Where to stay??

[Gulf Coast Mom]

Okay nuke moms - thinking about going to GC to spend Thanksgiving weekend with nuke son we have not seen since PIR IN May. Where have you stayed when you have gone when you have visited your student? Have seen some info on villas in the campground on base - anyone know anything about these - can they be rented by family or would son have to do it? Also any info on villas on Lake Moultrie, shown as a Navy short stay location. Looking for something reasonable with kitchen. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. We are planning on spending the whole week in the area as we have never been there, even though we will probably only see son from Wednesday evening - Sunday morning. Thanks for your help. Melody

[Marybeth]

I would also love to know the answer to this question... We are in North Florida and only about 4 hours from Charleston, so I'm hoping to "be invited" (ha ha) to see my son often! (yeah right, more like show up and surprise him.... then again, with my luck, he'll be heading home that weekend to see his girlfriend...)

[Diane J. Kuhn]

Hi Melody-I have not seen my son since he finished boot camp in May (is that what you mean by PIR)? He finished "A" school on Aug. 22 and will be coming home on leave the end of Sept. I am interested in your Thanksgiving plans-it sounds like a good idea. Please share any information about staying in the area when you find out.

[Gulf Coast Mom]

Diane - We have reservations at Foster Villas for Tues 11/25 thru 11/30. From what I can tell and from talking with the ladies at the reservations, these are several former base houses that have been renovated and are now available for rent. They are 2/3/or 4 bedroom houses, evidently with carports and yards. My son made the reservations for us last Saturday. I gave him my credit card info. Since it is a holiday week, the reservations cannot be cancelled. The 4 br was $75. per night, 3 br was $65. and 2 br was $55. As of last week, there were several left. There is also a place called short stay at Lake Moultrie, about 25 miles from Charleston with cabins located on a lake. There were none of these available. I would have loved to stay in a condo on the beach, but we just could not afford $1,000 +, and I wanted kitchen facilites, so that if I did decide I wanted to cook I could. I found the info on the Charleston Naval Weapons Station Morale, Welfare and Recreation website. Hope this helps. If anyone has stayed here, please put in your two cents. Melody

[carols_kitchen]

We are just looking for a reasonably priced and safe place for Columbus Day weekend--looking for info

[Melissa]

I just returned from Charleston, and I got to spend the weekend, when he was on liberty, with my boyfriend! I stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham at 9280 University Blvd, North Charleston 29406. It was about ten minutes from the base, and I think it's actually on the campus of Charleston Southern University. The rooms are big, the place is clean and I felt safe. It's got a nice pool and a hot tub, which the boyfriend enjoyed. A continental breakfast with some hot items is free, but I think it's only from 6AM - 9AM. No kitchen, but there's a mini-fridge, coffee maker and microwave in the room.

[carols_kitchen]

Mind my asking what the basic rate was?

[kathy]

Thanks for this discussion. We are going to "A" school graduation on Oct 3rd. Son and husband not really interested in the histortic Charleston - :(. Any other suggestions for places to stay and places to go? We live in N. Atlanta and are driving to SC.

Praise report - all is well in Goose Creek. Hurricane has passed!!!!!

[carols_kitchen]

Kathy--I accidentally put your message with Meagan's--trouble with the computer I am borrowing right now

[carols_kitchen]

OOPS--this is for KATHY above....can't delete it and move it up---- This is a shipyard town. We have visited an old docked Navy ship, a submarine and great restaurants. They hav added big malls since we have visited years ago. However, it is a historical town. Did you ever watch the series "North and South?" with John Swaze (sp?) as it was filmed there. We have a large photo from one of the scenes by Dock Street Theatre. The churches are gorgeous from any architectual view. Go the the Charleston Chamber of Commerce site for other ideas.

[Bobbi]

It's been awhile (2003-04) but we stayed at a Marriott Courtyard (has kitchen or kitchenette and fold out couch) near the base. I also stayed at the Clarion, where a lot of military people stay. For a more expensive treat when my son was able to spend a little time with us, we stayed downtown at the Planter's Inn and the French Quarter Inn, both had fabulous restaurants (The Peninsula Grill and Tristan's). I do not recommend staying at the Day's Inn downtown - it was expensive and so filthy we didn't stay after we checked in. Downtown Charleston is so much fun - great food, shopping, carriage rides, historical buildings, beautiful architecture. Beaches are close by and don't forget to go to Patriot's Point to see the USS Yorktown and the USS Clamagore (diesel sub). I will upload some pictures of Charleston on my page from when my son was at Nuke School.Hrer are a couple...

[Ronnette]

I lived in Ladson (15 minutes from Goose Creek) for about three years and just moved away. So I am not a good one to know all the hotels, as we never stayed anywhere but in our house! But, I can tell you Lake Moultrie is a bit of a drive-. I'd say give yourself up to an hour to get to Goose Creek from there. Looks like folks have offered good suggestions on this thread. Downtown has some nice places but many are pricey and its between 30-45 minutes to the base from there. There is a nice new Marriott near the Riverdogs Stadium, I attended a conference there last year, its on Lockwood Blvd and not right on top of everything else but close to downtown. Just be careful in North Charleston. Parts are okay, but parts are in decay. I have always had pretty reliable results looking for hotels on tripadvisor.com. Good luck.

[Margaret - Matt's mom]

Hi, I am not very good at navigating this web site but, here is some information that I have gathered. I hope it is helpful. This is as much info as I have been able to obtain from many sorces. I have not been able to get down there to stay yet, so none of this information is first hand. This is all information from other people.

Where to stay at Charleston

1.
Several former base houses that have been renovated and are now available for rent. (2, 3 or 4 bedroom houses, with carports and yards. Sailor has to make reservation (not sure)? 4-bedroom = $75 per night, 3 bedroom = $65 per night, 2 bedroom = $55 per night.

Also a place called short stay of Lake Moultrie = 25 miles from Charleston with cabins located on a lake.

Can find info on Charleston Naval Weapons Station Morale, Welfare and Recreation website.

2.
Courtyard Marriott = 2415 Mall Dr., N. Charleston, SC. - 10 minutes from base. no complimentary breakfast - breakfast $10.95/person. McD's and Hardee's nearby.

3.
Wingate by Wyndham = at 9280 University Blvd., North Charleston 29406. - 10 minutes from base (posably on campus of charleston Sourthern University. Rooms big, clean, has nice pool and hot tub, continental breakfast some hot items free (only 6AM to 9AM) mini-fridge, coffee maker and microwave in room.

Hope this helps, Margaret