Ritz Carlton Philly
 

Is the Ritz still a good place to stay in Philadelphia? I am having surgery at Rothman Orthopedic Clinic and was advised this was a good hotel.

GM has changed, not sure about other staff you may have interacted with

ask about this?

i wonder what the min lease is for RC residences

Nice hotel with an interesting lobby, but when I was there I remember a lot of street noise (facing Broad St). This would not be ideal in a post-op recovery situation; at least get a room facing the back.

Most bathtubs are very deep and hard to get into, and there are no grab bars. If that is a concern, ask for a room with a stall shower. I was at the Four Seasons last week, and am returning on Wednesday. It wasn't a flawless stay, but the overall product seemed better than the RC. Good luck with your surgery.

(I should add that the regular rooms and the small suites that I've been in at the FS do not have stall showers, only bathtub/shower combos. The Sofitel rooms have both stall showers and tubs that are easier to get into.).

seems like FS philadelphia only has 1 separate shower - top suite

new on all FS sites >
Accessible [rooms]
Accessible with Roll-in Shower [rooms]
/accessible_features_overview/ [page]
im kind of confused as to how thats going to work out..

comparison >
FS boston - 9 separate shower
RC chicago - 10>19 separate shower
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17970090-post9.html

Rothman used to have a special deal with the Rittenhouse. Slightly dated, but probably a better property for a surgical recovery. Best of wishes!

I stayed here earlier this week. I was attending the US Open and my host booked and covered the room, so I had little choice (but probably would have elected to stay here to try it out anyway).

I was generally disappointed with the stay:
1) the lobby is grand and quite lovely to look at...however, when I arrived at 9pm, part of it was closed off for a private event. That much was fine, but there was music blasting so loud that I could barely hear the front desk clerk speak to me. If you would have told me I was at Webster Hall in NYC, based on the volume and type of music playing, I would have believed you. I have no problem with private events, but not with this sort of audio program.
2) I was upgraded to an oddly-sized one bedroom suite. Nice enough for a Ritz Gold member on a corporate rate...but other than the bathroom, the furnishings were very disappointing. The bed rattled against the wall. If you told me I was at a Marriott, I would have believed you.
3) I paid with my Ritz Rewards credit card. A benefit of the card is a $100 credit for a two-night stay. (I had to pay for my own incidentals.). The front desk clerk clearly had never heard of such a benefit. After three or four minutes of to-and-fro with a colleague, he agreed to honor the credit. Neither had ever heard of such a benefit. I shouldn't have to remind them of their own program benefits.

One other gripe, I called the day before to add my rewards number to my booking. Central reservations said they "couldn't help me with the request," and only the property could. I really scratched my head at that one.

While not a bad hotel, and frankly the lobby (excluding Webster Hall nights) was quite nice, I will try other properties in Philadelphia next time I'm there.

Interesting review of the RC. It is a pity how RCs are becoming more and more like their parent company.

Its already tacky how RCs have a point system and a credit card and various point levels, but they should at least know their reward system since they have taken that deep plunge..

Even though the FS warrants a tear down, its my favorite place to stay.

Be careful of the "upgrade" to an executive suite. The bedrooms are next to the elevators, which run all night.

update
 

Anyone been to this property recently ?

Stayed in October for three nights. Overall I'd say it's in the bottom 50% of RC properties. The hotel itself is very old (former bank) rooms are rather small and getting to be a bit tired. I stayed on Club Level and the first two says the service was pheominal but my final day was less so. Food presentation was weak compared to other Club Levels. Breakfast had the usual fruit, oatmeal, pastries, cereals, and eggs. The midday service was just a few small sandwiches, crudités and chips. That's it. Evening was slightly better most nights but don't recall specific items.

I'm very loyal to the RC but this property falls short. The FS is opening a new prop adjacent to the Comcast Center, but until then the old FS is an option. I've also stayed at the Westin in Liberty Place (former RC) and was reasonably satisfied but it's nothing luxurious. PHL isn't such a great hotel market unfortunately.

Great - I appreciate the update -

Ritz Carlton Philadelphia completed multi-million $$ renovation last year.

http://news.ritzcarlton.com/2016/06/...g-transformed/

"The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia, a storied hotel on the Avenue of the Arts, has unveiled a yearlong, multi-million dollar renewal project. Co-designed by Wimberly Interiors and LW Designs, with Coscia Moos Architecture, the updates to the hotel include all new guest rooms and meeting spaces, a refreshed lobby experience and public spaces along with a new restaurant, bar and lounge by Richard Sandoval."

More details in the press release link above.

Cheers.

Spent time in Philadelphia last summer at both the RC and the Rittenhouse. FS has converted to CURIO by Hilton and dropped out of the luxury segment. New FS is under development and opening in 2018.

RC has stunning lobby, interesting restaurant (flatbreads were amongst the best and most unique flavors I've tasted, though the rest of the experience was just average). Standard and Deluxe Rooms do not have separate tub/shower; you have to book into Superior or higher for that. Our superior queen/queen room was lovely. Recent rooms renovation last year made them much more attractive, though they ruined the lobby (in my opinion) by eliminating the bold and fun orange/purple/pink color theme (trust me, it sounds loud, but it was breathtaking) and the new sea of white and grey is boring and predictable in such a large space.

Also, consider The Rittenhouse -- a great, true luxury property. Rooms are incredibly spacious. Standard rooms are pretty dated; best to call and book a room on the 15th floor - the "R Floor." If budget is no object, the Park Suites are incredible. I had the opportunity to tour them but no time for photos as they were set for DNC VIP arrivals when I visited. Interesting concept to put the suites on the lowest guestroom level (3, I believe) but it's actually quite lovely because it's like you're in the treetops of Rittenhouse. And Lacroix, the restaurant, is one of the most amazing in the city. Spa, pool -- also top notch. Received a great massage and enjoyed the lovely pool. Wish they had a jacuzzi to relax afterward, though.

ex-FS is same manager as (ex-FS) RC chicago
sagehospitality.com/sage-hotels/portfolio/
owner hosthotels.com/our-portfolio/portfolio-overview

seems quite large rate difference to get renovated R Floor
rittenhouse owner/manager hhmhospitality.com/our-hotels