I recommend staying somewhere on Bay Street or River Street orThe Marshall House on Broughton to be near nightlife and restaurants. The Marriott is on the edge of the Historic District and a little further away than I like to be. The Westin is across the river and yes they have the water taxis so you need to take that in consideration if you were to stay there. If you like ghost stories and being in a group, do one of the pub crawls. It's fun to meet other people and also to hear the stories about the pubs.

We have many big chain hotels, several smaller, locally owned non chain hotels and several B&Bs which do you prefer? they are very different experiences.

Most of the walking night life is around Bull and Broughton, near City Market or on River street. Those three areas are all within a few blocks of each other. If you stay near them, you have no need for a car at night or during the day.