Beware! You May Be Left Out In The Cold!
by TripAdvisor Member MarciaM
The worst experience I've ever had with a hotel! On March 10, I reserved three single rooms at the Loews Philadelphia through Hotels.com - $1200 was charged to our VISA card right away. The morning of our arrival date, I called the hotel to confirm the reservations, and they were confirmed by the Loews employee. We arrived at the Loews at 3:00 and was told "we have no rooms for you." I said "but you've had out $1,200 for six weeks" the clerk said "WE don't have it - Hotels.com has it." We begged, pleaded, reasoned and argued for an hour, but the "manager" behind the desk just kept saying "I understand" "I understand." To make a long horrible story short - the entire city was booked - apparently a conference of 20,000 math teachers was in town, and there wasn't a room to be had. The hotel they bumped us to was one hour away. We had to get up at 5:45 every morning to drive into the city to attend our seminar. The other hotel was nice and clean, but it had no restaurant, was on a 6-lane highway, and was out in the middle of Po-dunk Pennsylvania. We ran into other people we saw at the Loews lobby - apparently they "didn't have rooms" for 40 people that made reservations, and we were all given a different excuse. Some of the displaced guests arrived at the hotel at 11:00 am and were told their rooms weren't ready, come back at 3:00. These folks came back in four hours and were denied rooms! I guess the word "reservation" doesn't mean anything to the folks at Loews Hotel." BEWARE of the LOEWS PHILADELPHIA - you might end up sleeping out on the street!
okay but expect unexpected charges
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at this hotel for one night liked the room and the staff was helpful and friendly. Only two problems to note the pool is a lap pool and to use it you have to pay 10 dollars a person.... For the price of the hotel you think you would be able to swim. The other thing was we were directed to the side parking lot by the front attendant it said loews parking lot. When we left we were charged $28 dollars for parking! The sign said visitors so we assumed it meant not guests.
Thank god we stayed only one night or the parking would have cost more then the hotel... live and learn ask the right questions. When I went to the desk about the charge they said hey we contract the lot you have to pay...
Loews exceeded expectations...
by TripAdvisor Member rsackmann
Booked at the Loews through Hotwire, didn't know what to expect. Have never stayed in Philly before so we were a little apprehensive, especially after reading some of these negative reviews on this site.
However, we couldn't have been happier with the entire experience. I called the hotel the night before our arrival to confirm our reservation, and the staff was very nice. The front desk person was also very warm and accomodating. The room was fantastic, well-appointed, with comfortable bed. Very clean bathroom. Didn't eat in the restaurant but had a few drinks in the very cool hotel bar.
I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking to stay in downtown Philadelphia. Easy walk to the historical sites and the newer financial district.
Beware Overbooking
by A TripAdvisor Member
We arrived at the hotel April 21st for a 3 night stay and were told there were no rooms, even though we had a confirmation number. We were sent to a Sleep Inn 1 hr- 1hr 40 min away in morning rush hour traffic. Not quite what we expected when we booked our room at the Loews. The staff was not friendly or accomodating to us. We waited almost an hour in line to be told there were no rooms.
We were told by the front service manager that it is their policy to overbook and that about 6 times a year they have to send guests to other hotels. We asked what good a confirmation number was, and they said it means we will find you a room somewhere for the night.
As other reviewers have said, there are also a lot of hidden charges we discovered, even though we didn't stay there. Hotel guests pay $28 per day for parking!
Cool hotel though stingy
by A TripAdvisor Member
Room was cool! Booked through Orbitz & was greatly pleased with amount paid for room. Was misled though seeing that pool & gym were at an extra charge. (Orbitz & hotel blame each other for this misconception.) Had to argue my way though after 10 mins, didn't have to pay extra charge. Hotel's right across from Hard Rock Cafe & within walking distance to everything. Would stay again if I found a good price.
Alleged Food Poisoning & Denial
by TripAdvisor Member newtomd
I stayed in the Loew's in February of 2004 and it was one of the most miserable, frustrating experiences of my life.I was part of a small conference that stayed in the hotel for two nights. Our group had all of our meals in the hotel with the exception of one meal. Well over half of our group became violently ill with symptoms that only a fool would deny was food poisoning. I honestly do not remember ever being that ill in my life.Similar symptoms were experienced by other groups who stayed in the hotel, several people were taken visit the emergency rooms, and it even made the local and national news.I understand that things happen and despite the best efforts some food borne bacteria can not be eliminated, but management of the hotel were absolutely irresponsible and rude in their handling of this matter. They denied any responsibility, offered no apologies and were reluctant to provide any information. I can't believe the lack of respect that they showed me and their complete lack of compassion for what I experience.The staff of the hotel even blatantly lied. When my wife initially called and spoke to the front desk they denied any knowledge of anyone even being sick at the hotel despite the fact it was on CNN news. I will never stay at another Loew's hotel and I will be as vocal as possible if ever given the opportunity to influence someone else's decision. Please heed my advice and do not stay at this pitiful excuse for a hotel. Do yourself a favor and if you are in Philly stay somewhere nice like the Rittenhouse or Sofitel. If you do not listen to my plea and actually stay here, please do not eat or drink anything. You could regret it !!!
