More about Comfort Inn Downtown/Historic Area
parking problems, hidden fees & grumpy staff
by TripAdvisor Member WJMC
The hotel itself was newer and nice. The rooms weren't dirty but there was rust around the piping under the sink in the bathroom. Not spotless but clean enough. The bed was comfortable and the continental breakfast was the same as you get in any other hotel but the seating was very cramped. The lady who checked me in was grumpy and was complaining which was unprofessional but sometimes you can't help that.
My problem was in the parking and the hidden fees for the stay. The city of Philadelphia charges around $9 dollars on top of the normal sales tax. They also charged $18 per car for parking which wasn't discussed when I was checking in.
They give you a parking slip that you’re supposed to swipe on a card reader to allow you to leave the parking lot. IT NEVER WORKED. The lot attendants had to manually open it. On top of that, after I had checked out. The lot attendant would not let me leave until he saw my room bill which I thought was stupid because he saw me walk to my car carrying my luggage from the lobby.
The lot is also used for parking down on Penn’s Landing so if you go out late the attendent wont have room for your car and it's going to be parked in the middle of the lot somewhere or in front of the dumpster.
Anyway, my $130 room ended up costing $197 at checkout with all the hidden fees.
Our stay was nice...
by TripAdvisor Member steph4
After reading some of the posts I was getting nervous but to my relief we had a very nice stay. We only stayed one night due to being there for a concert. The room was nicely sized, clean and had a river view. Hotel staff were very nice and helpful. I also booked on line but had no problems. Either I got lucky or someone is taking notice to the complaints. All in all it was a more than an OK stay and we will return if need be.
I was happy with it.
by A TripAdvisor Member
Me, my boyfriend, and a few of his friends stayed here for one night on Saturday, August 5, 2006. We chose it because they (his friends) had stayed there once before and wanted to stay there again. They liked its price and location. It is right on the river and you can walk to several bars. (I reccomend Cavanaugh's River Deck). The hotel was nice and clean. There was plenty of parking, and it cost $18 to park overnight, which we knew about ahead of time. They put it right on the hotel bill, which I was happy about (its also a public lot for Penn's Landing so I was expecting to have to pay for it extra, when I drove out). When you leave, you have to swipe your hotel parking pass to get out of the lot without paying again. Ours didn't work, but the parking attendant came right over before we even asked and got the gate to open for us. The breakfast was very good. They had Belgian waffle makers, which reminded me of when I was in college. They also had donuts, muffins, fruit, coffee, juices, bagels, and yogurt. The yogurts were very good. My boyfriend and I ate at about 10:30 (breakfast ended at 11) and everything was still fully stocked. The man there was very nice! He pointed out to me that if I turned my waffle over it had a Liberty bell on it. I know that sounds ditzy of me, but it's cool when someone doesn't just look down their nose at you.
Other people have said that it's not a beautiful hotel, but it's good for the money. It's not a five star hotel, but it doesn't claim to be. I would definitely stay there again!
Oh and the one person below said about hidden fees (parking, sales tax, etc). I wouldn't worry about that...you're going to pay that kinds of tax anywhere (Philadelphia and elsewhere). That was one of those "real world lessons" that I learned the hard way in high school!
Fine Stay
by TripAdvisor Member pbcello
Simple accomodations that did not disappoint in any way. Room was clean. Staff was courteous and helpful. great dining and sights nearby. It is not the quietest location, with I95 just outside, but with the curtains drawn the noise was not intrusive. Nothing amazing, just clean and comfortable. Free breakfast was fine, and there is a free shuttle bus.
Above-Average Overnight
by TripAdvisor Member MNFarm
Overall this was an above-average overnight experience. The hotel location, near Penns Landing, was perfect for taking the ferry to the Tweeter Center. The check-in process went smooth and quick with very friendly staff. While the $18 overnight parking fee was a bit excessive, I was informed up front and was not surprised when the fee appeared on the bill. The room was clean and not as loud as I expected given the proximity to I-95 (had a river-view room). For anyone looking for a well-located, affordable and clean room --I would recommend this one.
Great find!
by TripAdvisor Member rebeccawhipp
Stayed here on the second leg of our honeymoon. Fantastic location (just five mins walk from the main areas in Philadelphia town centre), and very reasonably priced too. Bedroom, bed and bathroom all very generously proportioned (only booked a double room, but got two king size beds in our room). The hotel itself was very easy to drive to, with lots of secure parking spaces available just outside the hotel. Hotel affords fantastic view of the Franklin Bridge, and laid on a very tasty help yourself breakfast in the morning. Couldn't have asked for more as a base for our Philadelphia trip. Would definitely recommend this hotel to others.
nothing to write home about
by TripAdvisor Member LilacL
We stayed here for the last weekend of March and it was ok, nothing to write home about. Our room was large and we had a view of the Ben Franklin Bridge...with that being said, we had a corner room so it was larger than most. The room was clean, but the bathroom was not immaculate. Our friends who made the reservations for the group requested that our rooms be near each other, though we ended up being placed on different floors and different sides of the building.
All guests visiting for the "Philly's more fun when you stay over" package deal were supposed to get a free teddy bear from the front desk. Part of our party was told by the staff that the hotel "had been out of them for the past month." However, when we asked about the teddy bear a few minutes later we were given one....so honesty was clearly an issue with at least one staff member. The whole thing was silly, since the teddy bear is only six inches tall!
The shower was freezing cold the first morning, but the hotel corrected this after the entire lobby was filled with guests complaining. The hotel was filled with high school students and bachelor/bahelorette parties and the hallways were loud. A member of a bachelor party urinated in an elevator and hotel staff was in no rush to clean it up, despite complaints from guests.
I suppose these events could happen anywhere, but the attitude of some of the hotel staff is very poor.
Great location, cold showers
by TripAdvisor Member RocketTraveler
We were there the last week of March for 6 nights with a group. This is a great location for touring downtown, and the day staff is somewhat pleasant. The night and weekend staff was rude beyond belief. The only time any of us had hot water was when we showered at 4 in the morning, and even then not all our rooms had hot water. Our bathroom door was off the hinge so it had to be picked up to close. We thought surely the housekeeping staff would have noticed that! But, the front desk finally had it fixed while we were there. The breakfast is very good, but there isn't enough room in the breakfast area for more than 50-75 people; this is a large hotel! There were large groups of junior high kids in and out the whole time we were there, and from our room we could hear every door in the hall open and close til early morning, not to mention the talking and laughing. They advertise 24 hr. coffee, but one morning when we were leaving before they started serving breakfast, the front desk told us that means we could go to our room and use the 1 cup instant coffee. In 5 nights, housekeeping never replace the one cup serving we used the first morning. One of the rooms wwith our group was served by housekeeping only once is 6 nights. They have a "courtesy" 15 passenger shuttle for hotel guests to the downtown area. The man at the front desk (night staff) told us we couldn't use it because there were 12 of us (all hotel guests) and it wouldn't be "fair" to the other guests if we filled it up. The night Manager agreed with him. The next morning, however, we got on the van and the driver had no problem with it. Our sheets and towels were clean, but other than that it looked like any cleaning was just a quick brush up. The bathroom floors needed to be cleaned many months ago.
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