The Belmont Inn

We loved being across from the town square, City Hall, and the Original Opera House. It was easy to stroll around and see the Opera House, shops, eateries, and churches. The Belmont Inn has a lot of history and potential, and the location alone made it worth trying. Just know it’s an old historic property. It was built in 1903, and that age shows. The photos in the ads are accurate enough, but the whole place feels dark. At night the hall light shines through the window above the entry door into the room, which was irritating. A blackout blind over that transom might help. Our room was large, with a comfortable king bed, small microwave, refrigerator, and a great large flat-screen TV with lots of cable channels. The porch or balcony was old but pleasant to sit on. The room was clean enough, though cluttered with unnecessary knick-knacks, actual books, artificial flowers and plants, and vases. The bathroom had some recent renovation, but the walls, ceiling, and baseboards are decades old, even if recently painted, and need much more work. The window AC was very noisy, but kept the room cool through 85 degree days and nights in the 70s. The metal-key doors were a hassle because our room had only one key. The advertised breakfast wasn’t available the first morning, not even coffee. We didn’t check the second morning because we slept late, and got coffee on the third. There’s one ice machine in the ground-floor vending area near check-in. A few times nobody was around at the front desk, which seemed strange, and the single elevator badly needed cleaning. Free parking was acceptable, with plenty of spaces on two levels. We spent three unique nights there and really enjoyed our time overall.

I don’t usually write lodging reviews, but The Belmont Inn stood out to me. It felt like a preserved bit of an era when travel wasn’t centered on waffle makers at breakfast or Michelin starred restaurants next door. During my one night there, I slept until 0745, which is unusual for me. To me, the inn and its staff created a feeling of stepping into a time without random homicides or intense political divisions. Some reviewers mention things they didn’t like, so read them and decide what matters to you for an overnight stay in a small South Carolina town. I’ve traveled fairly widely, stayed in hostels and facilities in Europe and Aisa that would make a traveler gasp, visited South America, and stayed in Soviet-era hotels in Moscow. I don’t think of myself as a world traveler, just someone fortunate enough to have seen different cultures through middle-class eyes. Thank you to the staff and owners. Make time to see small town Abbeville too.

The breakfast nook was pitiful, with mostly dry cereal and bagels, though the coffee was okay. The room itself was clean, but the window AC couldn’t keep up. The wooden door looked as if someone had tried to pry it with a crowbar. The town sent two people out at 6:30 AM with the loudest leaf blowers I’ve ever heard to clean the square, starting right outside the hotel. Think about that. Sometimes a place is historic and quaint, and sometimes it’s just old. This hotel is in the latter camp. Like the town, it seems to be taking its last gasp. It might be interesting to visit, but I’d stay elsewhere if possible.

I like stopping here on the way to Diamond Hill Mine. It’s an old, spooky, charming place, and the little pub downstairs is cute. Bring a power strip, though, because there’s nowhere to plug things in. The AC outside the rooms and in the lobby also seems broken.