The Willcox

Character and identity

A small Gilded Age survivor in Aiken's Winter Colony, The Willcox has been welcoming Northern escapees since 1900 and still trades on that lineage. Behind grand white columns, 22 rooms sit fully restored with ornamental fireplaces, four-poster beds, hand-stitched pillows, and marble baths. Interiors nod to the town's equestrian culture of steeple chasing, dressage, harness racing, and fox hunting that continues to define Aiken today. The Pheasant Room handles Southern dinners, a posh spa and saltwater pool round out the amenities, and on cold nights staff slip cashmere-covered hot water bottles into the beds.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The appeal here is period authenticity at boutique scale: a turn-of-the-century house hotel run with genuine warmth, in a town whose equestrian rhythms still set the calendar. Book it for a quiet couples' weekend or to anchor a visit during polo, steeplechase or hunt season, and request a room with a working fireplace if you're coming in winter.