We very much enjoyed our visit to the Aiken-Rhett House. The guided tour was very well done, and our tour guide was knowledgeable and informative throughout the experience. We appreciated learning not only about the home and the family who lived in the home, but also about the enslaved people connected to the property and their lives. The preserved nature of the house provides an authentic experience. There were, however, a couple of distractions that took away from the experience. Early in the presentation, the tour guide was drinking a soda and repeatedly belched while speaking to the group, which felt somewhat unprofessional and made the presentation less enjoyable. We also did not care for the indigo art installation displayed throughout parts of the home. In our opinion, the artwork distracted from the preservation-focused experience that makes the house so interesting. Having modern art pieces placed among the furnishings made it harder to fully appreciate the rooms as historical spaces and also made it difficult to take clean photographs of the home itself. Overall, though, this was still a worthwhile visit, and we are glad we included it during our time in Charleston. read more

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I absolutely loved this house and the three star rating has nothing to do with the preservation and I very much respect the opinion of others to leave the house as it was found but in MHO preservation also means to keep it in good repair as it was once kept in its original grandeur state or social importance. A few more years and the decay to the elements will bring this house to the ground. If you compare this house to the mansion in the Magnolia Plantation you can see what I mean, restoration doesn't necessarily mean modernizing the house with today's comforts like AC but actually preserve it so future generations can have an idea of how the house looked and functioned back in the years. It is not about the 16 dollar entrance fee but I would rather pay more to see what the house looked like in the splendor of the Chas boom rather than what it looked when the family moved out, moreover if the family was going through hard times and couldn't keep it up in good repair I am sure it was better than today and every day that goes by and for respect to the family the Charleston Museum owes some effort to make it look better not just show it as bad as it looks, just rain seeping through cracks and windows is little by little deteriorating it's appearance until some day it will be a parking lot. Our tour took almost two hours TMI read more

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This is an amazing testament to Charleston architecture and wealth circa 1820. It includes two whole un restored slave dependency buildings. Immaculate collection of antiques and the Aiken family treasures.. It's one of our local landmarks and well worth a visit. read more

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Part of the combo ticket (24.72 for both, a great value) with Nathaniel Russell House. Like Drayton Hall, but unlike the Nathaniel Russell House, Aiken-Rhett is kept in a state of preservation, not restoration (I would almost dare to call it arrested decay). I found it more interesting than Nathaniel Russell for sure! The staff were helpful. The self-guided audio tour was easy to use (download the app from the App Store, same for Nathaniel Russell). I used my own phone and AirPods, but they have equipment on site if needed. I enjoyed seeing the peeling wall paper and dilapidated walls. Furniture varied from preserved to stained and disheveled. It was refreshing to walk in and out onto the porticos on a fairly cool South Carolina summer day. Like many other homes of this era, they do discuss they enslaved, but there is a lot of "we can't truly know" when it comes to details. read more

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What a great way to spend a couple hours. So much work has gone into preserving this as it was and there is just so much history in one building alone. This is well worth the price of admission. The self guided aspect was very well done and the audio gave a good insight into each of the spaces. If you hang on to your receipt you can get a discount on their partner property too. read more

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Absolutely stunning home, and our tour guide was phenomenal This is the home tour to do. I didn't feel like I was in a classroom with someone who didn't care about the information they were sharing. There is so much to see and experience. Highly recommend. Just a note, there is no air conditioning; parts of the tour are sweltering but well worth it. read more

Aiken-Rhett House Museum - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Beautiful home!! The house has not been restored, so it is in it's original state. Historically the house is amazing to view. We thought it was the best part of our visit to Charleston. read more

We toured the home after being introduced to the house at a party on the exterior grounds. The tour was very informative and also respectful of the horrors that occurred within. Definitely recommend the tour mainly during the daytime, as the house gets dark quickly, and the lighting is kept low. read more

