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Phone: 610-521-5900

Street Address: 500 Stevens Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19113

Rates: As of December 2004 - starting from $99 to $189 depending upon demand. Weekends are cheaper.

*Nice bathrooms. Airport shuttle every 20 minutes. Attractive indoor pool area*

Location Rating: This is an airport hotel. The location is a bit isolated. You will need to take the hotel's (free) shuttle bus to get here, or use a taxi or car.

Lobby Appearance: There is a 12 story atrium. A baby grand piano is turned on around 4pm to provide calm piano music. Guests can also play it manually if they desire. A very small elevated pond with gold fish is there. It caught me by surprise when I saw a raccoon next to the pond. Then I realized it was dead and stuffed. It's a little odd in my opinion. There are 4 other unfortunate critters on display: two ground hogs, a Canadian goose, and I think a female pheasant (bird). The hotel is next to a portion of the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. It is a marsh and a lot of different species of birds make it their home. So the animal display ties into the wildlife aspect of the area. The raccoon looks alive at first glance.

Room Appearance: Oh, nice black-ish countertop in the bathroom. Classy. I like the bathrooms. The bedroom areas are comfortable with good lighting. The corridors on the 11th and 12th floors, which are the concierge floors, have been recently updated. These halls have better lighting and a more appealing wallpaper color. The rest of the floors are due to be upgraded to this brighter hallway look.

Useful Nearby Businesses: None. An office complex is across the highway. It is an isolated location, although close to the airport.

Hotel Restaurants: "Bistro 95 Restaurant." It has a nice atmosphere. Classical music plays in the background. They also have "Trophies," which is a dark-ish sports bar with no sunlight whatsoever. It has three televisions, a pool table and a couple video games. The walls feature a lot of Philadelphia art.

Other Amenities: "Marriott Rewards" members or VIP guests have free access to the Concierge Lounge. Regular guests can also buy their way in. It is a small room to hang-out in, watch TV, have snacks and drinks. An advantage the hotel has is shuttle service to the airport every 20 minutes. Most other hotels do it once every 30 minutes. They have a comfortable business center in the lobby area. It is a room which includes one computer. Internet access is free in the business center. There is also free wireless internet access in the lobby, but right now (as of December 2004) not in the rooms. You can use a dial-up line in the rooms. Rooms have ironing boards and irons with retractable cords, plus terry cloth robes.

The pool area is one of the standout features. It is an indoor pool - maximum depth 5 feet - in a large atrium area with a view of very un-interesting outdoor ponds. Plenty of daylight can get in, which I like. Some rooms overlook this atrium and have balconies. These rooms overlooking the pool (underneath the glass roof) will probably have the hotel's most interesting views. A whirlpool area is beside the pool, plus tables with umbrellas. I like the brightness of this area. In comparison, the atrium inside the hotel is darker and subdued.

This Renaissance Hotel features 350 rooms. Of these, 10 are handicap accessible and just 30 are smoking rooms. They have a tiny fitness room with minimal equipment. If someone is using the running machine, it's going to be noisy in there. Most equipment was installed 18 months ago. Sanitizer solution is in the fitness room, plus spring water.

On the bed you will find a Renaissance Hotel chocolate waiting for you. An unusual surprise is a welcome letter and a Philadelphia soft pretzel is delivered to the guest.

The hotel has 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

Elevators have a nice wood interior.

Comments: The hotel was built about 15 years ago. It is situated close to the airport, but I heard no airplane noise. Also, a railroad track is immediately next to the hotel. I was told that the guests don't hear the trains. I think the trains go slowly here. There really is no attractive scenery here. There is plenty of free parking for guests. I was told that bed upgrades will be happening soon. Mostly, everything appeared in order here. They seem to do a pretty good job with the details.