Just wrapped up a great weekend stay here. I travel to Philly a lot for work and have long moaned about the lake of good options across any of the major brands (FS is maybe the only good non-Kimpton/IHG imo), but this is my new go-to when the FS is out of budget 😜. I will be surprised to see this stay as a Cat 5 next year.

Room: Booked a 1 King Courtyard, got upgraded to something but genuinely no idea what it was. Was told a Junior Suite at check-in, but it definitely didn't match the profile once I got into the room a few hours later (no dining room table, wet bar, or walk-in closet, but a massive room with a huge walk-in shower). Well appointed and well maintained, didn't care enough to push for the true suite as a result. Would be somewhat wary of 14th floor courtyard facing rooms, the atrium is right next to you so you really do have to close your blinds, but it wasn't a huge deal. For those with families, the rollaway bed is actually superb, it's a real mattress. They do seem to run behind on rooms, I didn't get mine until 3:30pm and I saw people waiting each day. Housekeeping and other non-FD services seem to be outsourced to a third party.

Property: The place is gorgeous with lots of fantastic small touches (paintings, furnishings etc.) in hallways that make this feel far more like a PH than any other brand. From the property alone, you could argue it's PH level (less so elsewhere). Gym is the real deal, especially for work travelers, akin to the Equinox at the Ritz in Boston.

Service: Mentioned upthread, but the hotel was kind enough to let me use a C1-4 cert here even when I had to change my dates post-C5 move which earns lots of brownie points from me. Service otherwise was very good with a few small gaps — the aforementioned not real suite upgrade and a somewhat annoying call on checkout day trying to pressure me to checkout before 4pm.

F&B: Cannot stress this enough — make a reservation for breakfast. It's ridiculous, but they were running 50+ minute waits for breakfast both mornings I was there. The space is woefully inadequate for a hotel of it's size/events business. Options are somewhat basic for breakfast, but very high quality so I was content. Also went for drinks and dessert one night which was a good use of the wine vouchers and overall a good experience. Would highly recommend the Flu Shot mocktail, which they will also make off-menu for breakfast which is great if you had a busy night before.

Other: Lots of excessive fees here that would make me pause a second if I were paying cash out of my own pocket ($72 parking, $30/night lame destination fee). Destination fee purportedly includes a "welcome mocktail or cocktail," but has been downgraded to "sparkling wine, mocktail, or coffee beverage" on the actual ticket which is minor but also a little ridiculous at $30/night that includes nothing else but the gym.