The Skylight Hotel

Cleanliness p

Very well furnished and comfortable. Great staff and very accommodating. There isn’t much around the hotel and everything around it is rundown.

1900 Renovated house. Great for a good nite sleep

We enjoyed our stay, quiet and peaceful

Our room was beautiful and our host was very kind, letting us arrive after 3 am, and helped carry our bags up the stairs. The bed was comfy. We slept well.

Fabulous room if you are into the off beat. Historic vibe with some modern amenities. The hostess was charming and showed iconic southern hospitality. I was a little put off parking on the street right in front of the hotel, but that was hot it was done 100 years ago and I have to say it was cool waling down from a second floor historic building to find my parked car waiting for me right at the hotel front door. A great place if you are doing anything in downtown Greenville. My only issue was that some lights in the bathroom and the one in the shower was burned out. A very minor inconvenience.

This is a VERY UNUSUAL, BUT GREAT place! Don’t be scared (as we were) if you first see this place in the dark, at night. The hotel is located on Washington Ave., which is one of the main streets in downtown—a downtown that has suffered economically (maybe since the Flood of 1927) and looks destitute at this location at night. There is a park across the street, and we saw a few homeless people sitting on benches there in the morning. We almost left when we arrived, because, as we had been told by the hotel manager (staff person?) who answered our phone call when we told her we would be a very late arrival, the only parking is in the front of the hotel out on the street. My wife wanted to leave, but I talked her into at least looking at the place. We got out of the car, and everything was dark except the lit-up “Skylight” sign at the top of the building. The double doors in front were dark, unmarked, and locked. Nothing else in the neighborhood seemed lit or open. Then we saw a small sign or note to enter the hotel at a door to our left. That door was small and, I believe from memory, also unmarked. We opened it (interesting that it was unlocked late at night), and we were faced with a long stairway (another guest counted 28 steps). Again, no sign of any type. We very tentatively walked up and saw the long hallway of guest room doors that is accurately posted in a photo by another guest. It actually looked nice. We tentatively walked down the hall (not knowing which would be our room) and knocked on a door that indicated it was the office. A very nice woman came out (the same one who had answered our phone call) and talked us into staying (it was around 11 p.m.) rather than going out in the dark looking for another place. She told us that they had no breakfast in the mornings, only coffee in a heated urn outside her door. But, she informed us that “Jim’s Cafe” (open since 1909) was just a few blocks back up the street. She showed us that her security cameras were focused on the parked cars and assured us that parking was safe, that the police now removed any homeless people from the street at night, and that no guest had ever had a car broken into or damaged. So, from this dubious starting point, everything that followed was great: the hotel woman could not have been nicer. She insisted on carrying all our bags upstairs and into the room (which was next door to her office). She said that going up and down the stairs was good exercise for her. The rooms conform to the online photos. Our room was exceptionally clean and comfortable. We may never have been more comfortable in a hotel bed—with the greatest comforter and pillows ever. The bathroom fixtures were cheap but spotlessly clean. The room was quiet. We slept soundly and enjoyed our conversation with the same hotel woman in the morning. We tremendously enjoyed our breakfast at Jim’s Cafe. It’s a Greenville institution. My wife was born in Greenville and lived there in childhood. Well, I think many of her contemporaries were at the cafe and all of them approached us and were very friendly. The conversations were great, and the food was good. We are likely to return to Greenville again next year, and this is where we will stay again. And then back to Jim’s Cafe. I normally would never give five stars to a place that didn’t even have breakfast on site and that required a long walk upstairs just to get to reception and the rooms. But this is an exceptional place; it is safe; and the hotel manager was so nice and helpful; the rooms were spotless and comfortable. Five stars!!

A wonderful option in Greenville!

Very nice place to stay if you’re in the area. Very clean well kept and friendly staff

The Skylight is located on the upper floor of a building that dates back to 1900. In other words, it isn't your typical cookie cutter place, and it has character. The staff were amazing, and the location was convenient to places I needed to go. The room was extremely clean, which I appreciate. If you love staying at quirky, locally-owned properties when traveling, this is a great option.