Ash1

I was a bit surprised to get a winning bid five weeks in advance. Reviews on this property are somewhat mixed, but for $40.00/night, even a "budget" Sheraton is likely to be a good deal.

I stayed at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown for two nights in October 2011. Initially, I had been worried about winning this hotel since there were numerous mentions of bedbugs in the reviews. However, I did some research before my trip and found that the entire hotel had been refurbished in 2011. My stay was thoroughly pleasant. I was given a corner room that had some interesting windows and a nice view of downtown Philadelphia. The room itself was spacious and attractively decorated. The bed had a ton of pillows and a huge, fluffy cover on it. I slept quite well. The bathroom was standard/nice for the class of hotel and I had no complaints. The common areas were clean and tastefully presented, and there looked to be what was quite a nice bar in the center of the lobby, although I did not patronize it. I did eat at the restaurant my first night since the Hard Rock across the street was closed for a private event and had a surprisingly good chicken caesar salad. The Reading Terminal Market across the street made for a great breakfast stop. Although I found no snack vending machines and the prices in the gift shop were insane, there is a convenience store (7/11?) right across the street from the main entrance (where the taxis go, closest to the front desk) for late night snacks. Parking was not an issue for me since I was playing the tourist in downtown Philly during my short stay before moving on to the Poconos and did not pick up my rental car until I was ready to leave Philadelphia. I didn't miss having one in the slightest as Independence Hall and other attractions in Center City were easily within walking distance. As well, I bought a Philly pass (awesome deal) and the tour trolley that was available to me with it had a stop right at the hotel. I also felt safer than I expected walking around, though I wasn't strolling through Center City at midnight. Given the insane prices of hotel rooms in downtown Philadelphia, I was incredibly pleased with this booking. The price was good, I was pleased with the value, and the location was absolutely stellar. Front desk staff were always friendly, particularly the kind woman who checked me in after a series of long and frazzling flights to Philly.

I found this link to a press release on the Marriott's renovations this afternoon and thought it might be helpful for other people considering a Philly bid. The mention of new bedding was definitely welcome.

I originally bid $60 for a hotel in the downtown zone for a three star or above and was rejected on 9/18. Even though the trip is still a few weeks away, I was tired of having unresolved details and nervous about using Priceline for the first time. A bid of $65 seemed to be successful on a consistent basis on this site, so I tried it today and won. I'm pleased for my first use of Priceline considering how high all the rates for downtown Philly lodging has been virtually everywhere else I have looked. I will admit that based off of some bedbug reports and other reviews that I was really hoping not to get the Marriott originally. After my win, I did some more research online, and found that every room in the hotel was renovated this year. Judging by the dates of comments that mentioned renovated rooms, this possibly occurred sometime in July or August. A high percentage of the recent reviews on various travel sites have been positive and one even specifically mentioned that they had feared the bed bug problem but found it to be a complete non-issue. I feel a bit better now and after my trip, I'll submit a review. Thanks!