prncess674

I just won a Priceline room for the PHL FlyerTalk event in March for $65 a night. Has anybody ever stayed at this property? I have no status at Hyatt. I am Hilton and SPG regular. What can I expect here?

Thanks

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Rachel
[email protected]
CO - Platinum
Hilton - Diamond
SPG - Platinum

shinbal

$65 a night? I'm JEALOUS!!

I have stayed here three times. This is the old "Bellevue Stratford". It was a famous old Philadelphia Hotel, made even more famous by Legionnaires Disease outbreak in the '70's.

My history on when it changed and to what, before it was a Park Hyatt, is very cloudy.

What I can tell you is that this is a MARVELOUS Park Hyatt. Service is excellent, from desk staff to room service. The hotel is very ornate...one could gaze at the beauty of its architecture for hours. There's a great deal of history in this wonderful building....truly one of Philly's best.

Rooms have all been renovated, and even the smallest King rooms are grand, colorful, bright, and comfortable, in my opinion. I have stayed in only King rooms.

It is a treat to stay here.

--edited to correct a typo--

[This message has been edited by shinbal (edited 02-06-2002).]

PHL

Indeed, the entire Bellevue building at Broad and Walnut streets in Philadelphia was at one time the Grandest Hotel in Philly. Then came the tragic Legionnaires convention where many of the guests died due to some kind of mold-based virus spread through the ventillation. That was the 70's. The building was shut down and left to rot until the mid 80's sometime when it was fully gutted and refurbished. Floors 1 thru 11 are offices and shopping. There is a nice food court in the ground level, along with Zanzabar Blue - a famous Philadelphia Jazz bar. On the street level is the Palm Restaurant - a great steak house.

Floors 12-18 became "The Hotel Atop the Bellevue" when the building reopened in the 80's. On the 19th floor were the Barrymore room and Founder's Restaurant. The hotel check-in was also located here. Sitting in the Barrymore room or Founder's was (and still is) an awesome experience with the high domed ceiling. Watch what you say, though, because the person 40 feet across the room might here even your slightest whisper.

In December 1996, Hyatt took over the hotel, branding it one of their Park properties. They tried to maintain as much of the elegance and class that had become the "new" Bellevue's hotel reputation. I'd have to say they did a pretty good job. The one thing I was disappointed to see was that the Barrymore room was completely rennovated to be a big lobby for the hotel check-in. It used to have cafe/cocktail tables and nightly entertainment under the prior management. Founder's is still there and remains one of Philly's top restaurants.

There are a total of 170 rooms on floors 12-17(maybe even 11, though I'm not completely sure). You enter through the street entrance and take the elevator to 19(top floor) to check-in, and then take a different elevator down to your room.

You'll enjoy it plenty. If you like Jazz, get reservations at Zanzabar. You won't even have to leave the property in the cold of winter, since it's an elevator ride down to the ground level.

If you like good orchestra music, get tix to the Philadelphia Orchestra at the brand new Kimmel center(www.kimmelcenter.org) just 2 blocks down the street. It's an absolutely fantastic venue with perfect accoustics. Just opened in December 2001.

kv99

Agreed -- it's a beautiful hotel. A friend of mine had a wedding reception there last year and it was one of the nicest weddings I'd been to -- a beautiful setting in the main grand ballroom area, excellent food and service.

The room was fine as well -- nicely renovated and spacious.

The hotel has a great location right on broad street --ditto on the rec for the kimmel center and a philadelphia orchestra performance. the hall is simply stunning. tickets have been tough to come by for upcoming concerts but if you keep checking online (you can use philorch.org) or calling 215-893-1999, seats tend to open up periodically.

another great new restaurant in the area is pasion! on 15th st. nuevo latino cuisine-- the ceviches are phenomenal. i also love a little jazz cafe called chris' on sansom st. right around the corner.

$65 is a steal!!


[This message has been edited by kv99 (edited 02-06-2002).]

trd

I stayed there several years ago. I had made a reservation asking for a handicapped room as I was traveling with a handicapped friend. When we arrived there was nothing in the reservation noting the handicapped request and apparently they had no more handicapped rooms -- so they put us in a HUGE corner two room suite. As my friend merely needed/wanted the "help" bars in the bathroom we could put up the this "inconvenience" -- a fabulous room & stay. BTW make a reservation (long in advance) to Le Bec Fin restaurant about 2 blocks away for one of the finest meals in the country! (Bring $$$)

[This message has been edited by trd (edited 02-06-2002).]

prncess674

This is a follow-up post about my stay at the Park Hyatt in PHL. I called ahead and requested a king non smoking room. I checked in about 6pm on Friday. They had to take a photocopy of my drivers license which I found a bit strange. I was assigned room 1510. The room actually only had a queen size bed, since I was alone I didn’t complain. The room was very large and spacious. I also had a sofa with a pull out bed and a coffee table. The bathroom had good hot water pressure and nice bathroom amenities. There was a robe hanging in the closet. The bed was already turned down with mints on the pillows. There was only one real window in the room, and it overlooked the atrium, so there was very little natural light. Behind the couch appeared to be another window, but in actuality it was just curtains to make it look like there was another window. I also had an ample size desk, with a two line phone. The phone speed was about 38K for a dialup modem. There was no high speed internet access in the room. There was also no coffee maker in the room. I am not sure if this typical of Hyatt’s since I regularly stay at Hilton properties. I was pleased with the room considering how cheap I got the room. I have no status with Hyatt.

