CMK10

Stay Report - 12/30 - 12/31

Location: Excellent, just northeast of Rittenhouse Square and southwest of City Hall. Near City Hall are stations on both the Broad Street and Market Franklin Lines and you can always walk .4 miles to Suburban Station to get to the SEPTA including the airport line. The neighborhood it's in has a lot of interesting and fun restaurants and bars as well. PHL is a 20 minute Uber with no traffic away.



Hotel: An aging urban property that feels a little on the small side. There's a small, cramped lobby where they do the happy hour and a small bar and restaurant right off it. They did have free coffee in the morning though which was nice. There's some event space on the top floor and that's about it. The elevators are very small so you may have to wait to squeeze into one.



Check In: The hotel was very busy when i arrived but they were checking people in quickly. The agents were friendly though no Spire upgrade sadly.

Room: Pretty small with a weird dead space corridor (though at least it had a full sized closet off it). Large, comfortable bed and a desk but a minuscule bathroom. Wifi worked well and noise wasn't an issue.







Overall a decent place but nothing spectacular.

Jon Maiman

I had a couple of stays approx. 1 year ago and agree with CMK10's review. It is an okay urban property in a good location but nothing spectacular. When the room rate is good, I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again; however, there is nothing particularly compelling about the property to draw me to it otherwise.


--Jon

Wanderer22

I stay at the Palomar about 3-4 times a year. They have a great location and the staff is fantastic. Go to the second floor to see the tilework kept from the old building. The rooms are on the small side but the spa rooms have great tubs.

stimpy

I just had a great stay under COVID. Upgraded to a jacuzzi room. In the room there was a bag with a small bottle of Pinot Noir, water, mints, and an Old Fashioned cocktail in a small bottle. Plus a $15 F&B credit plus $10 more for the secret phrase. We had dinner in restaurant, with outdoor seating of course. The only complaint there was they gave us plastic utensils, but a normal plate and wine glasses!?!?!?!

777 global mile hound

Any recent experiences all?

lwildernorva

I was there in late June for a weekend. I didn't see much change from the earlier comments in this thread, but I experienced good treatment as a Diamond with a room upgrade to a spa bathroom that was quite generously sized in the bathroom but not so much in the bedroom part and full breakfast for two in the hotel restaurant.

Many neat restaurants and bars within walking distance. Not a special property but a really good one if the rates are competitive.

stimpy

I had a few stays since my post above. Nothing new. It is a decent hotel in a good location.

777 global mile hound

Thanks all
I will prob do a night there to requalify for Ambassador then move over to Canopy or the Hyatt Bellevue

FlyinHawaiian

Here's my report from this past June: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/34373126-post33.html

IMO, Philadelphia is one of the rare locations where IHG's properties are better than Hyatt's.

777 global mile hound

Good to know and when you say IHg I assume you mean both Kimptons?
Also does anyone know if the Kimpton Palomar Philly has a soft medium or firm mattress?

stimpy

I would assume you can request what you prefer. I mostly live in hotels and don't have a care about different mattress types. Hence I cannot remember what mattress type they had.

fmkgb

Any recent reviews?
I have a stay next week. I think the current secret phrase expires today or tomorrow. How long until they issue a new phrase and where can I find it besides googling?

Anyone know cheapest indoor parking lot nearby?

Thanks in advance.

ffgap

I've stayed there recently as Diamond.

Received a one-cat room upgrade which was sort of a pseudo-upgrade. It was a high-floor corner room with view, but there wasn't any view (you could glimpse at two or three other high-rises which obstructed the view).

The room was less in need of refurbishment than I had feared from reviews I had read. My main gripe with the room was its very poor layout. The sole comfy chair was in the hallway directly facing the door to the room (not kidding). I don't know who'd want to sit in such a small corridor with no TV in sight.

Otherwise, I was satisfied. Breakfast was okay-ish and I did get an early check-in (well before noon). The wine hour was in the much-too-small lobby area.

I know, not a stellar review but all told, it wasn't bad. The hotel's location is a plus, too.

ostatekitty

I've stayed at both the Monaco and Palomar (Monaco more recently). I thought both were nice, but if location doesn't matter Monaco is in a much more picturesque location with views of various gardens & historical buildings depending on your room location.

beltway

I see that the Palomar has a new (to me, anyway) $32.58/night amenity fee. The Monaco, where I customarily stay, has not yet adopted this noxious practice.