Well, fellow Academic Ambassadors, we've arrived! I've signed up our first Relais & Chateaux partner. Relais & Chateaux (basically French for impeccable) is an international association of many of the world's best hotels. The Planters Inn, in the heart of Charleston's historic distict, upholds those vaunted standards in the most convivial way.

Overlooking the Old Market and encircled by art galleries, fine restaurants and theaters, the Planters Inn is history. Its wide verandas, four-poster beds and Garden Courtyard signal a step back to a very elegant age. Libations in the parlor and breakfast on silver complete the picture (that is if you don't take a horse drawn carriage to your appointment—that would truly complete the picture!).

Fittingly, within one of Travel & Leisure's "Top 15 Small Hotels in the World" is Southern Living's "Top City Restaurant," the Peninsula Grill.

There are also wonderful spaces for intimate and larger meetings.

And for Academic Ambassadors, even the rates at the charming Planters Inn may seem like a piece of history: $159 per night!

[Sunday-Thursday (not including holidays). Also, do ask the reservation clerk about the hotel's cancellation policy; it is more in keeping with a small inn than a larger hotel.]

You may visit their website at www.plantersinn.com.