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
