Street Address: 45 Industrial Highway, Essington, PA 19029

Lobby Appearance: Modern comfortable one story lobby. There are comfortable places to sit and relax. A new internet terminal is there. You can surf and check email for free. The lobby gives a good impression. Well lit corridors look recent and fresh. There are a few interesting Philadelphia paintings. One is in the lobby area. More are in the restaurant area.

Room Appearance: I saw two rooms and they were nearly identical. The rooms have good, comfortable bathrooms with good lighting. I thought the bedrooms were also comfortable, and spacious. The rooms featured a 26" TV, a good desk, and the standard room accessories, plus triple sheeting. Although these rooms were in good condition, room renovations are slated to begin within 90 days (as of January 2005). I did notice paint flaking on the bedroom ceiling in one room, but it was not completely obvious since the ceiling had a stucco or popcorn effect. Despite the flaking, I still thought it was a good, comfortable room.

Useful Nearby Businesses: Denny's Restaurant. You can walk there and they are open 24 hours a day. That's about it. The immediate area is a little dull.

Hotel Restaurants: The "Landings Restaurant & Bar." I liked their restaurant. It is comfortable, spacious and has an attractive atmosphere. It seemed like a nice place to sit, relax and enjoy a meal. It also looked fairly new. Breakfast is not included in the room rate. The restaurant opens at 6:30am.

The Bar section is a little different. The best selection of arcade games and things among airport hotels is here. There is one pool table, a foosball game where you stand and twirl handles to shoot a soccer ball, a dart board game, Ms. Pacman, a car racing video game and a golf video game. The bar area also is spacious with a few TVs. It seemed like you could have some fun in there.

Other Amenities: Changes are coming. High speed wireless internet access is anticipated to be available to guests by February 1, 2005. The fitness center is a little bigger than average with 7 machines. A universal weight lifting apparatus is coming soon they say. Their top floor - the sixth floor - is being made into their VIP/Concierge level and that will include a special lounge for their high level guests.

This Holiday Inn has frequent shuttle bus service to/from the airport (every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day). To make things clear... there is another Holiday Inn which is located near the stadiums approximately 6 miles away (Holiday Inn Stadium). They have a nice new facility, but as of January 2005 they offer no airport shuttle service.

They do have an outdoor pool.

Pets are allowed for an extra $25.

Parking is free.

Would I Stay Here? Yes.

Comments: The building is approximately 35 years old and the hotel was last updated 8 years ago (although it still looks good). There are 308 guest rooms. Of these, 23 are smoking rooms. The very busy I-95 highway is very close. At the nearby Red Roof Inn, I noticed the highway noise was very noticeable on the second and third floors, but much quieter on the first floor. In comparison, I could hear no highway noise at this Holiday Inn. But to be safe, I recommend asking for a room which does not face the highway.

Overall, I felt comfortable here and to me it seems like a comfortable place to stay. The nice lobby, free internet access, comfortable restaurant and availability of arcade games/billiards enhances the appeal of this hotel, plus the Denny's restaurant is an easy stroll. My only concern is that some rooms which face the highway could have noise issues.

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