This is a genuine historic place - not remodeled since it was built in the early 1800's. While not nearly as old as the homes built in the 1700's in the nearby former 'walled city' part of downtown Charleston, it's the only remaining home with the original property size still intact, together with the slave quarters and other architectural artifacts from that period. You can learn all about what life was like for the slaves and the home owners at your own pace, using the audio aid. read more

This was one of my favorite tours I've done. What a gorgeous and interesting house with rich history! Highly recommend adding this to your Charleston itinerary! read more

Part of a combo ticket. It's not clear to wait outside until they for you - or at which door. The docent knew her facts and provided interesting information. It has changed some since the last time I was there. It is disappointing that so little of the home is on display. The "yard" has historical items to view. read more

Yesterday a local mentioned this house to us. He said we had to go. Today being our last day in Charleston we went. You need to ring the doorbell for admittance into the house. At the check in we were asked if we had a combo ticket. Uh no. What's the other house? She said Nathaniel Russell. Heck we were there yesterday where we only purchased a single ticket. She asked if I had the receipt. No I already emptied my wallet. Any photos? Yes! We showed her. She graciously gave us a discount for the second house. Thank you. We got the audio. Unlike the Nathaniel Russell this house is preserved. Not restored. Hubby and I enjoyed this house so much more. We got a sense of how the elite lived at the expense of the urban enslaved. The audio walks you through the main house and the slave quarters. You learn about the inhabitants of both the main house and of the kitchen household help, the laundry help, and the stable help. We were able to access most of the rooms. Visiting this house was a history lesson. High,y recommended. read more

Aiken-Rhett House Museum - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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Very interesting museum. For the people who say it's run down - it's preserved not restored. The audio tour explains the difference in great detail. It's a very sobering experience but presented very well. Visit their sister property also, but I'd visit this one first. read more

We visited here during the Christmas holiday. This was a thoroughly educational tour about this old plantation house. The Historic Charleston Foundation has owned and operated the Aiken-Rhett House as a historic house museum. They did note that a couple of rooms had been damaged by hurricane Hugo years ago. This house has a lot of beautiful architectural detail and charm still preserved after all this time. They also made sure to thoroughly touch the topic of slavery as well. The antebellum South relied on slavery heavily for economic prosperity (slave economy) and used wealth as a way to justify enslavement practices. This was how the original owners maintained their wealth; through the exploit of the free labor. We chose the self-guided tour (with a provided iPhone and headphones to guide us through each room/area of the house). Among many of the topics mentioned in the recorded, self guided tour, it was interesting hearing about the logistics of the household management/behind-the-scenes labor. Researchers are still trying to find out as much as possible about the enslaved families who lived here as their history has been mostly glossed over with that of the owners of this home. In the meantime, they preserved whatever they could find. This provides a bit of some educational value for those that desire it. read more

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My family and I are visiting Charleston from California and would definitely recommend visiting the Aiken-Rhett House Museum if you are in the area! To start the staff was so incredibly kind and lovely to chat with! It was so obvious that everyone there was passionate and cared so deeply about the home they work in. I would like to specifically highlight the home manager for her kindness as she went out of her way to guarantee all five of us had the proper materials needed to enjoy our experience to the fullest. When you enter the house you must ring the doorbell, from here you are greeted and directed to the help desk to get started. You are given headphones and instructed to download an app so you can have a self guided tour. If you are an iPhone user they have adapters. If you are not an iPhone user they have iPods available to use or I would even recommend bringing your own headphones! The house itself was phenomenal! It felt like you were stepping into a time machine! The architecture, furniture and decor was really cool to see! It's also very admirable that such great efforts are being put forth to maintain the state of the home. I also really enjoyed the different perspectives highlighted depending on where you were in the home. This museum didn't shy away when speaking about the lives of those enslaved. I think it's really important to talk about all sides and stories of those living in this home. All in all our experience was fantastic! It was a really fascinating museum and the artifacts were very cool. I've never been to a museum like it before! I would definitely recommend attending and I am interested in learning more after my visit!! read more

