These Hotels Actually Want You to Relax and Stay a While
At charming inns and major resorts alike, social hours could mean free drinks, a rowdy gathering, or complete silence, depending on where you’re staying.
As the sunset trickles through the Spanish moss of South Carolina’s Lowcountry, and an evening breeze wafts in from the Beaufort River, inn-keepers mingle with guests on the porch at Cuthbert House, exchanging stories over glasses of wine and shrimp skewers. The whole scene looks like an idyllic cocktail party hour among friends. It’s all part of the charm of the Beaufort inn, an Antebellum-style mansion constructed in 1790, which typifies Southern hospitality with nightly social hours.
Unlike happy hour, a familiar post-work ritual for bars and restaurants across the country, social hour is a custom more specific to hotels. Offered as a free amenity for guests, it’s a way for otherwise strangers to mix and mingle. The classic social hour takes many forms, from tequila toasts at big resorts like the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Kimpton Hotels to cozy wine and cheese spreads at small inns like the historic Cuthbert House. Free food and drink may not seem like the most direct money-maker—and that’s the point. In a world where customer service is dying and hotel guests barely acknowledge each other in elevators, social hour is a refreshing and welcome reprieve that feels reminiscent of a simpler time, and thankfully is starting to catch on at hotels and inns across the country.
For owners like Suzanne and Chris Ramm, who took over Cuthbert House in 2023, social hour is first and foremost about connection. Offered from 5 to 6 p.m. every evening (or until 6:30 p.m. if guests are vibing) in the porch-adjacent parlor, or in the fireplace-equipped library during winter, social hour features complimentary wines, local beers, and Southern-inspired hors d’oeuvres, like shrimp skewers over cheese grits.
“After COVID, we realized that we’re human beings—we need to co-exist, we need to share and interact with each other,” recalls Suzanne, likening their social hour to a cocktail party, where guests often exchange phone numbers, dinner recommendations, and even plans to return to Cuthbert House together. Both her and Chris are frequent fixtures during social hour; “people really like to meet the owners when they stay on a small property,” she notes. But they’re mostly there to listen to guests and learn more about them. “I just love to sit back and watch that kind of interaction,” she adds. “People at least once a week will say, ‘Oh my gosh, I love that y’all do social hour!’ It’s such a positive thing, and a good thing for guests to get together and connect.”
Up the coast, The Mills House in Charleston offers a daily “Old Fashioned Good Time Hour,” with complimentary bubbles and sweet tea from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in The Porch—a nod to classic Southern hospitality, and as general manager Michael Linder explains, the same experience one would enjoy when visiting a friend’s home in the afternoon. “Typically, it’s customary—and even considered good manners—for the host to offer guests a beverage when they come over,” he explains. “We took that concept and weaved it into our hotel check-in process.”
On the west coast, social hour is the perfect end to a day in wine country, where inns use local wine as a means of connection and hospitality.
“It creates a welcoming and inviting atmosphere,” says Tamara Mims, President and CEO of California’s Four Sisters Inns. “If you’re gone for the day and come back and just want a little snack and a glass of wine to relax and unwind, you’re able to get that more intimate experience.” Most Four Sisters Inns’ properties offer social hour, including Coachman’s Inn in Carmel, where the daily spread—from 4:30 to 6 p.m.—includes wines, cheeses, dips, and sweets, like bundt cakes. And as in the Lowcountry, it engenders a sense of connection amongst guests.
At The Genevieve, a Victorian-style inn in Santa Ynez wine country, social hour is an extension of the wine country experience. “We wanted to create a space where guests could slow down and connect,” says Kristopher McLaughlin, general manager. “When people visit wine country, it’s about more than just great wine—it’s about the full experience; the setting, the people, and those little moments that make a trip feel special. So, we thought, why not extend that hospitality beyond just a comfortable stay?”
Each evening, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., guests are invited to mingle in The Parlour, or in the garden by fire pits, over complimentary local wines and bites. “It’s relaxed, welcoming, and feels like an extension of a perfect day in wine country,” McLaughlin adds. “Guests can sit back, chat with our team, or strike up conversations with fellow travelers—it’s really about creating an environment that feels warm and effortless.”
Anne Roderique-Jones has spent extended stays in hotels where social hour was a highlight. A New York City-based travel writer, her husband’s job requires long-term time on the road, which has necessitated stints at Homewood Suites in oft-smaller towns in Louisiana. “There wasn’t a lot to do in these towns, so we mostly just lived for our nightly social hour,” she recalls. “We’d get sort-of dressed up (even though most people were in pajama pants and slippers) for ‘Mexican Fiesta’ night and free-flowing cheap wine.” And though they didn’t meet many guests, they always left with a new connection. “We did become friends with the incredible staff,” she says. “I still miss Stephanie at Homewood Suites in Shreveport. I think it’s a lovely way to show appreciation for your guests, and for some travelers, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people.”
In McMinnville, Oregon, the Atticus Hotel offers a unique kind of social hour—the kind that’s silent. Following 30 minutes of actual social time, from 5 to 5:30 p.m. each Monday evening, the lobby hosts “Silent Reading Parties,” where guests and locals alike are welcome to BYOB(ook), and enjoy quiet reading time until 8 p.m. For locals like Tayler Brisbin, owner of nearby boutique Mes Amies, it’s a welcome wind-down after a day at work. “I just love closing up shop, walking over with my book, grabbing a cocktail or a snack and reading for an hour or so before heading home,” explains Brisbin, highlighting the coziness of the plant- and art-filled space, with leather chairs and a basket of blankets, a nice reprieve from the distractions of reading at home. “It’s a great way to unwind from the workday, and the gorgeous lobby serves as a ‘third space.’ It’s like what your living room wishes it could be on its best day.”
Even without actual socialization, the beauty of social hour is its flexibility; it can be whatever environment a hotel or inn chooses to cultivate, whether a “Mexican Fiesta” date night or a bastion for bibliophiles.
“I’m an introvert, so this is my ideal kind of social hour because there is zero pressure to make small talk, but you still feel like you are at a community event,” Brisbin adds. “I run into people I’ve seen at reading night around town, and in my shop, and it’s always a great segue into conversations because it feels like we already have something in common.”
A successful social hour is about more than wine and cheese; it’s an opportunity to connect with guests and leave a lasting impression that can pay off in more ways than a bar tab.
“Our philosophy is not nickel and diming. We want to create added value with these creative touches,” notes Mims of social hours at properties like Coachman’s Inn, where free cookies, breakfast, and soda are all available daily as well. “It’s not really a money-maker per say, except for lending itself to the overall experience of all these thoughtful extras that sets our brand apart.”
McLaughlin agrees, saying that what social hour does for The Genevieve, while not directly profitable, is invaluable for the guest experience. “We see people book return stays because they love the personal touch that The Genevieve provides, specific to wine hour and additional amenities we provide,” he says. “It’s a little moment that sticks with them, and in hospitality, those little moments are everything.”