asks Ann M., from Nevada…
Well Ann, it all depends on how you are defining “good.” Charleston has an amazing assortment of quality hotels in the downtown area. Whether you are valuing luxury, location, size or price, there are many to choose from (although you will not really find any bargains in downtown). Ranging from some of the finest in the world (Wentworth Mansion, Belmond Charleston Place, Planters Inn), to not-so-fine, but really well located (Days Inn), to high end boutique (Zero George Street, Governor’s House Inn, John Rutledge House) to chain on the water (Marriott Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn), to newish (The Restoration on King, Holiday Inn) to old and haunted (Battery Carriage House Inn), there is something for everyone. And there are so many wonderful ones I didn’t even mention. Come to think of it, there actually even is a bargain seekers option (NotSo Hostel).
Fortunately, just about every hotel in downtown is within walking distance of all the sights, shops and restaurants (although some of the hotels on the Ashley River will require a bit of a longer walk, but they have shuttle buses too). There is also a free trolley that runs all over downtown.
There are tons of sites providing ratings and rankings online (e.g., here’s TripAdvisor’s). If you can be more specific as to what you are looking for, please let us know!