I checked the in room video checkout screen and the rate was listed as a wholesale rate of $69.00. So my bid of $65 plus $5 bonus was almost right on the money. I would stay there again for this rate, however I am not sure this hotel is “worth” it’s retail rate of $150 - $200 a night. It was centrally located and was clean and well maintained.


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Rachel
CO - Platinum
Hilton - Diamond
SPG - Platinum

Applefan

Princess,
It sounds like you got a great deal. I have not stayed there before but most if not all of the Park Hyatts I have been to provide a wake-up service with coffee or tea delivered to your room in the morning in a silver teapot and tray. There also is often coffee in the lobby in the morning hours. Almost all normal Regency and Grands have coffee pots.

prncess674

Is this tea service free? I didn't really check into it, since I was on vacation. What I really needed delivered was a hangover remedy and a swift kick out of the bed.

Occupationalhazard

Get used to showing I.D. I normally stay at Hyatt and *wood properties, but recently I stayed at the Doubletree at Plymouth Meeting.

Upon arrival, the clerk asked for a photo ID, which apparently is a new, but irregularly applied Hilton policy--I posted a question about this on the Hilton thread, and that's what the regular Hiltonites said. Expect other chains to follow suit, btw, as apparently Hyatt has.

I didn't have my D/L on me, as when I am on long haul trips, I tuck it in with my registration, in case I get pulled over....hey, I like to speed.

As it happened, I did have other photo ID on me (my NY Atty ID), but that wasn't good enough for the clerk, who was actually kind of snotty about it--"As a lawyer, don't you think it's a good idea to have your d/l on you when you travel?" Sure. That's why I kee it in my truck--I hadn't expected to get pulled over by a state trooper in the lobby of the Doubletree.

She asked for a passport, which, since the break up of the USSR, you no longer need to drive from NY to PA, so I didn't have mine on me. Then she gave me a speech about September 11.

Things got better from there.

If hotels want a photo ID to go with a credit card, fine, or to establish that I am not secretly taking advantage of my buddy's Diamond card, fine, but the 9/11 thing is pretty brain-dead, if you ask me:

1. The terrorists all *had* ID.

2. In the event that the hotel ever made it onto OBL's Big List of Things to Blow Up, then if they don't x-ray my bags, I could check in with my ID *and* a duffel bag full of Cemtex, and blow the entire place up, including their photocopy of my license.

Anyway, I generally like the Park Hyatt in Philly, but I generally stay in the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing these days.

Regards,

O/H

doc

I too really like this property. Any recent experineces here as a Diamond by chance?

rachel

I just stayed at the park hyatt 12/22 on a priceline rate of $70. As a diamond I called and had my GP number put into the record. I called 1 800 checkin at 9 am and was told that no upgrade rooms were available. I told the rep that suites were still for sale on the web site and she said hold on. After a lot of keying on the computer she said that if I could wait to check in till noon she could pre register me into a straford suite--no problem. We got to the hotel and it was beautiful, they greeting us with sparkling wine and our amenity form. I got the fruit/cheese tray and wine--it was the best tray I have had (6 different kinds of cheese with cherrys, black berrys, strawberries, walnuts and a mango that was very artfully cut). It was very tasty and the wine was good too. The sports club was terrific, and I used it twice. They didn't give me any breakfast coupons but I felt too greedy to ask since we only paid $70 and everything was top notch.

We were sent to a resaurant called La Viola which is only 1 &1/2 blocks away, it was excellent! It is BYOB and you have to pay cash but it was the best italian I have had in a while and nothing was over $12.

FlyByNight

I stayed here last may, and when i noticed a few bottles of sparkling wine on ice behind the check-in staff, remarked that their working conditions were enviable! They were quick to explain that the wine was for guests checking in, and offered me a glass....had never encountered this before, but it set the tone for a very enjoyable stay!

lalala

Hey hyattophiles,

I am attending a meeting in PHL, the meeting is at the Mariott, but I would prefer to PH it if possible. Is the PH close to the marriott, or should we try for the Penn's landing property?

Thanks,

lala

briansilverstein

I am not sure where Penn landing is. I think the PH is about a half a mile from the Marriott. There are a lot of cabs, so you can always go that route.

I think that the PH in Philly is great. It is not new as the other PH are. However, service is great and there is a nice gym next door.

ExtrAAordinaire

Just be sure to request a renovated room!