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Phone: 215-923-8660

Street Address: 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Location Rating: Very good. Less than two blocks to the new Constitution Center. Liberty Bell and Independence Hall is a 5 to 8 minute walk.

Lobby Appearance: Subdued chandelier lighting gives lobby a slightly dated look in my opinion, yet doesn't look old or beat.

Room Appearance: From what I could see, it appears the rooms are okay.

Useful Nearby Businesses: The Bourse. It's like a little mall. They have a food court with a variety of fast food eateries, plus shops, including souvenir shops. It is very close to Independence Hall.

Hotel Restaurants: Benton's Restaurant. It has a plain look. There is also Benton's Lounge. They've got a fairly large projection TV airing the news channel CNN. There are a mixture of antiquely chairs and cheap, padded ballroom chairs, plus a number of tables and a bar. I didn't like the chandeliers with the electric candles. It is not attractive lighting. Sort of gloomy.

Other Amenities: A parking garage is connected to the hotel. It's $3 per hour with a maximum of $20 a day. Outdoor pool on the roof. I was told it has a maximum depth of 8 feet. On the 8th floor is a guest laundry facility. The fitness room is open 5am till midnight. The fitness room has a stair stepper machine, 3 running machines, two bike machines, and a very limited selection of barbells. The fitness room also has a 25 inch TV and a water fountain. It's a small room. As I was leaving I discovered that they hand out free beer and wine in the lobby in the late afternoon. That was a surprise. I think they have free popcorn too?

Would I Stay Here? Yes.

Comments: The building dates back to 1972. This hotel has 364 guest rooms. Of these, 64 are set aside for smokers. It is an 8 story hotel. Their closest competitor in this historic area is the Omni Hotel, which is very much at a higher level in class, quality of facility, and service. And the Omni's location is a little better. According to this Holiday Inn's website, their facility was last updated in 1999. Pets are not allowed. The bellman told me there are 25 upscale restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. That sounds accurate. There are a lot of interesting places nearby to eat or have a drink. You can walk to the Penn's Landing waterfront from here. And in about 15 minutes you can walk to City Hall. They have a one-person business center with free internet access. Wireless internet is available in the rooms (from what I understood).

My visit here didn't go so well. I waited a long time for somebody to give the facility tour and nobody stepped up. When I visit a hotel, I also take notice of the service attitude of the staff. They dropped the ball here more than once. It frustrates me when my time is being wasted. All I need is somebody to open some doors. Anyway, finally the bellman showed me some of the hotel. But he didn't know if there were any clean rooms since the housekeepers don't finish until 4:30pm (it was 3:30pm). So he finds the housekeeping cart and knocks on a door to one of the guest rooms. Two housekeepers answer. One of them wanted confirmation from I guess a manager that it was okay to show that room. She shuts the door. We wait and wait. Three or four minutes later she opens the door and says she couldn't reach anybody, so we couldn't see that room. So I just got a peek at one room. Really frustrating.

A taxi to the airport will cost you $20 from this location.