The Dewberry Charleston Hotel
John Dewberry, a former Georgia Tech quarterback, bought Charleston's vacant L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building in 2008 even though most locals wanted it torn down, spending the next eight years converting it into a hotel. He kept the building's Mid-Century Modern bones intact and commissioned a custom gray limewash for its once-plain red brick facade. Today it holds 155 rooms finished with floor-to-ceiling windows and Vermont marble bathrooms. Henrietta's, the hotel's Southern brasserie, reworks classic French bistro dishes with Lowcountry ingredients. The Living Room bar serves oysters, charcuterie, and stirred cocktails inside a room furnished with mid-century pieces and a small library of hand-picked books. The Dewberry Spa takes its cue from Dewberry's own Charleston carriage house, with treatments built around local ingredients inside walls paneled in cypress wood. Guests also can enjoy a rooftop cocktail bar, a full fitness center, and an on-site shop curated in partnership with Garden & Gun magazine. The Dewberry now carries recognition as Virtuoso's Best Independent Hotel in the World.
