The best adventures are the ones that happen on the fly. On occasion, me and my friend/blog/photog buddy Michael work together on different projects, and I was able to be his travel buddy for a recent work trip to Spartanburg, SC. The Marketing firm that we work with needed some content for one of their clients, so we packed our bags and hit the road with cameras in tow!

Now, from Memphis to Spartanburg is a little over 8 hours when driving; you CANNOT do long road trips with people that you don’t like and thankfully, this man is a hoot so the drive there was a breeze. Some of the conversations we had were hi-lar-i-ous (he told me about a date that he had that was so bad it had me legit yell laughing), and it was fun to bond while we took the scenic route. We stopped in Nashville for a bit and also right outside of the Smokey Mountains for a little photo fun (at one point we drove up a mountain to try to get a shot but got freaked out by the narrow roads and weird sounds coming from the trees, lol) so it took us longer than planned to get there, but once we made it to the Spartanburg Marriott, we were impressed!

First off, this isn’t your typical Marriott hotel. It’s HUGE. 9 floors, 240 Rooms, 7 suites, 3 restaurants and more. Although we got there late, we stopped in the lobby area to take a few pictures of the foyer. Even late in the evening it was pretty, and I was obsessed with the cloud mural on the ceiling. We headed back to our rooms and we each had sweet amenities waiting for us!

We knew we had an early and long day ahead of us, so after we helped each other get our requisite IG posts, lol, we said good night and made plans to meet for breakfast at 8 am.

Aaaah breakfast. The most important meal of the day. They offer a complimentary breakfast that is out of this world. I never pass up a chance for fresh waffles!

After breakfast, we played a (horrible) game of pool, shot some more content, and then headed to downtown Spartanburg (only 5 minutes away) to do some exploring.

If you’ve never been to Spartanburg, it’s about an hour and a half away from Charlotte, NC. It’s an industrial city (it’s home to a few manufacturing companies) but it’s quite picturesque; over the years they’ve worked to revitalize their downtown commercial district, so there are a ton of cute restaurants, boutiques and businesses all around, but they kept a lot of the old architecture so it’s very charming. I would love to come back here in the Fall once the leaves change!

Dress | Hat | Sandals | Earrings | Bracelets

We popped into Hub City Bookshop (also connected to Little River Coffee Bar +  Cakehead Bake Shop) for treats (the peach iced tea is life changing and the cupcakes are fluffy and delicious); I winded up buying this book while we were there. How cool is the architecture?

We walked around for a bit and took more pictures, then went on the hunt for a brewery company (it was hot and what better way to cool off?). The original one we headed to opened later than planned, so we headed down the street to RJ Rockers Brewing Company and enjoyed a tall glass of Son of a Peach, their most popular Beer. The menu changes seasonally but this one is brewed all year round.

Exploring had us exhausted, so we headed back for a quick bite from MESH, their onsite bar, then a nap before we went back down to finish shooting content and have dinner. The Terrace (the outdoor restaurant) offers live music at night, so I enjoyed some classic rock covers (I didn’t get the singer’s info but she does a fantastic cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”) while Michael went off to play with his drone.

Once he was done shooting (be sure to check out his IG + blog to see what he got), we headed in to have dinner at Sparks Fire-Inspired Grill, their third onsite dining option and cocktails from MESH. When you’re staying at a hotel of this size, you seriously don’t have to leave the grounds for food unless you really, really want to. From shrimp and grits to ceviche, there’s enough variation between the restaurant menus that even the pickiest eater will find something. And the cocktails? We don’t have to talk about those-just know that they are delicious and made juuuuuuust right ;).

Completely beat (by now it was 11pm), we called it a night and went back to our rooms. While he went back to edit (because he’s that guy, lol), I enjoyed my dessert (creamy cheesecake) and watched Jaclyn Hill YouTube tutorials on the Smart TV til I fell asleep. Pure joy I tell you, lol. The next morning, we needed to get a little more content before we left, so we headed out to play in the pool and then enjoyed brunch; they have the cutest Bloody Mary Bar on Sundays!

Spartanburg is one of those cities that you need at least 3 days to explore. It’s not small, but it’s design allows for you to be able to walk around and explore, and with there being so many businesses near our hotel, I would have loved to have been able to really get into the local scene. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back soon!

If you thinking of visiting, Spartanburg Marriott is definitely where you need to stay. The accommodations were great and the staff was really nice and helpful, which is what you look for when staying at a hotel of that size. Thanks so much for having us!

Spartanburg Marriott
299 North Church Street
Spartanburg, South Carolina 29306

lifestyle photography spartanburg marriott spartanburg sc travel