Aloft Philadelphia Downtown in Philadelphia, PA

I am sick to my stomach right now. My best friend just called me in tears, hyperventilating and sobbing, because a strange man followed her and her coworkers into the elevator and to their rooms. When they got into the elevator, they pressed their floor numbers and he pressed his. When it stopped at his floor, he did not get off. My best friend wasn’t staying on the same floor as her coworker, but she got off with her so she wouldn’t be alone in the elevator with this man. She noticed that he got off too and started following them down the hallway. He lingered for a while. Her coworker went into her room and my best friend got back into the elevator to go to her floor. She called her coworker to make sure she was okay, and her coworker said the strange man was outside her door. My best friend went downstairs to report it, and the worker at the front desk didn’t care much at all. He said he would have security “look around,” but she could tell he wasn’t taking her complaint seriously. It is disgusting. This is exactly why young women are so afraid of doing anything nowadays.

Stayed here on a brief visit to Philadelphia - we picked this hotel since it was close to the theatre we were visiting. The hotel is in a historic building that has been renovated, we seemed to get lucky as our room was on a corner - and was huge! It had windows looking in two directions, with views across the city and out to the local area. Everything was very clean and the furniture felt new. The bathroom was large with a walk-in shower. It felt more like a small apartment rather than a hotel room. We had a perfectly quiet sleep despite being in a busy location. You are spoilt for choice in the local area, since you can walk to almost anything. Reading Terminal Market is just around the corner. We also took a stroll to see the Liberty Bell and 'Rocky' steps which are both walkable from this hotel. I would recommend this hotel as a clean and modern option if you're choosing a hotel in center city.

We stayed 4 nights at this hotel and had quite a mixed experience!  On the positive side, our room was spacious, with a big and comfortable bed, good storage: and lovely bathroom. A real plus was the staff, who - for the most part- tried to remain approachable, patient and good natured. Sabaria' s arrival in our 2nd day, really began to improve things somewhat🤗The hotel is also centrally located, so relatively easy to get about; especially for walkers like us🤠 Finally, the 'complimentary' cuppa from early to midmorning was appreciated 🤗 In terms of negatives, this is where the hotel falls quite heavily; certainly initially!  1. The bedroom mattress was stained and the mattress cover dirty! We immediately complained and were offered 'a better room'. However, this was somewhat cramped and meant repacking and moving from the 4th to 17th floor. So we 'readjusted' the mattress and sheets, to make it more 'serviceable'. 2. There was quite a lot of dust in the room; and all the drawers had small bits of debris! We asked for these to be cleaned...and a 'cleaner' arrived with a facecloth and antibacterial solution to 'wipe the drawers in the outside'! So we ended up cleaning and dusting ourselves! 3. All the while (and hour!) we waited on the hotel supervisor to arrive to address our concerns, but never arrived. When I rang to discover what the delay was, noone seemed to know! 4. My wife is not a coffee drinker, so asked for a kettle and t-bags. She waited an age and finally was advised there's no kettle provided or available. She requested a cup of hot water and the kind William from Reception requested this from housekeeping. Another wait and 2 phonecalls later, William apologised and went and got her 2 cups of hot water, and brought these to our room. 5. While we understood there was construction work going on (wish we'd known before booking!), the Reception experience was very basic; though reasonably efficient. However, despite our stay including breakfast, there was limited information available as to how this worked, except 'come down in the morning and you'll be able to select from a Starbucks type menu'.  - The following morning, we did and met chaos! We were asked to stand at the same makeshift Reception and order a hot sandwich basically. This was eventually brought to us, but only warm. - In the meantime,we noticed some cereal pots, juice, fruit cups, coffee, and tea; and asked if these were included? Yes, was the response, depending on 'our breakfast voucher '. We checked and it said $25. So we asked how much each item was, helping us to make an informed decision about what else to have. The Reception team didn't know, so we just had to muddle through.  - My wife noticed there was a selection of t-bags, but no breakfast tea (or equivalent). The Reception team simply shrugged and said that's all they have! Jonnie arrived, heard this, apologised and said he'd find breakfast t-bags (although his female colleague insisted there were none, as the hotel didn't have these usually. Undeterred, he returned with several. - As is clear by now, we had a LOT of waiting to do, so tried the cereals. Imagine our surprise that there was no spoons! not any milk! Once again, we had to ask the Reception team; the female seemed irritated, but her male colleague was suitably embarrassed about yet another failing and hurried off to get milk.

Overall, loved the vibe of this hotel. Super cool lobby, as the hotel used to be a bank. Beautiful view out of our window. My kid loved the pool table in the lobby. And check out the fitness center in the old vault! We had two rooms and really did not have any concerns similar to the other recent reviews. The gentleman who checked us in (Darrien?) was so very helpful and spent time with us to give us recommendations and make us feel comfortable with the area. The elevators were fast! The location was really good and close to Reading Terminal Market which was on my list for lunch as soon as we arrived. We drove our car in, and were able to park it in a lot adjacent to the hotel for half the price of the hotel valet ($40). We also used their valet curb to unload our stuff and reload when we left. My one gripe is that my rate included breakfast but I didn't end up using the perk b/c they don't actually have a restaurant at the hotel. I could have ordered off the menu (via the front desk) which included Starbucks type items. We opted to go to a diner down the street instead. They do offer free coffee, but my point here is-- don't buy the rate that includes breakfast.

Our family of four really liked this hotel! Between the beautiful architecture, great location, comfortable rooms and welcoming staff, this was our favorite of three hotels during our trip (we went from NYC to DC, stopping in Philly for a night). The lobby is beautiful with high ceilings, plenty of seating and a nice bar. There are also games and a pool table available. This was helpful to us as we had an evening train and needed a place to hang out between exploring the city and moving on to our next destination. The room itself was huge and had a nice view of the city hall building. We liked the fact that the vanity was outside the bathroom so I could get ready while others in my party showered. Great water pressure in the shower and the staff brought extra towels up right away when we asked. There is body wash, shampoo and conditioner in the shower and a hair dryer on the vanity. The vanity itself had a long counter, providing plenty of room for my makeup. The only issue we had was the electrical outlet on the vanity wasn't working so I had to use a different outlet for the hair dryer and curling iron. The building used to be a bank so you will see little touches throughout the building, giving a nod to it history. It is in a central location - just a short walk from Reading Terminal Market, the convention center, city center and the Septa system (Philly's subway). We enjoyed friendly and helpful staff. From the front desk holding our bags while we explored to the bartender who offered advice on what to see and do, we felt very welcome. This was the mid-point of our 10-day trip and we packed light. It was nice to have a washer and dryer on site (in the vault).