Well located along Rittenhouse Square, the AKA Rittenhouse is a boutique hotel with two distinct tiers of rooms.

Being budget conscious travelers, we stayed in the "Studio" room, rather than the suite, for about $220 plus tax a night. We wanted a well-located hotel, and got what we paid for.

Parking was available at the Penn Warwick Garage in the next block for a special rate of $20 per day as guest of the AKA-R. Call 10 minutes before you need your car, and they'll have it ready to go. Most convenient, even though it involves a short walk to and from the garage.

The lobby is minimalist hip, rather than a place you'll ever lounge around in. It is, however the "home" of the all-in-one concierge/desk clerk/manager on duty. Even before I arrived, I received the nice touch of a personal call to see if I needed anything special upon my expected arrival. Their staff was always attentive and helpful throughout our visit in this manner. That attention to the comfort of the guests takes this hotel up a notch.

The studio room was basically well appointed. The king size bed was comfortable, the windows were triple glazed, the room lighting was ample and flexible to our needs, and the kitchen lacked only food. The granite dining nook with barstool height chairs did double duty as desk space. A nice benefit of the location was a wonderful view of the attractive surrounding buildings and Rittenhouse Square. Very pleasant!

The bathroom was the least satisfying part of the studio. They've tried to get a lot of service out of this space, but they partially failed here.

The bathroom is sumptuous in its use if marble for much of the wall and floor covering. The shower is also marble, with a nice soaking shower head and stable water temperature. It's large enough to dry off in, and without many of the protrusions that can bump you. Good job there.

The rest of the bathroom is, unfortunately, not as well designed. Crammed onto a tiny wall in the bathroom is the toilet, shelf, mirror and a sink. In order to make it fit, the sink is tiny and misaligned with the mirror. It's jammed into a corner underneath the small glass shelf. Trying to wash your face (or shave) requires careful contortions to accomplish. To use the mirror while shaving, you have to move away from the sink since the mirror is centered on the wall and not the sink. And while you're misaligned over the sink and partially straddling into the toilet area so you can see your face in the mirror, you're dripping on your feet.

Since the bathroom lights are MR16 spots in the middle of the room pointing straight down, there is almost no bounce light to light your face in the mirror. Poor lighting design. I understand that all the studio bathrooms are designed this way, and its dreadful and should be changed.

Architects and designers should be forced to live with their layouts for a week. If they had done that, another arrangement for the bathroom would have been done before building out these spaces.

But little time is fortunately spent at the sink, and there are many positive aspects that make this hotel an otherwise pleasant stay.

We ate several times in the attached restaurant. The food was delicious, and the service excellent. Portions were American contemporary in size; small for those watching their weight. As someone who isn't trying to lose weight, I felt like I needed a snack after eating a vegetable plate, main course, and desert. It's easy to spend around $80 on dinner for two without any drinks. Be advised. Breakfast there seemed hardier and more reasonably priced, and their coffee was European strong and delicious!

I would probably stay here again, although I might check to see how much more the suites were than the studio. It was a good experience overall, but the bathroom sink arrangement needs to be resolved by the hotel on their next redesign.

Aragon The Traveller

This is a great apartment hotel. Located at the heart of Philadelphia. Rooms are very very spacious and clean. Staff is extremely polite and helpful. The only minor issue is that it has no parking. ( you park at a private parking a block away)
Excellent value for money.

POSITIVES: This is an exceptional facility that mixes class with a perfect location next to the Rittenhouse Square Park. Its a perfect Park to just sit in the sun and watch people from 4 different directions. Its perfect for folks that are probably okay with a nice Hotel room, but really appreciate and can justify a better facility with a separate living room with an entertainment center and a full kitchen with a dishwasher. There are two 32" flat screen TV's with Comcast cable. I was able to pop my lap top onto the HDMI connector to watch some movies I had on my lap top. I stayed a week on business, but would have been happy to stay longer just to soak in this fantastic City and great place, The desk staff was very friendly and it felt like they were an extension of services for the stay. I travel allot on business. Philly is a big thumbs up City and aka Rittenhouse Square is where I will stay again.

OTHER FACTORS - OFF A BIT: The maid service was a bit off. The trash was to be removed daily and they missed two days. I was to have the sheets changed twice, they only did it once. However, I did receive all the extra towels I asked for. There is no room safe, which I find severely disconcerting as long term travelers usually have more cash and aka appeals to long term stays. That really angered me. Modern hotels are "with" the program. aka relies on video audit surveillance and access control cards on room locks and elevator access from the lobby - which are all very reasonable. I want to feel safe and having to resort to locking my cash in my luggage bag every day was annoying and not as good as a common hotel room safe. The bed was a bit hard "for me". Most upscale hotels have pillow tops on firm bases. aka has just a solid firm bed. The bedding materials were quite nice and everything was clean.

A beautiful property, with a great staff. We stayed for several days in a two-room suite and had ample room (with a folding table and chairs) to host several family meals. The suites have the feel of a comfortable, up-scale apartment. The staff is very, very accomodating. The price is a bit high, but not out of line given the fantasic location and the quality of the property.