Sonesta Select Philadelphia Airport — Hotel in Philadelphia

Recently took a mother-daughter trip for an event at The Liacouras Center and stayed here for one night. We were originally booked for another hotel, that happens to be across from this one and that has horrific reviews, and we have never been so lucky to have changed to the Sonesta Select Philadelphia instead.

Upon entering to check in, I was greeted by a staff member (I can't recall her name), but she was very personable, polite, prompt, and helpful. All of the staff members I came in contact with, either through asking them questions, or just passing them in the halls, were all very personable and polite. They all spoke and said hello in passing, which is something that unfortunately doesn't happen too regularly anymore, so this was a nice reality.

It doesn't say on the hotel confirmation you get, but this hotel ONLY takes payment for the room in a CARD form - NO CASH - which is a small inconvenience. The lady at the front desk was very understanding, nice, and patient about waiting for me to transfer funds to the card I had with me. I also had to pay a $100 room deposit and $12.50 parking fee on my card, of which $87.50 is to be returned to my card within a couple business days.

The inside lobby is very decorative, clean and even has a pleasant smell, unlike some musty hotels. They have a small bar right inside the lobby that looked well stocked and nice. As well as a TV and sitting area. To the side of the check-in desk is a very small convience-store like area about the size of a closet. It has personal hygiene & OTC medicine products, as well as some cold drinks, individual microwaveble soups/side cup items, chips/pretzels/cookies, ice cream snacks, and a microwave. All of which are for sale. While it is super convenient and they do surprisingly have a small selection of pretty good food/snack items, but the prices were definitely more than normal. I guess that can be expected though.

In the area in which the hotel is, there is an abundance of hotel options. What there seems to not be, is any type of restaurant or fast food(with the exception of one place I believe), gas stations, coffee places, or grocery stores. We did find one Wawa down Bartram Avenue, but I wouldn't recommend getting anything from there in terms of hot food.

Our room featured a King Size bed, 2 nightstands, a desk & chair, dresser, big armoire, TV, couch and side tv-tray-style side stand. The room also offered a hairdryer and ironing board and iron. The room was very clean and you could faintly smell the bleach used in the linens to clean and sanitize. The bed was either actually very comfortable or I was just exhausted from the days events. Either way, once my head hit the very comfortable, feather pillows, I was out like a light and I slept & woke up great. No back pain or anything. The bathroom had a tub/shower combo, complete with pump-style bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. There is a nice sized mirror on the back of the bathroom door and outside the door, is a single sink with a large mirror. Opposite the sink is a small area with an ice bucket, single-serve coffee packets, and coffee machine. I didn't try any of it because I am impartial to hot tea. But if is definitely a nice feature.

The hotels also offers a small courtyard with several sitting areas, trees and flowers. It is only open during a certain time through the day and evening. The doors on the outside of the hotel, the ones that would be more convenient than walking the entire way to the entrance, didn't work at night with our room keys to unlock like you would think they would.

I was definitely very happy with my stay at the Sonesta Select Philadelphia and impressed with the staff. It was very clean and I would stay here again in...

It's painfully obvious the staff suffers from a culture of incompetence and indifference. I arrived, with suitcase in tow at 2:15pm and the desk clerk did not say hello, welcome or anything of the sort, but rather, 'check in isn't until 4pm'??. Really?. Besides the fact we'd paid extra for an 'early' check in, not an 8am check in, but if one considers 2:15p 'early' only due to a posted check in time. Did she really think all the rooms would magically become ready at 4pm? Meanwhile, she checks in 6 other guests as I am watching her and then tells me they are airline crew, as though their rooms are not rooms for check in?... It went from bad to worse. I requested daily stay over service, and had to call the desk at the evening each day following to report no stay over service. The clerk's reply, 'well it's 9pm and nobody is here from housekeeping.' So what happened to the daily list?.. This happened 3 days in a row, on the fourth day, I did get service with a note from the housekeeper saying she was not allowed to 'touch anything' but she refreshed my towels and took out the trash. This property advertises breakfast, lunch and dinner. While I was waiting in the lobby for my room I inquired about how to get lunch, and she said it was not open on Sunday.? The next morning, when my group met in the lobby for what was supposed to be a working breakfast meeting, it took us over 30 minutes to get the first order ( and an additional 20 minutes for a cup of coffee), To call that counter service a restaurant is a stretch, it's more like a food truck ( one person at the window and one cooking), and no coordination of payment. After waiting over 30 minutes for my breakfast sandwich sitting at a nearby table, when the counter guy reappeared, I asked again about my sandwich, and he handed me a plastic box! There were no other occupied tables, so it's not like it was busy or that he did not see us sitting there. Getting an order of avocado toast took an equally ridiculous amount of time. Needless to say we did not plan on breakfast or any other meals there againl. They did not even have a coffee/hot water station in the lobby. Pitiful.

Sadly, it was obvious that providing customer service is not the mainstay among the staff. Clearly short staffed, unconcerned and unapologetic was the vibe we witnessed. Suggest staying at the Embassy Suites, it's right next door. Great breakfast, and...

First, I'm going to be as honest as possible without you saying, "You can't make this stuff up." I made the reservation for one nights stay while at a New Jersey rest stop... having driven from Boston in pouring rain, I had enough. So, I went to Expedia, wanting a room in Philly but not downtown... Easy on and off the highway was my goal.. The price wasn't highest it was the best; no refunds....etc. But there's a Starbucks on site... pool... work out equipment... places to find food and a clean room that's what photos showed. Well, sweet Jesus, when I arrived, there was a wooden horse in the driveway with an arrow pointing to the lobby.... yes to a side door... but there is no sign on the side door saying, "Come on in... just a sign saying we're all in this together. What all together? The hotel is under construction..... plywood... along the walls...no Starbucks...no restaurant...no lobby...just a woman sitting at a desk. Oh, did I mention what appeared to be a homeless lady laying all of her personal things onto the carpet. in the hallway/make sift lobby. And then the guy sitting in a side chair by the lady at the desk... perhaps her bodyguard...once I checked in and got my key card, I headed to my room... it was the last room on the second floor . I did find a clean room with a comfortable bed. Thank you, God.. Leaving at 7:45 am. heading to DC. Sonesta has always had a good reputation if the ad had been upfront about the condition of the building.... and that I paid $13.00 for preferred parking... that was anything but preferred... it was a park at your own risk according to the signs. So I paid full price for a hotel room in a construction zone... What a huge disappointment. Buyer beware... Safety.. beware... of folks...