My wife's company reserved some rooms at this hotel for their annual holiday party. We pulled up a little after 2 to the valet parking area. It is not very big, but clearly marked with signs. As we pulled up, their was immediately somebody their to help us unload and take down our information to park the car. They offered assistance with our luggage, however we declined as we were only staying one night and didn't have too much stuff.
As you walk into th lobby, the first thing you notice is the bar. The front desk as actually tucked in the left corner, and we wouldn't have found it if there wasn't someone else to let us know where it was. Check-in was a breeze and there was a concierge around to tell us about the immediate area. You need a room key to get to the floors of the hotel with the guests he rooms, which is a nice touch that makes me feel secure. The elevators face the interior which is this warehouse-like brick face contrasted with the modern decor in the lobby, hallways, and guest rooms. I very much liked the decor of the hotel, with some very modern features, with some older details preserved.
Our room was interior facing, which is something I had not seen in a hotel before. It was very spacious for a city hotel room, though I think the space could have been better apportioned. As you open the front door, the bathroom faces you. To the right is basically a large dead space (except for the closet of the right) before you reach the bed, desk, tv, and night tables. There was one chair by the desk and one other chair for lounging but even though the room had the space for a few visitors, there really wouldn't have been an ideal place to mingle.
The room was clean. The closet lit up high was fun and it had a mini bar. We took a couple of things out of the mini bar to store a couple of bottles of water, and then found a bill under the door for one for one of the things we had removed! Luckily, the front desk took it off without question. The room has central climate control, which meant it was quiet. However, once it reached the temperature you wanted, it would keep going on and off every few seconds, so that became a bit annoying. The bathroom was spacious and had a great mirror for shaving and makeup. The shower had good water pressure and temperature, though the surface at the floor of the shower didn't seem to be as pristine as the rest of the room.
We hung out by the lobby bar a couple of times but did not get a drink. Despite the lobby area not being huge, it did accommodate a good number of people. Our group had arranged breakfast for us the next morning in one of the meeting rooms. The breakfast buffet was surprisingly good and they brought us soy milk right away when we requested it. Check-out was also speedy and the valet had our car ready sooner than expected.
Overall our stay was very good. My only complaints were that I found the bed a little firm for my taste and the pillows not very supportive, but we were still able to sleep well. Having an interior facing room made it tough to tell when it was morning due to the lack of natural light. The only other critique is that there was a leftover room service tray with half eaten food tha was sitting in the hall for about 16 hours.

I've never stayed at this hotel, but have stayed at other Starwood properties. I decided to try this hotel because of the location. The only nice thing about the hotel was the decor and ambiance. The service was lackluster. Upon arrival, I sat in front of the hotel in the cab as I waited for my receipt. None of the "young" bell hops came to open the cab door, nor did they ask if I needed help, nor did they welcome me. There was another guest waiting for a taxi and she just stood at the door, in a way blocking me from opening it.
Upon arrival at the front desk, there were 2 people chatting. Again, there was no greeting. I stated that I was checking in. The woman asked for my credit card and ID and that was it. She handed me the keys. I had to ask where the elevators were. There was no sort of interaction with me. She didn't ask or mention that I was an SPG member, which I know she can see on the computer upon location my reservation. She didn't ask if this was my first time staying here. She was very disconnected and uninviting.

I ordered room service for breakfast and that was delievered on time. I also called the front desk for an item and it was delivered within 5 minutes.

This hotel needs to hire more experienced staff or you need to train your staff to be more welcoming and invititing. There are tons of other hotels in the area and I will stay at one of them the next time I'm in the area.

I am not new to Le Meridien or Starwood as I am a frequent guest and business traveler, well seasoned and experienced with global travel. I travel to Philadelphia area 5-6 times a year and thought I would try a different hotel. My decision to stray from my norm was the wrong decision because this property did not live up to my expectations.

Their main issue is their staff. I believe that many of their staff lack focus on what their core responsibilities are, and most of them have very little experience working in what is supposed to be a fine establishment/hotel. The staff's definition of service is skewed and needs to be refocused to meet expectations of all guests. But then again, if the staff are operating this way, the hotel management are to blame for running a bad operation. It shows that management is not actively participating in the day to day operations.

The front desk manager - Jason needs improvement and training on what it means to communicate effectively to guests and provide better service. One example is regarding Valet waiting. When I checked in, I was told by Valet (this is only form of parking available) that it usually takes 15 minutes for the car to be delivered to the front door when calling down for your car. On many occasions, when calling for my car, the calls forward to the front desk. On many occasions, Jason answered the phone and would also tell me "15 minutes". After allowing 15 minutes to transpire and walking downstairs to front door - there would be no car. In inquiring with Jason as to where my car might be, he would snap at me with attitude and provide some excuse as to why the car wasn't there and essentially make me feel like it was my fault. I requested to speak to a manager, and never heard back from one.

I tried in room dining one morning for breakfast. I am on a restrictive diet and requested my food be prepared one way (which most hotels and restaurants have no issue doing) and when I received it, the server told me it was prepared to my liking but tasting the food I knew it was not. It is surely sad that people do not listen to their guest's requests, because if they did not only would the guest be happy but they would also order more in room dining.

One day I was meeting a friend for coffee and was sitting in the lobby area. A hostess who appeared to me a supervisor was walking over to me asking if she could get me anything. I told her that my friend was coming soon, and she told me to come get her and she would take my order, which I thought was very nice. Upon my friend's arrival, the hostess was not present but there was a server that I saw. I went to ask the server if we could get coffee and she snapped back at me with attitude (again with the attitude) and told me the restaurant was not open and that she does not serve people at the lobby. I corrected her by saying that the hostess was the one that offered the service and the server replied that she was wrong.

Lets talk cleanliness of the rooms. For the most part the room and beds were clean. The working desk area was a bit uncomfortable as they provide a wooden chair that is very difficult to sit in for long periods especially if you are working. The bathrooms were ok. The showers were very dirty and had mold stains in them, and were obviously never cleaned by housekeeping. When you walk into the shower there is that moldy smell.

The hotel was in a good central location especially if you are conducting business in center city. Even if you needed to drive to meetings, the hotel was located close to highways in either direction.

If I were you, I would not stay at this hotel. When I travel, even for business which is more than pleasure trips, my best hotel experiences have been when the hotel staff make you feel welcome and they treat you with respect and they make you feel as if you were on vacation.

We came to Philly to see the Barnes collection and found that its location was great for not only that but for almost everything else we did that weekend. The beds were so comfortable for my 7 year old that she slept in and extra hour on Sunday. Every staff member was extremely helpful and my kids really enjoyed our stay too!