Omni William Penn Hotel — Hotel in Pittsburgh

We booked a one-night stay at the William Penn for a date night in Pittsburgh. We selected this hotel for it's luxury and high-end atmosphere. We selected the Superior Suite One Bedroom 1 King Bed, a sizeable room in the $400+ range. Arrival was a bit of a pain. We knew there was not parking on the property, however many folks reported that using the garage across the street was a great option. We were not able to do that because it was under construction; No fault of the hotel, however at least a heads up would have been nice. We opted for the next available garage, about two blocks away, and walked up the side walk. This was an interesting walk - walking through groups of homeless people, and drugged out people. Not quite what we were expecting to be subjected to. During check-in, I had to speak loudly, nearly yelling, to the receptionist, as there was a live band in the lobby and it was pretty challenging to hear. We were shocked to find lots of intoxicated people gathering in the common areas of the lobby. We had an interesting elevator ride with an intoxicated gentlemen that couldn't figure out how to use the elevator. The lobby is stunningly beautiful and impressive, but we waited until the next morning to really experience it just to get away from the party crowd. Our room was very clean and everything we expected from a cleanliness level. We were surprised to find the interior temperature was 81 degrees. The air conditioning was fully functional and brought the temperature back down to around 70 in an hour or so, but it would have been nice to have had the room set there before we arrived, as it was pretty stuffy a first. We noticed directly above the bed on the ceiling there was paint peeling from the drywall. The bathroom was very nice and clean, however it was surprisingly small. It was a little larger than a handicap stall in a public restroom, and featured small tub/shower combo unit. The granite vanity top and high end fixtures were nice, but again, it was just so small. The mattress and bed pillows were comfortable. The bed frame was pretty loud. Every time you moved it made some noises. Nothing too loud, but it was enough to wake my wife when I got up to use the restroom. Around 11 PM we heard people in the next room yelling. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but we were not surprised, given the party crowd we observed during check-in. The next morning we checked out and the staff was friendly and greeted us with a smile, but during no point did anyone ask us how our stay was or if we needed anything. The overall experience wasn't bad, it just wasn't particularly good either. We selected this hotel looking for a luxury experience (and the price tag to go with it) but found that it really seemed like more of a party crowd. Maybe there was a wedding hosted that night? Not really sure, but we found the Omni William Penn just wasn't for us. I'd stay there again if nothing else was available, but next time I will probably explore other options. I feel bad the experience wasn't what we hoped for, but you don't know...

As other reviewers have written, the OWP Hotel provides an excellent experience in so many ways. While we share their positive opinions when it comes to the beautiful ambiance, the gracious staff, and the delicious food, I want to concentrate on the surprisingly good experience I had as a wheelchair user. I can honestly say the accommodations at the OWP were the best experience I’ve ever had with the accessibility aspect of our travels. |In the public spaces, in spite of it being an historic property, the OWP's designers have managed to incorporate discreet ramps tucked here and there where needed throughout the property. Spacing between tables in the Speakeasy, Tavern, and dining rooms were all roomy enough in which to maneuver a wheelchair easily. Yes, the entry ramp is on a side street, just around the corner from the main entrance. But the doormen were immediately helpful and escorted my husband and me to the side entrance which has an inside ramp that avoids about five stairs down from the street. The ramp brought us closer to the reception desks than the front entrance would have. Once we arrived at our accessible room we were, first, amazed at the size of it. Plenty of room to maneuver about very easily, and there was an intentional space to park (and charge) my chair right next to one side of the bed. The bathroom was incredibly spacious. There were handrails on BOTH sides of the loo. There was a seat and hand shower in the large shower with a completely flat entrance and, yet, no water escaped into the room. Speaking of water on bathroom floors, the surface of the entire bathroom floor was lovely but did not get slippery when wet. Proof that we can have both safe accessibility and beauty in the same space. But my favorite little thing that showed the informed thought behind OWP’s accessible planning was a robe hook on the inside of the bathroom door! Such a little thing, but it allowed me to close the bathroom door on my own. Wheelchair-accommodating doors are necessarily wider than regular doors. Consequently, when someone in a chair goes inside an “accessible” bathroom it is then very difficult to close the door behind you. You have to go back outside the bathroom to reach the door’s handle, then try to back into the bathroom while hanging onto that far-away handle, while also turning the chair backwards to get it through the entryway without banging up the door's woodwork. Whew! It’s tricky. But such a thoughtful thing as putting the robe hook in the middle of the door takes away all that stressful effort and allows someone in a wheelchair to simply grab a ‘handle’ and pull the door closed behind them… just as if they were standing on their two feet instead of sitting on their four wheels. And that, my friends, is what we mean by ‘equal accommodations’. Thank you, OWP, for providing us with a rare experience of thoughtfulness to provide us with a truly delightful first visit to Pittsburgh. We...

I stayed here for a legal convention and it was a beautiful venue, each room our events took place in were lovely. However, the lodgings were terrible. My room was very run down and left much to be desired. the lock on my door was only half attached due to a crack in the wall that made the second screw holding it in place fall out. The window also did not close on the left side all the way which seemed to be due to the rubber seal getting stuck. There were odd stains everywhere including on the lampshades, walls, and the lounge chair in the room. There was also a hole in the wall paper that looked to have been intentionally cut directly across the night table from the bed. The shower had very good water pressure but did not look clean enough for me to want to get in it and there was soap scum or mold on the corner of the tub. There was also mold on the window frame above the vent. The vent seemed to be the only aur conditioning and did not cool my room to below 70 degrees based on what I felt. I was often sweating just sitting in the room with the AC set to 60. I could not figure out how the shower worked as the plug to switch it from tub to shower would not stay up and immediate fell back to the tub setting every try. I called room service about this issue and after 30 minutes, they sent up two men to help me (a single young woman traveling alone). I felt very uncomfortable about that situation and felt the hotel should have sent at least one woman up. I also ordered room service during my stay. I ordered a plain burger with fries and did not realize their fries come automatically with cheese on them, so I had to send them back. The burger was also so juicy that before the food made it upstairs to me, the bun was already soggy. They also did not have regular ketchup and only had seasoned ketchup which tasted terrible. I ended up not eating the burger and was still charged full price which was over $30 after the fees. The staff were also incredibly rude during check-in, when I called for room service or assistance, and when I asked for a printed receipt for my stay. It also took room service over an hour after my hitting the provided "I'm done" button, for them to actually come to the room to collect the plate and serving table. I was very disappointed and upset after my stay. The only staff members who were nice during my visit were those in the Tap Room when I went to get my one free nonalcoholic beverage provided by...