Room at the Inn

Europe Travels South at Post House

By Kelsey Ogletree | Photography by Kirk Robert

We pulled up to Post House on a chilly November evening, hours after dark had fallen (and not according to plan, thanks to flight delays). As I caught sight of the glow from the inn’s main-floor restaurant, illuminating a shadowy residential street in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, across the harbor from Charleston, a sense of warmth and comfort spread through me—and we hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet.

I felt like we were in a movie scene as co-owner Ben Towill swung open the front door to Post House, welcoming us inside the place he and his wife and co-owner, Kate, call “a restaurant with rooms.” The 1890s building they transformed into a chic, seven-room inn that opened late summer 2020 has a distinctly European vibe. Although I didn’t realize it at the time of arrival, that warmth I experienced was exactly the feeling the couple had been seeking to create for every guest.

“People love that they feel like they’re in a movie set,” says Kate. “This is different for Charleston.” Though the exterior of the building—which you can spot in the upcoming second season of the Netflix series Outer Banks, premiering later this year—has a classic Southern look, that difference is notable inside. Think William Morris wallpaper, treasured antiques, and patterned floors. Ben and Kate, who also own the design company Basic Projects that includes Basic Kitchen restaurant in Charleston and The Fat Radish in Savannah, Georgia, say it was important to strike the right balance of old and new.

“I didn’t want everything to be antiques,” Kate shares. “A lot of neighbors said to us, ‘You’re not going to make it too modern, are you?’” Though the instinct to go with linen and cement tile was there, Kate wanted to preserve the aesthetic and history of the building while bringing in experiences from her and Ben’s backgrounds.

The convivial couple first met in New York City a decade ago, where, ironically, Ben was working as the chef at Kate’s ex-boyfriend’s restaurant. They connected, began dating, and before long, Ben whisked Kate off to his native England, to Cornwall in the rugged southwest part of the country. “I remember going there with him, and he took me around to all these gorgeous beaches,” Kate recalls. “I fell right in love with the area.”

Her newfound passion for her husband’s country inspired a change in her design eye, too. “The Brits are not afraid to use pattern and color and mix them as much as they can. England also does so well with wallpaper and layers so many things,” Kate says. She drew upon those elements—and borrowed the concept of a restaurant with rooms above—when dreaming up Post House with Ben.

“We wanted it to be like spending the night at your grandma’s house but much hipper,” Kate adds.

The charm of Post House, which opened during the pandemic, was first to make the locals happy—and they’ve surely done so with the incredible restaurant, with tables both in front and back of the completely renovated first floor. Open for dinner nightly and brunch on weekends, the 140 seats tend to fill up quickly.

The decor throughout the restaurant is an impeccable mix of high and low, with five-dollar photographs of rock ’n’ roll bands adjacent to two-thousand-dollar original oil paintings. In the front bar area, an original chandelier from Murano, Italy hangs above the cocktail crowd, and custom chairs from a Soho House designer bookend tiny marble tables for two. Details like bespoke shell-shaped sconces add little touches of Charleston while still retaining the European feel.

If you think the restaurant is only a feast for the eyes, however, think again. Bellies are more than satisfied, too, thanks to local delicacies like oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp. The cheeseburger and crispy butterbean burger are both mainstays on the frequently changing menu—and don’t forget about desserts like Southern chocolate buttermilk cake or oatmeal raisin cookies made with Anson Mills oats. A complimentary European-style breakfast is also included with every overnight stay, a delightful medley of hard-boiled eggs, cold cuts, fresh berries, and a hot-from-the-oven croissant served atop a red-and-white custom Post House plate, at your convenience.

Perhaps the best part about Post House is that you never have to leave if you’re staying upstairs. A beautiful white-banistered staircase in the front, adjacent to the restaurant hostess station, leads you up to several floors of guest rooms, each individually designed. During our stay, we ventured down a hallway lined with Moroccan rugs to our room on the third floor and entered (with an actual metal key!) to find soaring ceilings, light blue walls punctuated with a cheerful rust-colored chair and matching velvet pillow, a nautical-nodding round mirror hung by a leather strap, a functioning rotary phone, and a minibar filled with Charleston touches (think locally made benne wafers and even an “emergency bowtie”). It was an idyllic, cozy spot to relax following a rinse in the luxurious shower, complete with a skylight.

Other rooms in the inn offer an entirely different experience, with every detail from the wallpaper to the art and the antique furniture and lamps individually designed.

Once you’ve experienced Post House, you might feel something like a magnet drawing you back—a combination of the place and the individuals behind it.

“People love the sense of community. They want to come again, try a different room next time,” Kate says. “It’s kind of like the village’s version of Cheers, where everybody knows your name.”

They say success breeds success. In the near future, Kate says they’re planning to open another hotel with a restaurant, a twenty-five-room new-build locale near Post House that will be Mediterranean-inspired. And beyond that, the world is their oyster. “I’d love to do something in England,” Kate shares. Perhaps, a Charleston-inspired hotel in the Commonwealth will be next.

More to Explore

The next time you’re in Charleston, stop into some of the Towills’ favorite European-inspired spots for a dose of the old continent’s culture without crossing the pond.

Harken Café & Bakery

Come early to grab a table by the window at this French-style café, tucked into a bright spot on Queen Street. Pastries such as ricotta pound cake slices, avocado matcha shortbread, and cherry chocolate-stuffed cookies are so tempting, you’ll need a few to share. HarkenCafe.com

Chez Nous

Owned by local couple Fanny and Patrick Panella, the name of this French restaurant means “our place.” The tiny space downtown features just two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts each day, inspired by the cuisine of southern France, northern Italy, and northern Spain. ChezNousChs.com

The George Gallery

It’s easy to get lost in the beautiful oil paintings housed in this contemporary gallery of European and American artists’ work located on Broad Street. GeorgeGalleryArt.com

Hampden

Scoop the latest high-end fashions from European designers, including Isabel Marant and Mimi Liberte, at this King Street staple encompassing nearly ten thousand square feet of clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories. HampdenClothing.com

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Visit ThePostHouseInn.com to book your stay.