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On a girls trip - and we all LOVE a house tour, and none of us loved this one. I guess if we had done a bit more research we would have known this was not the tour for us. let's start by saying no A/C. This house is NOT renovated and left to "age", so kinda like an abandoned & wrecked historic monument. They give you a iPod and some headphones (Wish I had brought my own - I was a little concerned they were not being cleaned between uses) read more

My fav house!!!!!! Loved when houses are preserved! You can feel like you are back in time Huge house- great audio tour and you can take pics- its far if ur walking from the nathaniel house so plan for this! Grab an Uber or or the taxi bikes If you dont do any house please do this one I dont want to post all the pics and give it away but it was so beautiful and everyone working there was so nice! A must read more

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It was ok. Our headphones intermittently went out during the tour. The preservation of the historic home seems to be a slow motion time lapse of its ultimate destruction. It's too bad they opted not to restore it or at least not provide better environmental protection. Of the historic homes we have visited thus far the Nathaniel Russell house has been one of our favorites . read more

We walked over to the Aiken-Rehtt House after touring the Nathaniel Russell House. It was about 20 minute walk. We bought a discounted ticket for this house that was an option when purchasing tickets for the the Nathaniel Russell house. We only had the choice of the self tour of this house which provides iPods and headphones. The unique part about the Aiken-Rehtt House is the buildings have not been renovated or restored. The general conditions of the buildings are as they existed in the early 20th century. Age, humidity and hurricanes have taken their toll on this house. It was an interesting contrast juxtaposed against the beautifully restored and renovated Aiken-Rehtt House. The majority of the house and grounds did not have air conditioning so it can be very, very hot. It was on this day in August. read more

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I'm super glad my husband and I took the time to visit this house. It's absolutely stunning and the preservation of it is amazing. I really enjoyed that it was an audio tour that took you room to room. It was in depth and informational. However my one con & piece of advice is to bring headphones. Unfortunately they let quite a few groups go at once which caused a lot of us to listen to different audios all at once in the same vicinity. It got a little hectic but I absolutely loved visiting! read more

Aiken-Rhett House Museum - The outside of the house - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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Very interesting house. Tour at your own speed.Great Docents for answering questions.

Our family of five thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the house. It was nice to be able to download the app and move at our own pace through the property. It was nice to hear the story of the governor and his family, but also the history of the enslaved people who lived there as well. Hearing and seeing the house history from both perspectives made the experience more well rounded. The ladies working today were all lovely, helpful and wonderful to chat with. Thank you for preserving history- so that we can learn about it and from it. read more

The self tour of this house was unique in that while the buildings have been fixed up to make them safe for tourist, the buildings have not been restored, nor have any significant pieces of furnishings been placed. The general conditions of the building are as they existed in the early 20th century. Hurricanes, subtropical weather, and time have not been kind to the home's interior. The best part of the tour is that the slave/servants quarters and other "working parts" of the large estate are on display. The tour gives you a feeling of what life may have been like for all the folks who lived there, not just the rich owners but the poor workers too. We bought a discounted ticket for this house in conjunction with the Nathaniel Russell house (a more traditional restored mansion). The price was $12 for 1 house or $18 for both houses. As the houses are very different in style and restoration, getting the discounted tour of both houses was worthwhile. read more

Aiken-Rhett House Museum - View of the historic house with stables and slave/servants quarters in foreground. - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

This home has not been restored. The historical society wants to present it as close to what it looked like originally. Be opened minded as much of what you will see is in disrepair. But it helps you to imagine what life would have been like. A huge amount of information is shared about the 17 slaves that lived and worked in this home. There is no written account of slave life because they weren't allowed (although we know some did learn to read & write). But the comparison of life for the white family to the slaves was mentioned many times. So this is an excellent real, historical account of life in the 1800's. Definitely worth your time! read more

