PA Philadelphia Sheraton University City

[MelP]

I bid 3* in the University zone and won this hotel on a $75 bid when virtually every Downtown hotel was sold out. This was a one night stay on October 23rd. Despite it being slightly out of Center City it is still well-located - walking distance from 30th Street station, and just two blocks from the 34th and Market station on the Blue line. It is just a five minute subway ride from there to the center of Downtown Philly, and the #40 bus a couple of blocks away from the hotel takes you right to South Street.

I arrived at the hotel fairly early at a bit after Noon and was able to check in right away. I was given a two double bed room on the 10th floor. The hotel is entirely non-smoking so smoking vs. non-smoking rooms are not an issue. The room itself was of average size and was clean and overall well-maintained, the desk was a little scuffed in one spot but that was about it. Carpet was in good shape. The furniture wasn't high style but it wasn't stodgy and cheap-looking either. There was a long desk with cushy high back chair, a four drawer dresser that had the TV on top and, something I always like in a hotel room, an easy chair with ottoman for relaxing and TV watching. There was a closet in the room entryway. No refrigerator or mini-bar, there was a coffee maker and coffee. Also two large bottles of water for $3 or 4 each that I did not touch. The bed was comfy and stacked with four pillows and a throw pillow. There wasn't an internet computer workstation in my room as there are in many rooms of the hotel, which disappointed me, but hey, this was a Priceline room so I kinda expected that. I liked the decor - color scheme was a dark blue, with one wall painted that color and the bedspreads also that color. Took an edge off of that standard hotel sterility and gave it a bit of coziness. I had a decent, open view to the west from my room. The bathroom was in good shape and very clean, with a hair dryer and the standard toiletries, but no shower cap. The bathtub had a very non-skid bottom, which is a good thing. As it was an unusually warm 80 degree day and somewhat humid, I had the a/c (controlled by an electronic wall thermostat) on and it worked fine.

The lobby and lower lobby were both very nice. There is a business center in the lower lobby but it charges for everything and internet/computer access in the business center was quite pricey! The in-room and wireless connections are free. The hotel does have an outdoor pool, which I didn't check out as it was closed for the season (although it was certainly warm enough that day to swim!)

The only significant minus was the condition of the corridor outside the room on my floor, which is strange because the lobby and room were nice. The corridor wallpaper was in very bad shape - peeling and discolored, making the corridor look shabby. Hopefully that's up for a refurb very soon. The staff was a mixed bag - some were pleasant, but one was a bit surly when I called down for a late afternoon wake up call after a nap. I didn't go to the restaurant or sample room service, prices seemed average for a hotel.

The area itself is good, and is smack by both Drexel and the U. of Penn, so there were a lot of students around and activity well into the evening. There are also many medical facilities in the area. There are widely scattered restaurants around, including an Italian/pizza restaurant across the street that looked busy. There was also a Wawa (combo 7-11 type store and deli) across the street, which was quite handy, and a Starbucks down Chestnut in the opposite direction.

If you can get past the shabby looking corridor wallpaper (which may not be the case on every floor), then this hotel is a quite satisfactory place to stay and very convenient to public transport.