The Ryder Hotel: Guest Review

Quick Verdict: Is The Ryder Hotel Worth It?

⭐ Best For: Girlfriend groups for bachelorette parties or girls’ trips.
👍 What We Loved: The location!
👎 What To Know: There are rooms with windows that have NO natural light.
💰 Worth It?: Worth it if you’re willing to pay for Instagrammable vibes and location.

Easy Walking Location

The Ryder Hotel
237 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC

One of the most impressive parts of the hotel is the prime location in downtown Charleston. The Ryder Hotel is a very easy walk to major, popular tourist destinations around the city.

You will be an easy walking distance to:

• King Street Shopping: 3 minute walk
• City Market: 4 minute walk
• Gibbes Museum of Art: 7 minute walk
• Marion Square: 8 minute walk
• Washington Square: 10 minute walk
• Waterfront Park and the Pineapple Fountain: 15 minute walk
• Rainbow Row: 17 minute walk

How to Save Money on Your Stay

If you’re planning a stay here, there’s a very easy way to offset the high nightly rate.

I booked our stay at The Ryder Hotel directly via the American Express travel portal to take advantage of a $300 hotel credit on the Fine Hotels + Resorts / The Hotel Collection benefit of my American Express Platinum card.

In addition to saving $300 on our 2-night stay, I was given an additional $100 to use towards purchases at the resort including food at Little Palm, room service, or items from the coffee shop.

Platinum card members also receive free breakfast which at The Ryder Hotel amounted to a $30 total credit for 2 people per day.

By booking directly through the AmEx travel portal, I also earned 5x points for the stay since I prepaid for our room.

I’m tracking my AmEx Platinum benefits this year and so far the card has already earned its keep in the 2 months I’ve been using it. You can check out their current welcome bonus here.

Room Review

Since I was traveling to Charleston with my daughter for a mom-daughter trip, we wanted a Double Queen room to share. The Ryder also offers King bed rooms that will have different layouts and features.

Style & Design

The overall vibe of the hotel and rooms could be described as boho chic coastal.

I actually really appreciated the wood flooring which is easier to keep clean.

The furnishings all have a warm wood tone with crisp white bedding.

Comfort & Space

The room area where our beds were located was plenty spacious enough for two people but we would have appreciated two chairs for sitting, not just one.

There was also just one larger shared nightstand which could get crowded quickly with water and charging devices but there was a second very small stand next to the second bed.

The mattresses were comfortable and there were plenty of pillows. We were able to adjust the room temperature just fine but we always travel with a portable box fan for white noise while we sleep.

Even though the hotel was booked to capacity during our stay, the evenings were quiet except for the very occasional noise from people using the ice machine located right next to our room.

Bathroom Setup

The bathroom was clean but quite small for two people to comfortably share.

The vanity features just one sink on a relatively small counter space with a storage shelf underneath. The towel bar fell off several times when my daughter tried to dry her hands but she was able to quickly pop it back on.

The shower stall was roomy and had nice water pressure. We appreciated having hot, steamy showers at the end of our days walking around the city.

The guest closet is inside the bathroom behind the door and featured very heavy double doors that squeaked quite loudly and refused to stay open while using the closet.

I kept my suitcase inside on a luggage stand to help keep the bedroom area neat during our stay and it was extremely frustrating to access my clothing while juggling to keep the closet doors open.

Room Amenties

• Security Safe
• Hairdryer
• Mini Fridge (Very Small, will work best for drinks or small snacks.)
• Water Carafe and Ice Bucket
• Coffee Pod Machine
• Alarm Clock: This has charging ports on the back side. You won’t notice them unless you hunt for them. This caused a frustrating trip to Walgreens to get a brick for my charging cord before we discovered them hiding on the alarm clock.
• Robes

Rooms with No Natural Light (What Caught Us Off Guard)

The biggest shock of our stay was arriving in our room at 4pm on a bright and sunny day to discover the room felt extremely dark. I thought the privacy black-out shades must be closed and went to open the window to let in some natural light.

When I opened the curtains, this was our “view”:

Look closely and you’ll see that the window has been sealed off with one solid window over two older windows that open and close. One of them was left partially open and there’s no way to adjust it.

The view opens up to an abandoned open space that was dirty with leaves and debris. Off to the side you can see a window to another guest room and straight across is a tiny sliver of open air and light.

During the afternoon daytime, no natural light came into our room but in the evening light from the pool area lit up that space and there was no black-out curtain to stop it.

