The small but superb menu offers a
grilled dry aged New York strip steak
(Rooney's personal favorite), Risotto a la
Linda (creamy risotto with shrimp, chick-
en sausage, and Asiago), and lump crab
cakes, to name three local favorites.
After a day of strolling, shopping, and
dining, there is no better place to tuck in for
the night than The Willcox, a white-pillared
Colonial Revival landmark on the National
Register of Historic Places. The hotel has
been a fixture in Aiken since 1898. Own-
ers Geoffrey and Shannon Ellis purchased
The Willcox on New Year's Eve 2009, and
since then it has won numerous awards
from both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast
Traveler, including a seventh-place rank-
ing as Best Hotel in the World in 2016 and
the top spot for the Best Resort Hotel in
the South that same year. The cozy lob-
by, with fireplaces, comfortable sofas,
and game tables has become known as
