Tucked away in a residential area of Downtown Charleston quietly lies the quaint villa known as Parson Inn. It is the pet project of owner & super host Karen Parson, along with her husband Marcus.
We discovered Parson Inn as we were doing a search for Black-Owned Businesses (specifically restaurants) and decided here is where we wanted to stay. It was quite serendipitous actually because we hadn't yet given any thought to accommodations. However, their website photo gallery and impressive AIRBNB reviews were all we needed to be firmly convinced! But our trip was very impromptu and we didn't want to leave it to online booking, so we made a reservation the old fashion way... we called! To my delight I reached Karen directly and we began to go over the room options. It wasn't long before we determined we were kindred spirits and our conversation extended far beyond the reservation details.
There are several suites and rooms available:
~ The Van Gogh Room
~ The Gallery Suite
~ The Charleston Suite
~ The Blues Room (shared bathroom)
~ The Jazz Room (shared bathroom)
~ Home Too Suite
[ OUR ACCOMODATIONS ]
We chose the Home Too Suite which included a private rear entry, a delightfully sunny gathering room with a pull-out sofa bed, a small but highly functional galley kitchen, an adorable dining area for 6, and a large bedroom complete with comfortable queen bed, sofa, floating desk, nightstands and a lovely white & gray private bath.
Although it was more space than we needed for our short getaway, it was perfect in every way. The décor was both girly with lots of delights for my wife to discover, but also masculine and filled with thoughtful touches like extra pillows, robes, disposable slippers and cozy individual sized fleece blankets. Karen even acknowledges our excellent connection over the phone by leaving a personal note addressed "Hi Twin" accompanied by a bottle of Moscato.
Among the many thoughtful touches all throughout was a photo board of past guest. It sits on a shabby chic wooden cabinet below the large flat screen TV in the gathering room. Near it was a modern throwback to the polaroid cameras of old, encouraging guests to take a selfie! On some of the shelves below were board games and a "Welcome to Parson Inn" booklet with useful information about the unique functions of the house as well as nearby places to eat and things to do.
Free Wifi, Netflix, Hulu and bike rentals were all included with our stay as well as a Keurig coffee maker, and free off street parking. Aside from the recommendations in the Welcome booklet, Karen also gave us personal recommendations for breakfast @ DAPS nearby, which we truly enjoyed (see review).
[ ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME ]
The shower was great with nice shower gels and hair products provided. The bath towels were super soft, the bed was comfortable, curtains provided excellent black out and the kitchen was stocked with plenty of dishware, silverware, cookware/utensils and even a basket of snacks and a rack of spices! If all that weren't enough there was a 5 drawer dresser, luggage rack, stacked washer & dryer plus an old brick fireplace in the bedroom (non-functional).
[ FINAL THOUGHTS ]
The HOME TOO SUITE is a delightful getaway for couples or even a family of four with small children. It's even great for a solo traveler looking for a little space to spread out. I can't speak for the other suites, but ours was every bit as charming as you would expect a home in historic Charleston to be.
We not only loved our visit, but truly feel blessed to have met such a wonderful couple. Karen & Marcus could not have been more perfect hosts and our stay could not have been more amazing. They are the living definition of ABOVE & BEYOND service. I honestly wish we had stayed longer and can't wait to return with friends to show them our new discovery. Maybe we'll bring enough guests to book out the entire house!
PS - Did I mention there is also a cute little outdoor sitting space near the parking area? ENJOY!!!
2022 / 34
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