I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights at approx. $200/night. Cab ride from train station (30th st) to hotel for $8 (incl. tip).
Check-in was fine; not that friendly, but efficient. I asked if I could have my Priority Club number put in for this stay, which went fine. Than asked if they partnered with any airlines so I could get mileage; the person checking me in said I would have to call the Priority Club phone number to do that.
I had to choose between checking-in early (noon) with a room next to the elevator or waiting until the regular 4pm check-in time. I opted for the former and what I got was what I expected: noise. Any time someone came to the elevator, it sounded like they were in the room with me (glad I brought my own earplugs; my room did not have that sleep packet with the earplugs). Also the room (#1815) was tiny.
The next morning, I called the front desk to be switched to a room away from the elevator; they told me to call in the early afternoon. I called back at 1pm and they transferred me to room #827. It is the farthest room from the elevator on the 8th floor. However, the air conditioner did not work. I let it run for a couple of hours hoping the air would get cold, but it didn’t. I picked up the phone to call the front desk, but when I pushed the button that said “front desk”, nothing happened, just a dial tone. So, I had to go down to the front desk in person. Front desk says they will send a technician. Being an avid traveler, I know that the technician is never able to fix the air conditioner if it’s not working so I ask if it wouldn’t be easier to just change rooms and she informs me that there are no more rooms available that are not next to an elevator. So, I go back to my room and the technician is already there. He tells me he has “fixed the problem and the room is now heating up.” I am confused and say “but I wanted the room to be cold.” He then turns off the heat and says he cannot get cold air to come out and he will check the main controls downstairs. I ask about the phone. He says the buttons are not programmed yet, so just push zero to get the front desk and 7800 to check voicemail (How would I have known that??!). 20 minutes later, the technician calls to (unsurprisingly) tell me that nothing is wrong at the main controls so he doesn’t know what else to do except for me to switch rooms.
I get a call from front desk saying that they have been told I would like to switch rooms. I tell them that is my only choice since the air conditioner is not able to be fixed. I ask for a room away from the elevator. She tells me there are no rooms away from an elevator and would I like a fan. I say no, a fan would not be sufficent. She then reiterates that there are no rooms away from an elevator. I am getting a bit ticked here now and say “do you mean to tell me that there are NO rooms whatsoever in this entire hotel that is not next to the elevator??” She, at first, starts to say no, and then says “well….unless an accessible room is alright…” I say it’s fine. She says she will send somebody up with the keys. 15 minutes later, no one has shown up with the keys. I call down to the front desk again and they say the person with the keys was helping another guest on another floor, but is on his way down to me. 5 minutes later, he shows up. My new room is #1017. It is not the first room off the elevator, but it is the second room. Not really so away from the elevator, now is it. I am tired at this point and do not want to keep fussing. The accessible room is much bigger than the former two rooms anyway and comes with the sleep kit.
The beds are comfortable and clean. The bathrooms need an update, but are clean. The first room I was in had a weird toilet where every time I flushed, the water would rise to the point where it looked like it would overflow. Housekeeping was friendly and efficient.
There are not enough sockets. There’s one on the lamp on the desk. The other two are in the bathroom.
There is a hair dryer, but I didn't use it, so I can't comment.
Room Service: Food very bad. The actual service is good (the people who bring up the food are friendly and one time, someone from room service called me to see how my meal was going, which was nice), but the food itself is bad. I ordered room service twice for dinner and once for breakfast (I was working and it felt like the easiest thing to do!). The breakfast is actually OK, but all the dinner items I ordered were almost inedible (gyro, shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon salad, fruit plate) Also, this hotel does that annoying (at least to me it is) thing where they add in an automatic 20% gratuity, but still have an extra blank line on the receipt for you to “add gratuity.” The first time I ordered, I asked whether gratuity was included, and the response is “yes, but you can always add more,” and then points me to the blank line to write in more gratuity, which I found to be a bit awkward and uncomfortable.
The internet connection is by Ethernet cord, not wireless (at least in my room).
My fiancé used the gym at the hotel, and he said it was fine. He only uses the treadmill though. For people who need more of a variety, the hotel has a set-up with the sports club across the street where you can use it for free by showing your room key and ID.
There is a 24-hour diner next to the hotel called Midtown III Café, the prices are low and the food is good. What I can vouch for that are tasty there: egg white omelet, turkey bacon, chicken alphabet soup, sautéed spinach, cucumber salad, cole slaw, and applesauce.
There is a Café Express in the lobby of the hotel. The chicken salad sandwich I got there was actually pretty tasty! The only thing is you can not charge what you buy there to your room and they do not take Amex. The staff at that little café are friendly, and I would recommend it over the room service.
Reading Terminal is only a few blocks away – 5 minute walk. There are a variety of food stalls to get breakfast or lunch. I had (another!) chicken salad sandwich and apple cider from the Hatville Deli. Very tasty, but I was majorly thirsty for the next couple of hours. I also got one of those huge dill pickles for 99 cents from the stall next to the deli. Tasty!
Went to the Museum of Art for the Cezanne exhibit. Cab ride back to hotel was $10 (incl. tip).
Went to the Constitution Center. Cab ride from hotel was $10.41 (incl. tip). I paid with a credit card, which is why the total doesn’t end with two zeros. I walked back to the hotel – took about 15 – 20 minutes.
The neighborhood is so-so; I would not recommend that a woman walk by herself at night, but I felt fine walking about on my own during the day.
There are also pretzel/hot dog/hoagie stalls about every other block. I didn’t try any, so can’t comment on the food.
Starbucks across the street; Cosi (chain sandwich/salad/pizza joint I think is reasonably priced and tasty) one block down on Market (if you’re coming out of the main front doors of the hotel, make a right)
Closeby is a burger joint called ‘goodburger.’ Good basic burgers and shakes.
Went to a restaurant called Modo Mio (italian) my last night here. Very good food, reasonably priced, and fun atmosphere. It's on 161 W. Girard St.
Overall - if you can get a under $100/night rate like a lot of other reviewers did via hotwire/priceline, I say it's ok, but I would definetely recommend checking out other hotels if you pay any higher.
Thanks!
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