Morris Adjmi Architects

The Nickel Hotel

53,500 square feet
5 stories, 50 keys
Charleston, South Carolina
2025

Charleston’s newest boutique hotel offers a range of residential-style suites and thoughtfully designed communal spaces to create an idyllic home away from home on Upper King Street. An intimate central courtyard, adorned with ornate wrought iron balconies, a custom water fountain, and an outdoor fireplace, serves as a perfect place to gather in all seasons.

Inspired by the interplay of English, French, Spanish, and Italian styles that have shaped Charleston's rich architectural legacy, The Nickel is a new boutique hotel that offers a contemporary take on southern hospitality. Located on Upper King Street, the infill development features 50 residential-style guestrooms and suites, along with warm and welcoming communal spaces, including a lush interior courtyard, library lounge, cocktail bar, private event space, listening room, and rooftop bar with panoramic views. 

Merging tradition with innovation, the building's King Street façade features distinctive arched windows and a striking GFRC canopy. The panelized exterior is composed entirely of precast concrete, sculpted with historically-inspired compound curves. At street level, the hotel’s entry and storefronts are framed in wood with recessed panels, maintaining a dialogue with the historic streetscape. 

Continuing the conversation between past and present, The Nickel's layered interiors reimagine a traditional Southern townhome. A sage green palette—inspired by a historic pigmentation found throughout Charleston—flows through the guestrooms and common areas, complemented by a curated mix of vintage and modern furnishings, lighting, and art. Framed by three stories of handcrafted wrought-iron balconies and wrapped in a warm terracotta palette with lush plantings, The Nickel's central courtyard makes for a peaceful hideaway, while the rooftop bar commands views over Charleston’s roofline.

The Nickel’s dramatic double-hung windows pay homage to the historic facades found throughout Charleston, helping the project earn architectural merit from the city’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR).

The Nickel’s lobby offers a layered, contemporary take on the interiors of a traditional Southern townhome, featuring a checkerboard floor in honed marble and soft sage green plaster walls inspired by a historic pigmentation found throughout Charleston.

At the heart of the hotel, an iconic central courtyard framed by three stories of wrought-iron balconies offers a captivating retreat, balancing timeless grandeur with a sense of intimacy. Interior guest rooms and a series of vertically stacked amenity spaces open up to the courtyard.

The award of architectural merit allowed for the addition of The Nickel's penthouse level, which features a public restaurant, rooftop bar, and lounge, as well as two unique guest suites.

Construction