By Katrice

The Historic Charleston City Market

The aspiration of Belmond Charleston Place is specific — luxury. You sense it when you step through its doors: an air of modern gentility. You note it from the entranceway grand arches and regal statue of horses to Italian marble floored lobby with its signature Georgian Open Arm staircase and 12-foot crystal chandelier. You experience it with each precise offering of what to do and see from its concierge team. Its consistent ranking as one of the best hotels in the world by leisure travelers begins to reason that all of this is both well-considered and well achieved.

Belmond Charleston Place is an experience dedicated to indulgence: a mélange of 435 guest rooms (including 48 suites) featuring rich hues of period fabrics, the artwork of prominent local artists, dark-grained woods and opulent baths with marble. If you need to work, there’s a place for that. Unwind? The space is especially devoted to that. Recently redesigned, the hotel’s Premier Rooms, which run between $349 and $620 per night, draw inspiration from Charleston’s traditional past and vibrant present. Sophisticated and modern, they retain formal elements found in some of the city’s grandest residences.

And speaking of grand residences, Belmond Charleston Place is flanked by classic Georgia, Federal, Adamesque, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Victoria homes in the city’s historic district. Step into the neighborhood from the Market Street entrance of the hotel and you’ll find yourself directly adjacent to the Historic Charleston City Market — perhaps the first stop for anyone seeking a quintessential taste of the city’s charm. On any of one of several intersections surrounding the market, tickets are being sold for the Palmetto Carriage Works tours. From its Red Barn, each one-hour tour is fully narrated through the streets in the heart of downtown with a guide sharing more than 300 years of tidbits about the city’s distinctive history. If the local sights and sounds of traveling intrigue you, a Charleston Heritage Passport is available and grants you entry into the city’s “must see” notable and cultural sites.

Though highly unlikely, quite a convincing case could also be made for doing everything within the walls of the hotel which is home to The Shops at Belmond. Just feet from your room: Gucci, Kate Spade, Lacoste, Tommy Bahama, Calypso St. Barth, Brookstone, Louis Vuitton … Should I go on?

Three distinctive sit-down dining options; the most prominent — Charleston Grill — helmed by Chef Michelle Weaver takes local delicacies to innovative heights with a unique collage of dishes divided into four categories — Pure, Lush, Southern and Cosmopolitan. A suggestion — Weaver’s six-course Tasting Menu because the discerning palate will water at virtually everything on the menu. On the way back to your room, take a glance at the Palmetto Café. You’ll be ready for brunch well before the serving time.

Next, The Spa at Belmond Charleston Place. Let that rest on your tongue for just a moment. Yes, the experience is that phenomenal. Frequented by hotel guests and locals, the sanctuary of indulgent treatments run by Annette Sanford-Lopez specializes in head-to-toe rejuvenating treatments and enrichment. The Spa at Belmond Charleston Place, in collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina, has introduced the “I Will Reflect” Melanoma Prevention Initiative to increase awareness of —  and help prevent — skin cancer through education about the importance of safe sun habits and the dangers of melanoma, especially prevalent in the Lowcountry.

Charming. All of it.

I never thought I was overweight, per se. I'd look down, occasionally, in some jeans and wish my thighs looked "different." I let my gym membership go a few years ago when the price was inching up and never looked for a more affordable alternative. And I'll be honest right here — I don't much enjoy working out. So, I'll say right up front: this post is not about that.

This post is actually about how I've tried to embrace a mindset of wellness in terms of actively "taking care" of myself (and how I lost 27 pounds in the midst of it). 

In October 2012, two major things happened in my life: one of my mentors died and I found a lump in my breast. I was in an immediate tailspin. To manage my stress and anxiety (which often showed up as heartburn and sleeplessness), I stopped eating ice cream and started trying to be more active as an outlet. I also started eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning, which was major for me because I rarely ate breakfast. At one point, I challenged myself to drink only water as a beverage for 30 days. That helped me almost completely eliminate juices and carbonated drinks as regular choices. I'd walk from time to time and I went to workout classes sporadically. I wasn't weighing myself often, so I didn't notice a change in my size until May of 2013 when I went to my family reunion and I was constantly being asked what I did to lose weight. So when I returned home, I weighed myself. I had lost about 15 or 16 pounds. That motivated me. I started walking outside that summer and really curbed my eating out — packing my lunch of leftover dinner every day except one. I allowed myself a break to eat fast food once a week for lunch a few times a month. 

Fast forward a six months and my family did a Wellness Challenge in January of this year. The parameters were serious. Before it started, I joined Planet Fitness and got focused about at least being regimented for at least an hour four days a week. My workout of choice is 60 minutes of "power walking" (lol) on the treadmill. But, my mom — who works out with me — was always serious motivation because while I was walking, I'd look over and she'd be jogging and then leave the treadmill for the strength training equipment. She's 63.

Here's what we did on the Challenge (along with some foundation mandates to get physicals and annual exams):
For January and February (our cleansing months) — No fried foods, red meats, carbonated beverages, sweets, smoking or alcohol. 

January — a minimum of 3 days of 30-minute physical activity to work the cardiovascular system. 

February — a minimum of 4 days of 30-minute physical activity. 

I lost 7 pounds quickly the first month and learned you don't realize how many unhealthy foods are in your diet until you have to be mindful of what you're putting in your mouth.

Every week we texted our inches or pounds lost to my cousin who is a nurse as well as the amount of minutes we worked out, and the results were grouped into one number and updated on our family Facebook page. Motivation!

After the first 60 days, the parameters eased up with allowances like one dessert a week or red meat one time per week. You could have one thing that had been cut out except alcohol or smoking. 

The challenge ended the week before our family reunion Memorial Day weekend. The village approach worked for me and so many in my family. 



When it ended, I opted for outdoor workouts over the entire summer and am just now getting back into working out in the gym. 

That's it in a nutshell. My brother, who's a bit of an exercise fanatic keeps me challenged but I need that because I'm not a fitness enthusiast. What I do like, however, is that I feel better and my sleep every night has improved 100 percent. I am looking forward to my family re-embarking because I do need the village.