777 global mile hound

For me the location the strong breakfast and access to the Sporting Club have been the main draws

River in Sight

Just an update following my stay - I stayed here many times, probably at least 20 or 30 times, in the early 2010s when I had a client in Philly. However, work hasn't brought me to Philly as much lately and I hadn't stayed there for a few years. Toward the end of when I was previously staying there, I thought things were getting pretty shabby. I always liked the hotel, friendly staff and a nice breakfast, so I kept coming back despite the increasing shabbiness.

For this trip, I was upgraded to one of the interior-facing junior suites - I always had mixed feelings about these rooms because I prefer waking up to the Sun and these rooms are very dark (of course my preferences for waking up don't matter as much now with a three year old in tow). The room was nice with our son since it had a small balcony (interior facing) we could sit on after he went to sleep to avoid disturbing him. Additionally, the room was very quiet whereas some of the rooms on Broad St. can be noisy. The room had been updated and I thought it was in nice shape. It had an absolutely massive television and retained the wet bar with a sink and fridge. Toiletries were not Hyatt standard but were another brand I had never heard of, they seemed nice enough. The elevators remain an issue, I'm not sure they can realistically do anything to fix the situation but it can be a couple minutes or more of a wait to get an elevator at peak times. Access to the Sporting Club remains and the staff let me know they have children's hours at the pool I think from 8am-4pm, although we did not check it out. All of the hotel staff were very friendly.

Regarding breakfast, I didn't see walterD's comment until after we ate and I was a little bit disappointed with the delivery of room service - it's more the take-out style than proper room service. Still, the food was good - I had the crab omelet which I thought was very nice with lots of crab. My wife and son both had eggs and enjoyed it. Had I been paying for the room service I think I would have been irritated by the $5++ mini bottle of Tropicana OJ, but I guess that's how it goes. All room service charges, including tip, were removed from the bill. This was my son's first time having room service, I think he thought it was fun but I missed XIX. I've included a picture below:

spgplat21

Ouch, that breakfast is a far cry from the breakfast experience at XIX. I hope my travels don't take me back there until its reopened. I still don't get Hyatt's move to the take-out style room service at some higher end properties. If I want take out, I will just order ubereats or some other food deliver service for much cheaper. I guess it's cheaper and easier to prepare, but after a similar experience at one of the Hyatt's in New York, I always ask before ordering.

gpy

According to the XIX website "The hotel's XIX - NINETEEN Restaurant is undergoing a refresh from Sept. 15, through late October. During this time to-go meals will be offered for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There will be no disruption on guest room floors. Please contact the hotel directly with any questions." I'm staying there in January so I'm very glad to know the restaurant will be reopened!

uppereastsider

hotelfanatic

trying to find a weekend to use my free night is very challenging. I finally booked one at end of March... is this place popular on weekend? or do they limit free rooms?

I have not read the entre threat, but what is the current limitations for Glob breakfast at XIX? Thanks in advance!

uppereastsider

Biggie Fries

As per uppereastsider: No evident limits on breakfast, which is to say that I usually go with the buffet, and have never pushed it too far when I go a la carte.

It's hit or miss on the weekends: Big for weddings, graduations (spring)... Between Christmas and New Year's I got a good low rate in advance -- better than using the free night -- then watched it fill to the point where room prices doubled, and then the rooms disappeared. Didn't get any sort of upgrade as a result.

dw

shaker58

MSPeconomist

gunksny

Biggie Fries

Beg to differ. In general: Best weather of the year. In particular: Graduations at no end of local institutions. Proms, weddings, service organization activities ... it is, as they say, the "iconic," "go-to" place for lots of people in the region for these things. It's when this place makes the money it needs, to support grifters like myself at low rates and free nights during slack periods.

spgplat21

As an update, I just had a stay here last week and as others have reported, XIX is fully operational and was as good as ever. I had the buffet with one extra side item order, and everything was removed proactively before I checked out.

One note regarding room service though. They are still doing the weird "to go" order style for room service so I guess it's permanent at this point. The room service menu is titled XIX To Go, and the food is delivered in a bag on disposable plates with plastic utensils like a takeout order. The food was good, and the delivery time was only around 30 minutes but the whole process just seems cheap for a nice hotel.

I had a great stay overall though. I was upgraded to a Bellevue Suite as a globalist, the breakfast was wonderful and the location is hard to beat. I'll definitely be back.

dw

For anyone looking to use their Cat 1-4 certs at this property, this is yet another property that has gotten pretty bad with instituting minimum stay requirements for booking their base rooms (using cash or points) over the weekends.

I was just checking and for the remainder of the year (that's 22 weekends), and there is only one Saturday with award availability if you book just that one night. Extending the stay to two nights (Fri and Sat), six weekends open up for award availability. And extending the stay further to three nights (Thurs, Fri and Sat), suddenly 14 weekends open up for award availability.