Far From the Madding Crowd
Story by Page Leggett
Everybody loves Charleston.
And therein lies a problem—at least for those of us who hate crowds and not being able to get a dinner reservation.
Georgetown, an hour north of The Holy City, is a quieter alternative. South Carolina’s third-oldest city (founded in 1729, with more than 60 buildings holding National Register of Historic Places designation) is a lot like its more famous neighbor—but you’ll actually be able to find a parking spot.
It’s also an hour closer to Raleigh—a 3.5-hour drive—so you can begin relaxing that much sooner.
Life here moves at about the pace of a swinging hammock. So it’s appropriate that Georgetown, its next-door neighbor Pawleys Island, and neighboring towns branded themselves the “Hammock Coast” in honor of the iconic Pawleys Island rope hammock.
But this region is a lot less sleepy today than it was 20 years ago, when I first started coming. The area now has plentiful boutique shopping, fine dining (along with old-timey fish camps) and, as of spring 2024, an upscale boutique hotel.
High-end hospitality
It had been nearly 60 years since there’d been a hotel on Front Street—Georgetown’s equivalent of Charleston’s King Street.
The George Hotel, built for $20 million, was worth the wait. The hotel makes the most of its riverfront location, with 42 of its 56 rooms facing the water.
The understated, unfussy interiors, filled with European antiques and vintage art, were created by Charleston’s Jenny Keenan Design. Oriental rugs, wingback chairs, and Schumacher’s “Birds Tapestry” wallpaper in the arched hallway leading to the elevator are a salute to the area’s historic homes.
No two rooms are alike, but all feature bespoke and vintage furnishings. Drue Ford, the hotel’s general manager, said the two junior suites are his favorites. Both are corner rooms, giving guests views of the city and Winyah Bay, and have dining nooks and balconies. For a little less, you can book the Indigo Room. Although slightly smaller, it still offers a balcony. And there are eight versions of Ford’s other fave, the Carolina Room. Three of those are corner rooms with plenty of natural light.
Good eats
You won’t have to go far for one of the best dining experiences in town. The Independent, named in honor of the late Independent Seafood—where everyone in the area came for fresh-off-the-boat fish, shrimp, and crab—is just off the lobby. You can also arrive by boat and dock at Harborwalk Marina, which is right next door.
Open for happy hour each weekday, dinner daily, and weekend brunch, The Independent celebrates Southern cuisine with menu items like corn bread with miso honey butter, fried oyster deviled eggs, blackened flounder, and that Lowcountry staple—shrimp and grits. Country-fried steak, chicken and waffles, and Southern pecan sticky buns are brunch standouts.
Just up Highway 17 on Pawleys Island is the venerable family-owned Frank’s (and its more casual Frank’s Outback), a favorite among locals and visitors since it opened in 1988. The second generation owners later opened 631 Front a few doors down from The George. Also known as “Frank’s on Front,” the hot spot has something Frank’s can’t offer: a water view.
The best seats in the house are on the covered deck overlooking the Sampit River. They make a great perch to enjoy the fried quail appetizer, several cuts of steak, shrimp with red Thai curry, honey-roasted salmon, veal short rib, their signature Fresh Catch Vera Cruz (seasoned with olives, tomatoes, capers, and onions), and more.
I (and many others) consider The Chive Blossom Restaurant & Bar in Pawleys a can’t-miss. And I’ve never been without ordering the legendary she-crab soup. You’ll likely want to take some home, and if they have an adequate supply, they’ll sell you a quart. Just ask.
Pawleys Island Tavern—affectionately known as The PIT—is where to go for a good burger, pizza, or fantastic crabcake. This unpretentious dive is a great cure for a hangover. Or a place to bring one on. It’s not easy to find, tucked as it is down a gravel driveway behind a shopping center on Highway 17, but it’s worth seeking out.
There’s no better way to spend a summer evening than listening to live music on the deck with a cold beer in hand.
Mr. Burr, sir
At most beach towns, there’s little more to do than sit on the beach. Not here.
Hobcaw Barony was once the home of wealthy financier Bernard Baruch, who was counselor to and friend of FDR. When Franklin Roosevelt visited Hobcaw, he stayed for nearly a month.
You can tour the home and some of the 16,000 acres it sits on, but you’ll need a reservation. Tours, including one through the rice fields and salt marshes by boat, are offered daily, and special programs happen throughout the year—like Birding on the Barony this April.