Really cool old house. Unrestored, so it isn't trying to be any particular era--the house just is itself. No air conditioning, but they made up for it with ample fans and a breeze from that impressive veranda (or "piazza," which is what Charlestonians call verandas). It's an audio tour, which is great because you can start it whenever you arrive--say at 11:09 a.m.--instead of on the hour or half hour. The narrator/docent does a great job. There are optional "extras" sections you can hear to learn more about specific elements of the house and its preservation. The tour includes two floors of the house and the two outbuildings--the summer kitchen/laundry/enslaved persons quarters building and the carriage house/stables. Tickets are $12, though we purchased tickets to this house and the Nathaniel Russell House for a savings of $6 total. We'd visited the Nathaniel Russell house the day before and their staff were happy to hand us iPods and headphones to borrow. I brought my own earbuds along for this tour, but I was hoping to borrow an iPod so as not to drain my phone battery with an hour of streaming before heading to the airport The Aiken-Rhett staff prefer you use your own device. They gave iPods and headphones to people who people who needed them, including headphones to my companion, so we didn't have to share, so if you've come to the Aiken-Rhett House Museum unequipped, it'll be fine. Recommended! read more

This place cries out for guided tours by knowledgeable docents, like the one we had at the Nathaniel Russell House a few hours earlier. Also better lighting! We knew that the A-R House was an unrestored ruin, having visited it many years ago, but a good live guide could have brought it to life, talked about conservation efforts, authenticity, etc. Instead, we got an acoustiguide that was so boring and uninformative that I eventually just turned it off. It spent WAY too much time discussing the enslaved people and their quarters, IMO. Plus, most of the rooms were super-dark as well as empty and run-down. I realize maybe they keep the light levels low for conservation reasons, but... it's already a wreck, how much more damage would decent lighting do? It just made the whole house even more gloomy and depressing. I'd recommend any other Charleston house museum over this one. read more

This was by far my favorite part of our trip to Charleston, the preservation of this house is really something special. Walking through this house is chilling as you learn about its past through your self guided tour. As mentioned, this is a self guided tour. You can either download their app onto your phone (iPhone OR Android) or you can use their iPod's with the content already downloaded and ready to go. We were going to download the app but realized we didn't have any headphones so we decided to use their iPod's. There is no additional charge to use them. You do still have to use headphones if you decide to download the app onto your phone, this is not to disturb others on the tour. Everyone moves at their own pace. I was on this tour with my husband, and while we each had our own iPod we still communicated about when we were pushing the play button so we could stay on track together. This helped us learn the same information at the same time, we would glance at each other in surprise when we learned something new. Keep in mind, this house is PRESERVED, not RESTORED. The wallpaper, artifacts, furniture, decor is all original to the home. The wallpaper is peeling, mirrors are cracked, photos are dark which is all a part of the history of this house. Everyone has their own opinion on what kind of tours they like, I personally love preservation. It makes you feel as though you've stepped back in time and you're in the center of it all. The staff was helpful and accommodating, very friendly! When we had questions about the iPod's they assisted us and got us going on the tour. I absolutely recommend touring this house, my husband and I couldn't stop talking about it for the rest of our trip. On our next trip, I'd be sure to stop by again! read more

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Ultra glad I managed to squeeze a visit here on my last day in Charleston because this was definitely my favorite historical house in the city. I got to check out this museum since I bought a combo ticket at the Nathaniel Russell House. In contrast to many of the other homes we visited, the Aiken-Rhett house focuses on preservation rather than restoration, so much of what you see will be tattered, old, but original. The tour took about 1.5-2 hours and is audio/self guided. I'm not normally a huge fan of audio tours but this one was very descriptive and informative. I was able to get a good sense of what life was like way back in the day. I would recommend this tour to my family and friends. read more

