles for guest use
- Working fireplaces in several rooms
- Open year-round
Who it's for
- Travelers doing a Lowcountry long weekend — Beaufort, Charleston, Savannah triangle
- Couples on anniversaries
- Pat Conroy and Lowcountry literary travelers
- Repeat Beaufort visitors who've cycled through the smaller inns
Who it's not for
- Families with young children — the antique-and-quiet B&B format isn't kid-tuned
- Travelers who want a contemporary hotel amenity stack
- Anyone seeking direct beachfront access
Nearby
Walk five minutes to Beaufort's Bay Street and the waterfront park. The Beaufort National Cemetery is a fifteen-minute walk. Drive ten minutes east for St. Helena Island and the Penn Center (the educational and cultural center for Sea Island Gullah heritage). Drive twenty minutes for Hunting Island State Park (the lighthouse, the maritime forest, the long sand beach). Drive forty-five minutes north for Charleston's restaurants and historic district. Drive thirty minutes south for Hilton Head. Drive forty-five minutes for Savannah.