We asked to be moved to another room but were told the hotel was at capacity and nothing could be done. I’m not sure how many other guest rooms have this feature but if natural light is important to you, you may want to call ahead to the hotel and ask before you book.

The Pool Scene

The biggest selling point for the hotel is their photo-friendly pool area.

When we arrived in the afternoon, the space was completely filled with guests and there were no open seats available. There are signs that suggest not holding a seat for longer than 2 hours scattered around on the tables, but I’m not sure how well guests heed this request.

I’m an early bird, so I headed down to the pool at 8:30 am during our stay and found it wide open for these pictures.

I was told by the bartender at Little Palm that the pool area starts to pick up around 11 am and then stays busy until it closes at sunset.

If having a pool chair is important to you, plan your day around it. This is not a “casually wander down and grab a seat” kind of set up.

There are cushy lounge chairs with pillows all around the pool along with regular hard chairs in two corners. The couches were usually reserved ahead for groups but I had no trouble finding a seat to enjoy my morning iced coffee and a book.

While the pool area is very Instagram-friendly, the cushioned seats tend to struggle to dry overnight. Dressed in regular clothing, I needed to line my seat with towels to stay dry before sitting.

Food & Drinks at Little Palm

Little Palm is the hotel restaurant that services the dining area next to the pool as well as the pool-area bar.

We enjoyed a couple of drinks at the bar while we waited for our hotel room to be available on the night of arrival and had no trouble finding a seat.

We also enjoyed breakfast in the open air dining section on our last morning. You can see everything we ordered and what we’d recommend in my Charleston dining guide.

However, just know that Little Palm is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is responsible for the food that is sent up for room service.

The dining services close at 8pm both downstairs and for room service.

Amenities & Extras

I stopped both mornings of our stay to the Coffee Counter on the main floor of The Ryder Hotel.

They have a wonderful coffee menu with espressos, lattes, and regular drip coffee. I was able to get a delicious iced coffee with almond milk.

They also offer a small selection of pastries: muffins, croissants, and cookies for a mid-morning treat.

Other Amenties at the Hotel:

1. Valet Parking: You can self park in lots across the street if you prefer but the only hotel parking offered is Valet.
2. Fitness Center: We never spotted it during our stay but I’m told they have one.
3. The Gear Garage: This is off the lobby area on the main floor. They have bicycles, coolers, longboards, and more that you can borrow. We did not take advantage of this.
4. Welcome Cocktail at Check-In: I wasn’t aware of this and had already had a cocktail at Little Palm so I declined it. They were offering small cups of sangria during our visit.

Who Should Stay at The Ryder Hotel

✔️ Tourists that want an overnight stay within easy walking distance of shopping and attractions
✔️ Groups of girlfriends celebrating a special occasion like a bachelorette party, girls’ trip, etc.
✔️ Mom-daughter duos who don’t plan to spend a ton of time at the hotel but want a vacation vibe for their stay
✔️ Solo travelers that want a smaller hotel in a safe area of town and could splurge on a king room that might have a better view
🚫 Couples on a romantic getaway: the lively pool scene and social atmosphere may not be the best fit.

What We Loved

If our check-in experience had gone more smoothly, I think we would have loved spending our first afternoon by the pool.

I personally loved my quiet early mornings with coffee and a good book before everyone else arrived at the pool. Our room was just a short walk away from the pool area and it was a wonderful way to start my morning.

We both loved how quick and easy it was to walk to the things we wanted to see in Charleston from the hotel.

And our experience with the Valet drivers was very positive. They were extremely helpful throughout our visit.

What We Didn’t Love

• Dark Room with No Natural Light
• Small Bathroom
• Limited Seating in Our Room
• Crowded Pool During Peak Hours
• Early Dining Closure
• No Phone in Room to Call Front Desk

Would We Stay Again?

If I was traveling alone and had a King bed room with a better view, I would definitely consider staying again. The problem is that the hotel credits that make the visit worth it for our budget mean eating at the hotel rather than at all the wonderful restaurants Charleston has to offer.

If I was interested in staying in at the hotel, enjoying the pool, and having just a quiet visit all to myself, this would be a perfect destination.

If I was traveling with friends who had their own rooms, this would be a perfect hub for visiting together while still being close to shopping and fun.

But since I’m usually traveling with family and we love to get out and explore, The Ryder Hotel would not likely fit our agenda for another trip.