I'd highly recommend this hotel for its magnificent setting, and would urge visitors not to shy away from the tours included in the price and offering glimpses into what life was like on a plantation, however moving and haunting this experience proves.

We are very happy we stayed, since it allowed us to experience sunset and the very early morning on the grounds of Middleton Place plantation. With the beautiful gardens, birds, alligators and turtles, this was a truly magical experience. We also had lunch at the restaurant at the plantation and enjoyed it. The Inn itself was OK but not quite what we were expecting - definitely very rustic. It looked like maybe it was in architectural digest in the 1970s and hasn't been updated since, very "modern" but not in a contemporary way, and not necessarily a fit with the historic plantation. I agree with others who describe the "camp-like" atmosphere - the rooms are in many buildings scattered over a very large area (you can walk, but many would be tempted to drive from one to another because it's very spread out). Unlike the plantation gardens, the grounds are very "natural", which is fine but it's a bit dark and gloomy under all the trees. We had to go to another building for breakfast, which was very basic, and to yet a third for the evening "reception" (free drinks and nibbles, a nice touch, but the wine was kool-aid and the appetizers were not that appetizing). The inn office is in a tiny building of its own out at the entrance, so quite a way to go if you need anything. Our room was all concrete with wooden shutters, huge bathtub but also a bit "rustic" and oddly shaped, shallow & wide like a paddle pool. The room was also a bit dark at night and didn't have good window coverings for all the windows, so we woke with the dawn. Ultimately it was worth it for the experience, but it wouldn't be the place I'd want to spend my honeymoon. (oh, and supposedly it has a pool, but we never found it, so maybe more of an orientation would be helpful for guests).

I have stayed at Middleton Place several times and have stayed in almost all the buildings. I can't say one bad thing about the Inn. It's remotely located so it seems at times like you're the only ones there, they have hammocks that you can lay in and read a book or enjoy the view of the river, you can take a stroll through the gardens and even eat dinner at the Middleton restaurant after enjoying the delightful evening wine and hors d'oeuvres and the breakfast setting is just as relaxing and fantastic. We could sit by the fire and drink wine or soak in the enormous garden tub. It was fabulous!!! And the staff were wonderful and very kind, sincere and helpful!

I won't repeat the recent accurate reviews of the Inn just would like to add that we thought our stay was worth the unpleasantness of the room, the poorly tended grounds (Inn not Middleton) and the total absence of staff to help with luggage or anything else because we loved being able to walk through the grounds of Middleton Place in the evening and early in the morning. The beautiful birds; great blue heron, ibis, egrets, would be worth the price of the room. The management should get busy and restore this place to its rightful condition. It could be magnificent but at present this is not a luxury hotel, more like camp and definitely not suitable for anyone who is unsteady of foot, has difficulty with stairs or needs help with luggage. I enjoyed breakfast in the Lake House: charming lady greeted us, so- so food but interesting view out to the creek and the lazing alligators. Also appreciated the faxed copy of the New York Times. Wouldn't go back but was glad we'd stayed the one night.