Get a dose of history, art, and horticulture at America’s first public sculpture garden, Brookgreen Gardens in nearby Murrells Inlet. Established in the 1930s by Archer Huntington, a scholar, philanthropist, and heir to a railroad fortune, and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, an accomplished sculptor, Brookgreen’s mission was and remains to collect, exhibit, and preserve American figurative sculpture (there’s nothing abstract here) and plants and animals indigenous to the Southeast.
Fans of Hamilton will remember the duet Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton sing to their firstborn children. The musical reveals the tragic fate of Philip Hamilton, but we’re not told anything about Burr’s beloved daughter, Theodosia.
Spoiler alert: It, too, is tragic. Theodosia married South Carolina’s governor, John Alston, and they made their home on land that’s now part of Brookgreen. When the couple’s young son died, Theodosia was inconsolable. Her father dispatched a ship to bring her to New York, but she never made it. The ship was lost at sea. Legend has it that Theodosia’s ghost still haunts the area.
Brookgreen offers several intriguing historical tours, including one that highlights the Alstons.
Several forms of therapy
Since Georgetown sits at the confluence of four rivers—the Black, Great Pee Dee, Waccamaw, and Sampit, all of which form Winyah Bay—water sports such as boating and fishing are prevalent here.
Cyclists can enjoy the Waccamaw Neck Bikeway, a paved pathway shaded by a canopy of pines that goes from Murrells Inlet through Huntington Beach State Park to Pawleys Island. The state park is home to what’s left of Atalaya, the Moorish-style mansion built by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington that served as their winter home.
If shopping is your preferred form of exercise and/or therapy, consider Front Street your gym or spa.
Whimsy Roost and its annex, Whimsy Warehouse, are wonderlands of gifts and home goods. Sara & Beth Gifts, a local mother-daughter enterprise, is an exquisite shop with original art, jewelry, serving pieces, and home accessories. And the nearby Rice Birds packs a lot—barware, frames, linens, candles, jewelry, and gifts—into a small, well-curated space.
The merchandise isn’t the only reason to shop at women’s clothing shop Miss Lizzie’s; it’s also the friendly service that keeps me coming back.
Augustus & Carolina dominates its block of Front Street and offers 65,000 square feet of furniture and home accessories.
Old Dog Interiors, a high-end design retailer, relocated from Charlotte to Georgetown several years ago, leaving loyal Charlotte customers bereft.
Step back in time
Front Street allows you to do some shopping, duck into a café, or browse the offerings at Waterfront Books (behind Miss Lizzie’s) and get a taste of history. The boulevard has no fewer than five museums, all within an easy walk of each other.
The Rice Museum tells the story of what was once Georgetown’s most lucrative export, while the South Carolina Maritime Museum displays marine artifacts and the area’s maritime history.
Georgetown County Museum gives a good overview of local history, and the Gullah Museum of Georgetown gets specific about one particular culture that’s contributed greatly to the area’s craft traditions and foodways.
Ford, The George Hotel’s GM, encourages antique lovers not to miss the Kaminski House Museum. The home was built in 1769—before America declared its independence!
Ford also recommends taking a Swamp Fox bus tour for a guided introduction to the city. Buy a ticket and hop aboard the tram on—where else?—Front Street. Trams leave from Urban Brew Coffee House. For a weekend getaway—or for a longer, more leisurely vacation—Georgetown packs a lot into a small package. You’ll find the same historic architecture, Gullah influence, water sports, gardens, shopping, and Instagram-worthy meals you do in Charleston.
What you won’t find are crowds. At least not yet.
Discover Georgetown before everyone else does.
Summer is high season, but every season brings its own charms.
Georgetown’s biggest weekend (and The George Hotel’s busiest) is in October during the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show. This year’s show—the 37th annual—is October 17–18. Each year, more than 100 classic wooden boats are displayed on land and in the harbor. Boatbuilding, corrugated boat race, youth sailing regatta, and maritime arts and crafts are among the activities offered.
Strolling Front Street during the holidays makes you feel like you’re in a Hallmark movie. For more than 20 years, the Yuletide Home Tour, put on by Friends of the Georgetown Library, has allowed ticketed guests inside select historic homes decked out in holiday finery.
Another reason to visit during the holidays? Brookgreen Gardens’s Nights of a Thousand Candles. You’ll hear holiday music while strolling paths lit by 2,700 lit candles and millions of twinkling lights.
Learn more at discovergeorgetownsc.com.