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Built in in 1820 by merchant John Robinson, this "typical Charleston double house " was sold in 1827 to William Aiken Sr.; as Robinson fell upon hard times. After Aiken Sr. passed away unexpectedly in a carriage accident, the house was passed to his wife and only son; William Aiken Jr. (former governor of South Carolina). The house remained in the hands of the family descendants for 142 years (circa 1972) and was occupied by the family until it was sold to the Charleston Museum in 1975. Only20 years later, it was sold again to the Historic Charleston Foundation in 1995 and remains under their ownership. Prior to the Civil War, the house was maintained by approximately 14 African slaves, who lived and worked in the 2 outbuildings. The 1st outbuilding had the laundry & kitchen with rooms above it on the second floor for the slave quarters. The 2nd outbuilding had a carriage house which also had rooms above it on the second floor for the slave quarters. The house itself has been preserved, not restored. Therefore, everything is exactly as it was back in the 1800's. Although this gives a great perspective on what life was like in the 1800's, it just feels like the house is sliding further and further into disrepair. The pre recorded audio tour is a must and gives tremendous insight into each and every room of the house. Without the audio tour, I would have not enjoyed this tour at all. What came as a huge surprise was the very last room (gallery) on the tour, as it had been restored to like new condition and featured many works of art that were displayed in the home. This room immediately transported you back to the 1800's and really gave you a feel of what it was like to live in this house. It also ended the tour on a very high note. Is this a must see attraction in Charleston? Maybe not. But you can see the house and walk the grounds in approximately one hour and I think it's a great bang for the buck. Besides, it is a top rated attraction and part of Charleston's historical past. FYI - there is no photography allowed inside the house, so all pictures that I have were taken from the outside and from the porch. I recommend buying the book in the gift shop if you are interested in a pictorial record of your visit here. read more

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I made the mistake of walking up to the front door to try and enter by pulling it a few times before my wife pointed out the pretty sign that asks you to ring the doorbell to enter. The nice lady escorted us downstairs to the former storage rooms where there is now a little store full of Charleston do-dads and lockers for your to stash your bags. Restrooms are also available down here, so consider this before walking through the house. Admission was $12 per adult, but if you buy the combo ticket to also see the other historic house tour, you save $6 per adult. If you don't buy the combo ticket, hold on to your receipt, and if you do go to the other house, and you show the receipt from this house, you're only charged $6. You're welcome. The house is very old, but has been preserved and renovated where needed. It's amazing to walk through a house like this to see how people lived over 150 years ago. Be warned for tall guys, that they didn't grow them too tall back in the day, so door frames are shorter than you'd expect. The tour is all self guided and you're provided with headphones and a handheld tour guide to give you descriptions of all the rooms that you're walking through. I didn't see any ghosts on this visit, but you can feel the history in the air as you're walking through this old rooms and hallways. It may have been the humidity, but I'll call it history. read more

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The ongoing philosophy is not to renovate any of the spaces. A better approach would be to bring back to the most beautiful time a room or two and then enable the visitor's to better imagine the beauty and charm prior to the erosion that happened-- and still shows-- in the 1900's! read more

When you get to the front entrance of the House, ring the doorbell and someone will come welcome you. You then walk down the steps, place your belongings in a locker, and obtain your audio player for the self-guided audio tour. The first audio player I was given had really poor sound quality. I figured I didn't want to miss out on any information, so after two rooms, I went back and asked for a new one. The new one was much better. The Aiken-Rhett House was actually my first stop in Charleston, which turned out to be a good idea because it really set the stage for all the history I was going to learn and appreciate that weekend. There was some good information in the audio tour, but to be honest nothing completely new other than specifics of the family. The valuable aspect of the tour was seeing the preserved state of the home. Admission was $12. The entire recording for the audio tour was about 1 hour, but allot for 1.5 hours if you plan to spend more time looking around and want to take your time. Just note that most of the nearby street parking has a limit of 1 hour. How strict they are with that limit just depends on the day. read more

My favorite historical house. Many of the original items still in the house and has quite an amazing history!

