I'm usually very tolerant with hotels. A budget traveler, I'm always prepared to be surprised. We stayed here over President's Day weekend and I was sorely lamenting the fact that the other Best Western in the city didn't have rooms available (I had stayed at that location exactly the year before and loved everything about it.)
First off, if you are going to Philadelphia for the art museums, this hotel is close. If you are driving and need parking, this hotel is fine. Parking is free. However, if you want to tour the historical areas, I wouldn't recommend a stay here. We were under the impression that public transportation would be easily accessible. It's not. At least in this area, you have to wait on only one bus route that seemed to come infrequently throughout our entire stay.
The hotel was not what we had envisioned. The building is dumpy and one part of the building looks abandoned, complete with ripped window shades. Not exactly inviting. Maybe they were remodeling that part? The area was not Center City, more like the fringes, and there is no nightlife (restaurants, stores, etc) to be found here. The hallways were dark and dingy and lights were out in some parts of corridors to our room. The heater blew hot air in one area and you had to blast it in order to somewhat heat up your room, which took a long time. Not good for a cold February stay!
Overall, our experience was unpleasant. I was surprised that some sort of breakfast wasn't included considering the Best Western across town has it. Overall, we were surprised that this was a Best Western and would have been more resigned to our fate had it been an economy hotel.
While the rooms are shabby, the room we stayed in was clean. That, I will give it.
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