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Phone: 610-521-5090

Street Address: 49 Industrial Highway, Essington, PA 19029

Location Rating: About 3 miles south of the airport. There isn't much to see in this area. But if you are a bird lover, the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum is near. It's a marsh.

Lobby Appearance: Tiny, fairly modern lobby with two chairs. It is just a room.

Room Appearance: There are no interior hallways. When you open your door, you are outside. At this location, there are two Red Roof buildings. And the location is close to the I-95 highway. At ground level it is fairly quiet, so I was very surprised at how loud the highway noise is from the second and third floors.

I visited room #332 in the second building (closest to the highway). The sounds of the highway are muffled, yet noticeable once inside the room. One thing I liked about the room was its desk. It's actually more than a desk - it's a workspace. The room had a 26 inch TV, a small refrigerator and microwave oven. The lamp fixtures looked modern. Two pictures were on the walls. I thought the room would look better with 2 additional pictures. As it was, the lack of enough art made the room look a little bare. The bathroom was tiny with just a toilet and shower. The shower had a crescent shower rod to allow more maneuvering space. I definitely noticed the ugly, dim florescent light in the bathroom ceiling. The sink and mirror were outside the bathroom and had better lighting.

So, it had terrible bathroom lighting, not enough art on the walls, and too much traffic noise. Overall I thought it was a nice budget room and I liked the desk.

Useful Nearby Businesses: Denny's restaurant is next door. They are open 24 hours a day. The nearby Holiday Inn (2 or 3 minute walk) has a good restaurant with a nice atmosphere and they also have a good lounge/bar with a pool table and a variety of arcade games.

Hotel Restaurants: None.

Other Amenities: Free local calls. And unlike the Rodeway Inn at 1208 Walnut, where you can only call 2 exchanges for free, Red Roof's free local calling area is much more extensive with 185 local exchanges. Free USA Today newspaper. Free coffee in lobby. Pets up to 80 pounds are okay, and there is no extra charge. But if you are going to leave the animal in the room alone, then it must be left in a crate (to protect the housekeeping staff and prevent your pet from fleeing the room). T-mobile wireless internet access is coming in February 2005. If you are not a T-mobile subscriber, there will be an additional charge for this. Red Roof also has a frequent guest program where you can get a free night after staying 10 nights.

Would I Stay Here? Yes, on the lower level in the first building (where the lobby is).

Comments: This facility is about 15 years old, but it looks newer. There are 135 rooms here. Twenty percent are smoking rooms. The facility is clean and well maintained. I think there is a huge difference in the highway noise between the 2nd and 3rd floors and the ground floor. I recommend getting a room on the ground floor only, unless you are accustomed to noise like that. Red Roof is owned by the French hotel company Accor, and they have high standards. I found the front desk staff to be very, very nice.

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