The Arco Hotel Midtown Village, Sonder — Hotel in Philadelphia

A truly terrible stay. When we arrived, there was no space to leave our luggage, so we had to wait with our luggage until 4 PM, which is a reasonably late check in time. There were only five(?) lockers available, so of course all are taken by departing guests in the morning.

Then the room. We immediately noticed many things wrong with it. The whole knob of the shower faucet had broken up, which made the shower incredibly leaky and the sound was ok in the beginning, but if you hear it for four straight days, it drives you mad! We could hear the drops falling down very clearly every second or so. The blinds in the bedroom were also broken. We were unable to adjust them to let in more light, or a little bit less light. One pair of blinds worked, the other just plain broken. Furthermore, the bottom part of the faucet of the bathroom sink (where it connects to the counter) was leaky, every time we turned it on, water would go on the counter. The hairdryer was also beyond disgusting. It was sticky and had white bits stuck all over it. I reported these issues to Sonder a few hours after we arrived. They said they would resolve it the next morning, as no staff was available at that time (it was approximately 8 PM, I believe). The next day, no one came. Around 4 PM, I notified Sonder and they said someone would come up to check it out and fix it. A woman did come up, she asked "so somethings broken?", we said "yes, x and x and x". She said, "well, the faucet I can't fix, because it is a very old building (fair enough), and the hairdryer we can't change because we don't have any in stock (what about just cleaning it?) and the other issues will be taken care of". Two more nights passed and they never took care of anything. Everything still as broken and disgusting as we found it.

In the meantime, I also spilt some water on the floor and cleaned it with a paper towel, which was very dirty from the unclean floor after. And one evening, when we got back to the accommodation, two girls outside said there was a drunk guy trying to get in, and that they felt unsafe. We went upstairs to our floor and there was someone that seemed intoxicated. We walked past, to our room. Shortly after, we heard someone banging on a door (or wall?) very intensely. For a long period of time, just banging and banging. I contacted Sonder and they did send someone to check it out, but the banging had stopped when they arrived. In this respect I do think that Sonder dealt with it adequately by sending someone, who came as soon as possible. But of course, because there is no on site staff, they will always be slightly delayed. I felt very unsafe in the meantime.

Some positive things are that we did not think the sound from the road was bothersome at all, and that there were no bed bugs in our room (contrary to what some people in earlier reviews point out). All in all, though, I would never stay here again. The state of the hotel was not great, customer service was terrible and I felt unsafe...

This is my first time ever writing a bad review of any business. Unfortunately this hotel has the worst customer service I've ever experienced. I prepared throughly making sure I understood the app and how to check in, and even called Marriott a few days before to double check that there would be a way in if there were any tech issues. The representative told me that there would be a front desk person on-site. There was not. In fact there are NO employees working at this hotel at all other than maintenance/housekeeping folks.

First issue: It clearly states that there is luggage storage at this location. When we arrived we discovered that there are exactly six lockers to stow luggage for the entire building. They were all taken, and when I tried to request early check-in the offsite Arco staff were unreachable. Felt like a bait-and-switch and threw off our plans to explore the city when we arrived early.

Next issue: The following day we had to check into a new room (the other room was booked for the rest of the weekend). This time I called Marriott to request early check-in (there was no option to do this in the app). I agreed to pay the $20 fee to check in one hour early at 3 pm. This is already a pretty steep fee for a service most hotels offer for free when possible. When I attempted to gain access to my room the code would not work. I stayed on the phone with Marriott for 25 minutes typing in the code again and again as they tried to contact the Arco staff (who were once again unreachable). After half an hour, the code miraculously worked. My request for a refund was flatly denied (?) despite not being able to access the room.

Finally: When we took a shower in our room it immediately almost flooded. There was a giant clump of hair resembling a wig blocking the drain that we were able to remove with a plunger. Thankfully the plunger was there as who knows if anyone would have ever picked up the phone if we had requested a working shower.

The rooms are nicely designed, and pretty clean other than some wear and tear (and the shower issue). The location is good for getting around the city. And I thought the price was fair until I discovered how I would be nickle and dimed and completely aggravated simply trying to get into the room I paid for....

For starters, Sonder is really not a hotel but an Airbnb without the ridiculous charges. That's a good thing!!! Room was spacious and clean. Bed was very comfortable. Location is in Gayborhood and was great for walking to Reading Mkt, Geno's Steaks, Rittenhouse Sq, City Hall, Convention Center

But it's the little things that make a difference.........

The mobile key on the phone downloaded but did not work. You call a number for any help you might need because the building is not staffed. Which is fine. But technical people, who might as well be on the moon, kept telling me to use the keypad even though the app kept telling me I had a mobile key available. They had no answer and were useless help. If your concierge is going to be virtual they need to be better trained.

No USB ports anywhere in the room.

The nearest outlet near the bed was an extension cord under the bed.

You are told that you should expect some noise because you are in a city. They leave earplugs and a white noise machine for you. What they do not tell you is the hotel is above a very noisy restaurant. Great spin, Sonder! The restaurant has a glass ceiling and is in some sort of courtyard which allows the noise to travel not only through the building but echo up through the surrounding buildings and the window of your room. So it's not your typical city noise it's because you are above a very noisy restaurant. It was quiet by 10:30 but for a few hours it was pretty clear there was partying going on a few floors down. Oh, by the way the food in the restaurant is really good.

A microwave in the room would be awesome; not only in the lounge.

But I guess my biggest disappointment is you literally can't get into your room until exactly 4:00 p.m. even though the room is available. And if you want to check in earlier they charge you. Even if the room is available. So I stood outside my door at 3:58 and was unable to get in. Code would not work for 2 more mins. That's just stupidity. There should be a way they know the room is clean and ready and can activate code. That's how you make a guest experience a whole lot better.

Will I give another Sonder property a try? Absolutely. There are just things they...