PA Harrisburg Crowne Plaza

[iahphx]

I kind of liked this hotel for the money (my invoice said $39, so without bonus money I'd start bidding there). It's downtown, but very easy access to the Interstate. Parking would add $8 weekdays, but the meters don't run evenings or weekends, and on-street parking is plentiful. About a block or two up Second Street are some surprisingly trendy restaurants, including a spiffy-looking cafe selling only soup, so there might actually be some benefit to being downtown (other than business). The City Island recreation area across the mighty Susquehana is also just blocks away.

They seemed to spend lavishly on the hotel's interior, with marble and plenty of local Amish-style "antiques." Room decor is also well above average for a business hotel, with faux Amish quilts and wall hangings. Even the indoor pool has windows to the bar area! Certainly more style than you'd expect to find in a Harrisburg Crowne Plaza.

[lwitchel]

Evidently I'm stalking you, iahphx. First Harrisburg, next Europe!

I was there last night, and as you might have thought, got the room at $39. I have a mixed bag to report.

The hotel is very convenient for business in central Harrisburg. I had to spend the weekend at the Whitaker Center for Science & Arts; it's two short blocks. The bus and train stations are four blocks. I agree with you on the hotel decor, it's stylish. Not far away on Third Street is the state capitol, which I finally walked around. Quite pretty.

I arrived at 12:45 pm for a 3:00 stated check-in. At that point they didn

[freecia]

Mini-Review

Well, the Crowne Plaza wasn't horrid for the money, but there were several dissapointments and a few surprises. Read on for the mini-review.

We arrived fairly late at night and had to be let into the garage across the street by the valet. Ok. We didn't mind that since it was more spacious than the famously tiny spots they have in their own garage. Parking was $8. Check-in hit a few bumps since we were looking for a non-smoking double and they were all out of those. Decided to try a smoking double and fall back to a non-smoking queen if we had to. We went up and the hallway smelled like smoke but the room was surprisingly fresh. The front desk trainee even called up to make sure the room was okay.

At this point, we were ready to give the Crowne Plaza two thumbs up... but the night wasn't over yet. The stain on the floor and water stains on the curtains in rm. #612 didn't bother us too much, hotels get wear and tear. The beds were comfortable. Then it was time to take a shower, which is where the Crowne Plaza really showed their true nature. We called for an extra set of towels. The phone buttons were a bit non-responsive and we could only hit the front desk option. I took the first of three showers and the water was warm enough to shower in and steam the bathroom but by no means hot. I also noticed that there was some sort of pinkish orange mold growing in the shower on the shower curtain where you scrunch it up when it is folded back. Ew. Came out and was told the extra set of towels had not arrived and they'd called twice now. 2nd person took a shower. Now, it's been more than an hour for a simple towel delivery. They had to go down to the front desk and ask for an extra set in person. There was no apology or even acknowledgement that there was anything wrong from housekeeping or the front desk.

The next morning, I look for a closeby Starbucks in the phonebook. Well. Guess what. I guess I found a Starbucks free town :) They do exist!

That's totally fine. We decide to head on the road for Hershey so we check out and go to our car. Drive up to the gate. Can't figure out how to get out. Turns out that getting out also involves a key. I jump out of the car, run across the street, and ask the valet to let us out. We get out of the lot and follow the printed instructions provided by the hotel to Hershey. The instructions were plain written down instructions without a map so we missed the first left turn. Not a big deal except the correction involves 2 lefts - 1 illegal (oops) but it would have meant we'd go over the bridge instead and have to find a u-turn on the other side. Didn't seem likely.

So- the ultimate verdict was that the hardware was there, but the details weren't taken care of at all. There should be a clean shower curtain in any 3* hotel. Towels should come in an hour or less (half an hour or less really). It would be "nice" if the water was hot at 11pm. Leaving a locked lot should have been watched by the valet/bellman but there was only one on duty it seemed, so that can be forgiven. Most of the stuff was trivial really, but it did make us glad we'd only paid $50 for it. The beds were nice, the air was clean, the room was fairly quiet even though it was near a vending machine. Decent basic stay. Just be sure to get whatever you need front the front desk yourself if you want it to come and maybe turn that shower curtain inside out.

We ate at Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant and had an enjoyable meal. I especially liked the ham loaf and the sweet waitress (probably near college age) who was very friendly and attentive. We had an entire table for ourselves. coupon Great if you want a bit less than a buffet style smorgasboard and the food was not greasy or oily (I'm from California).

And oh, unless you want a cupcake or some such sweet for breakfast, make a breakfast stop before you hit Hershey Chocolate World.