This is an amazing experience to see how this home was left and the history about the enslaved workers was really the highlight. While not as pretty inside as some of the restored homes (this is a preserved as found site), you get an idea of the massive disparities in lifestyle of the owners and slaves. Charleston is a beautiful city, but this is a reminder it was built and ran on slave labor. A dark, but important part of our past as a nation. read more

This house is in total disrepair, it's a shame! I was looking forward to visit a Charleston historic home and I was very disappointed. From floor to ceiling, everything is falling apart. Stapled wallpaper, broken pieces of furniture, rooms where you have to guess what it was because there's nothing in them. It's annoying to feel that the money you pay to visit this home doesn't seem to be used to maintain the property at all! read more

This is an interesting old antibellium estate that isn't restored to what it would have looked like in the mid-1800's but instead it is a preserved house. You are give a set of headsets to wear as you go on a self guided tour around the home and grounds. The history behind this estate is fascinating. I highly recommend. Keep in mind, there are free city buses that drop you off very close to the estate so no need to take a cab. read more

Don't waste your time on this house. There are so many better choices in Charleston. Although somewhat impressive from the street, the condition inside is pretty raw and mostly unfurnished. The outdoor areas are the most interesting. The staff is not at all welcoming, somewhat rude and often inept. We had a Heritage Passport which was presented upon entry, yet we were asked three times if we had paid -- by the very two people who checked us in! The self-guided tour is a joke. It's designed to work only on an iPhone, not an Android. We have the latter which is, by the way, more common. You can rent an iPod but must wear headphones throughout the tour so as not to disturb others. Not much fun if you're traveling with a partner, so we declined and just walked through. After 15 minutes, we were done. A young couple left just before us and laughed about how annoying the headphones were. The other homes we visited offered guided tours by docents who were fun, engaging and filled with interesting stories and facts. The Nathaniel Russell House, just a block away, is beautifully restored and furnished. read more

We toured the Aiken-Rhett House Museum today while taking advantage of our Museum Mile Pass. The pass is a great deal and definitely worth getting while in Charleston. We had the option of using MP3 players, downloading the tour on our phone, or reading a print out of the tour. We opted to read the tour from the print out. I liked that we could go at our own pace and weren't required to stick with a group. I learned a lot during the tour and would recommend this tour to those who are in town visiting as well as those who live here. read more

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What a PC joke! Completely ruined this architectural and historical gem with multiple layers of family history by enforcing a BLM audio tour. Sarcastic female voice was informing about not much else but slavery, inserting unwarranted remarks about injustice etc. How about families who lived here other 160 plus some years? Not worthy of mentioning? Don't waste your time on this liberal agenda. There are other beautiful historical homes in Charleston that let us, visitors, decide which aspect of history interests us the most. Don't collect 60+ bucks from a family of four just to push your one sided agenda. What a shame. read more

We visited this house on Sunday, Feb 28th... I purchased the Essential Charleston Passport (Enthusiast level) which allowed us to see all of 5 houses, 3 museums, and either Drayton Hall or Middleton Place plantations... We were pretty much done after an exhausting day of walking EVERYWHERE on Friday and Saturday, but decided to make the most of our passports by stopping here as well as the Joseph Manigault House! This house is a time capsule where the word "preservation" can be witnessed in its purest form as the Historic Charleston Foundation strives to stop the clock on decay so that we and generations to follow can see what life looked like in antebellum Charleston. Slaves quarters above the kitchens in the courtyard rendered stagnant by overly high walls (to prevent the temptation to run away) are as they were, the carriage house and stables are in tact as if frozen in time, small pieces of Mylar are tacked up in ballrooms and drawing rooms in a desperate (seemingly vain) effort to keep the fragments of French wallpaper from crumbling to dust... bathtubs and dressing tables are still in dressing rooms, etc... the list never ends... The ghosts of this house would still feel very much at home or enslaved as the case may be! PS - the little bookshop where you enter / purchase your tickets has clean bathrooms available, but also... take a look around the bookshop. There are lots of books by LOCAL authors and historians... in purchasing them here you are aiding the foundation and there is no tax on the items you are purchasing here so... bonus! I love the convenience of purchasing items online, but sometimes it's nice to have the opportunity for your dollars to go directly to a worthy (in my opinion) cause. I truly believe in the preservation of history (the good, the bad, and the ugly) because in preserving it in all of its forms we have tangible proof of its reality! Future generations need to know what really happened here on our own homelands.... I mean this regarding everything from Native American genocide to slavery. We are a beautiful country, but our past is as sordid as any others'. read more