Had a one night stay at the ES Center City this weekend. Since I did not rent a car this weekend, everything had to be train / walk friendly.

The ES is very easy to get to from PHL via train. The R1 line goes right through Suburban station, and is a five minute walk from there up Ben Franklin Blvd. It is on the left side of the road as you are heading towards the Museum of Art. The building itself is a tall, round tower.

Check-in was a fairly small area, but as it was not busy when I checked in, no problems. I did notice that to park would have been $24 per day, valet only. I had a room on the sixth floor since I checked in early.

The suite was very odd shaped, due to the cylindrical shape of the building. There was a small patio off of the living room with a sliding glass door. The kitch area was large and very functional. The bathroom was a little cramped, but everything worked fine. The fixtures did appear to be quite a bit older than I've seen in some ES hotels. The bed was wonderful and sleeping was and absolute joy, with the nice pillowtop mattress.

Happy hour is downstairs in the lobby. This was not a very big area, but it wasn't too busy. The beers on tap were Bud Lite (yuk) and Yuengling lager. They shut down at exactly 7:30.

Breakfast buffet is in the TGI Fridays right next door. A voucher you get with check in gets you into the breakfast buffet. It was very good.

There are several good bars and restaurants in the area, and it is within walking distance to the Art Museum, Franklin Institute, and SEPTA subway and rail stations. My advice is to try Karma, an excellent Indian restaurant at 2nd & Chestnut.