News
Awards R Us: Charleston Continued to Stockpile Accolades in 2019
To many residents’ chagrin, the media’s love affair with the Holy City continued in 2019 and has shown no signs of stopping in the new year. Below is a list of all the awards, accolades, and honors that were bestowed upon Charleston, its businesses, its restaurants, its people, and more.
FYI – You can click on the award name to learn more.
- # 1 Best City in the U.S. – Travel + Leisure
- # 1 Best Dive Bar in America: The Griffon – Big 7 Travel
- # 1 Best Golf Courses You Can Play in South Carolina: Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course – Golfweek
- # 1 Best Hotel in U.S.: French Quarter Inn – Trip Advisor
- # 1 High School in the Country: Academic Magnet High School – U.S. News & World Report
- # 1 Most Popular City in the U.S. – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 1 Most Romantic Restaurant in U.S.: Charleston Grill – Trip Advisor
- # 1 Moving Destination in the U.S. – Relator.com
- # 1 Top City in the World (Outside the U.K.) – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 1 Top Moving Destination in the U.S.: Charleston-North Charleston region – Realtor.com
- # 2 Best Hotel Restaurant in the Country: Circa 1886 – Charleston Grill
- # 2 Best Resort in the South: Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 2 Best U.S. Island: Kiawah Island – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 3 Best Food Town in The South: Mt. Pleasant – Southern Living
- # 3 Best Hotel in U.S.: The Spectator Hotel – Trip Advisor
- # 3 Fastest Growing Brewery in U.S.: – Oak Road Brewing – The Brewer’s Association
- # 4 Best City to Retire – Wallethub
- # 4 Best Restaurant in The South: Husk – Southern Living
- # 5 Best Chef in The South: Kevin Johnson (The Grocery) – Southern Living
- # 5 Best Midsize City for Soccer Fans: Wallethub
- # 6 Best Chef in The South: Mike Lata (FIG, The Ordinary) – Southern Living
- # 6 Best City for Staycations – Wallethub
- # 6 Best Hospitality & Tourism School: College of Charleston – Study.com
- # 6 Best Resort in the South: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 6 U.S. City People are Relocating To – United Van Lines
- # 7 Best Airports in the U.S. – Charleston International – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 7 Best Hotel in The South: Belmond Charleston Place – Southern Living
- # 7 Best Restaurant in The South: Hominy Grill – Southern Living
- # 8 Best Bar in The South: The Bar at Husk – Southern Living
- # 8 Best Inn in The South’s Best Inns: John Rutledge House Inn – Southern Living
- # 8 Best Small City in America – National Geographic
- # 9 Best Resort in The South: The Sanctuary Hotel – Southern Living
- # 10 Best Beach Town in The South: Isle of Palms – Southern Living
- # 10 Best Resort in the South: Wild Dunes Resort – Condé Nast Traveler
- # 12 Best City in the World – Travel + Leisure
- # 12 Best Place to Start a Career – WalletHub
- # 12 Fastest Growing City in America: Charleston-North Charleston – 24/7 Wall Street
- # 13 Best City for Summer Jobs – WalletHub
- # 16 Best Foodie City in America – WalletHub
- # 16 Best-Performing City of 2018 – Milken Institute
- # 17 Best City for Beer Drinkers – SmartAsset
- # 18 Best U.S. Restaurant: Halls Chophouse – Yelp
- # 20 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans: Charleston Southern University – U.S. News and World Report
- # 20 Happiest City in America – Wallethub
- # 22 Best Hotel in U.S.: The Harbourview Inn – Trip Advisor
- # 22 Hottest New Venue Openings: 159 Rutledge – Venue Report
- # 25 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs: Charleston Southern University – U.S. News and World Report
- # 40 Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant in the Country: Gnome Café – Big 7 Travel
- # 50 Best Pizza in North America: Monza – 50 Top Pizza
- 2019 Experts’ Choice Award: Wild Dunes Resort – TripExpert
- American Public Gardens Association’s Garden Excellence Award – Brookgreen Gardens
- Best Pie in South Carolina: Brown Coconut Cream pie at Millers All Day – People
- Best Place Live in South Carolina: Mt. Pleasant – HomeSnacks
- Best Place to Get a Milkshake in South Carolina: Kaminsky’s Dessert Café – 24/7 Wall Street
- Best Popular Seafood Restaurant in South Carolina: The CODfather Proper Fish & Chips – MSN
- Best Sandwich in South Carolina: Fried Oyster Roll – Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oyster Shop
- Best Sandwich Shop in South Carolina: Boxcar Betty’s – BuzzFeed
- Coziest Restaurant in South Carolina: Harold’s Cabin – Travel + Leisure
- Hidden Gem Restaurant: Eli’s Table – TripAdvisor
- The Most Educated Town in South Carolina: Sullivan’s Island – Business Insider
- New Tiki Bars Around the United States to Escape to This Winter: Wiki Wiki Sandbar – AFAR
- One of the 100 Best Wine Restaurants of 2019: McCrady’s – Wine Enthusiast
- One of America’s 26 Best Food Trucks: Roti Rolls – Food Network
- One of America’s Best Al Fresco Restaurants: Fleeting Landing – OpenTable
- One of America’s Best Cities for Getting Away With the Girls – Travel + Leisure
- One of America’s Best Cities for a Long Weekend – MSN
- One of the Best Golf Resorts in North America: Kiawah Island Golf Resort – GOLF.com
- One of the Best Small Companies Of 2019: Indigo Road Hospitality Group – Forbes
- One of the 20 Most Festive Places to Spend the Holidays in the U.S. – Insider
- One of the Most “Idyllic Long Weekend Getaways Perfect For A Summer Trip: Folly Beach – TripAdvisor
- One of the Most Important Restaurants of the Decade: Husk – Esquire
- One of the Most Important Restaurants of the Decade: Little Jack’s Tavern – Esquire
- One of the Most Romantic Places in the World – CNN Travel
- One of the Nation’s Best New Restaurants: Maison – Thrillist
- One of the Top 50 Best New Restaurants in America: Chubby Fish – Bon Apétit
- One of the Top 50 Kid-Friendly Restaurants in America: Fleet Landing – OpenTable
- One of the Top STEM Schools: Academic Magnet School – Newsweek
- One of The South’s Best New Bars: babas on Cannon – Garden & Gun
- One of the World’s Most Eco-Friendly Golf Courses: Osprey Point at Kiawah Island Resort – Golfscape
- One of The World’s Most Stunning Waterfront Bars: Tavern & Table – The Matador Network
- The South’s Best City – Southern Living
- South Carolina’s Best BBQ Joint: Rodney Scott BBQ – Southern Living
- South Carolina’s Safest City: Charleston – The National Council for Home Safety and Security
- South Carolina’s Top STEM City: Charleston – Insurify
- The Top Trending Memorial Day Weekend Destination for 2019 – Travel + Leisure/Google
Remember, you can see past year’s awards, rankings, and more here: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2010-2013