Residence Inn by Marriott Philadelphia Center City

"Don't be fooled by the nice photos on the website. The rooms are trash. Bathroom especially makes the room the worst. First there is a desk and a chair that does not go under the desk so it blocks half of the hallway leading to the bathroom, which makes absolutely no sense. Why would they put a chair in that location that does not fit under the desk? Secondly the bathroom door opens inwardly which wouldn't be a big problem if the bathroom wasn't tiny, so when you have to completely open the door to get inside and then completely close is to actually use the sink/mirror area. Another thing is the shower has the worst design I've ever seen. They have a moving pane of glass that tilts inward and outward.. Except that it covers like 1/3 of the shower! So when you shower water goes everywhere, every single time that you shower so you have to lay down a bunch of towels on the floor to soak up the eventual puddles that you'll be creating due to the stupid design. I even try to tilt the shower glass all the way inward to avoid water splashing out, but nope.. Water will still get out and all over the floor. It's so fun when you're getting ready for work and are all dressed up and then step in a puddle with your socks on.. They also only give you 2 full size towels and housekeeping comes around every other day (if they even come! I had coworkers that called 3 different times to get their rooms serviced and they never came). The bathroom hairdryer is about as good as a 10 year old $15 hair dryer you get from Walmart. Their soaps and lotions feel like the cheapest of cheap quality. They also have a sign on their bathroom door saying that Marriott is not responsible if valuables get stolen in the room and have some Pennsylvania law printed out and posted on the door saying that if you don't put your valuables in the safe and they get stolen then tough luck.. But also, there is not even a safe anywhere in the room! The ottoman in the living room area is broken. There is a full length mirror that is attached to the closet, which is nice. But when you slide it open one side of the closet door completely covers the mirror. They should have switched the doors and put the mirror on the outer side so that it is always accessible. Another one is the elevators, 2 out of 3 elevators go down to the lower level where the gym, meeting room and laundry facility is located. So if you get the elevator that doesn't go down all the way you'll have to transfer to a different elevator or wait for another one. There's 3 entrances in the lobby, 2 doors and then a revolving door in the middle. Only 1 entrance was actually accessible throughout my stay. Which isn't a big deal, but a bit weird. There are some positives, the gym is decent, TV is large, free breakfast is solid and the rooms come with a decent kitchen. But there's just so many little annoyances that really don't make up for the few positives IMO. For a Marriott property that is in the city center and of a major metropolitan city this is just unacceptable. Major updates are needed in this location. Go to the Marriott 2 blocks over that is attached to the convention center instead."

"The location was unbeatable! Everything was walking distance! The room was really nice, the check in process was very easy. Huge shoutout to Marc at the front desk for some great food recommendations and awesome customer service!"

"Great location, but the front desk staff were not friendly or helpful. Waited about 5 minutes to be greeted at check-in even though I was the only customer there. Valet is expensive and it takes forever to get your car even when they are not busy. Asked for an accessible room and wasn't told this would mean a full size bed instead of the king we had reserved. The lack of friendliness somewhat ruined our experience there which was a shame since the location is so perfect. The best part of our stay was the free breakfast. The breakfast staff was phenomenal."

"Hotel room was clean. Housekeeping service provided every other day. We stayed here for 5 nights. Carpet was outdated: there was duct tape patching the bald spots on the carpet. The window views were phenomenal. We could see City Hall very well, including the Ferris Wheel that was part of Dilworth Park. Hotel's parking was $66/night, so we chose a competitor about two blocks away for $29/night. Public street parking was free on Thanksgiving Day. Hotel told us we could park for 15 minutes to unload our luggage into the room. When we got back to the car, we were boxed in by a parking valet employee for several minutes. He saw that he had trapped us, but went inside the hotel and took his time getting back. I asked for a bottle of water on the second day and was told water was free only at check in even though we were Lifetime Titanium Elite members (the highest level). There would be a charge for the water if it wasn't check-in time. The bathroom sink: water was cold and pressure was low during the first two days. However, if we turned on the hot water for the bathtub, in about 5 minutes, the water for the bathroom sink would be warm. The water temperature was eventually fuxed, but the pressure remained low. Breakfast: Outstanding employees. 5 stars for the buffet crew. Professional, friendly, and helpful. Belgian waffles, sausage (usually turkey, sometimes pork), potatoes (Thanksgiving and the day after), scrambled eggs, fruits, muffin sandwiches, oatmeal, juices, cereal, yogurt, and coffee/teas were some of the available food items. The dining room and lounge area were on the second floor and need the hotel card access. Gym is in the basement. There is a water cooler there where you can refill your bottle. Would be good for the hotel to offer a bottle refilling station on the second floor. After I checked out of the hotel, there was a mother and daughter who checked out after I did. The hotel employee offered bottles of water to both. Free. I wasn't offered any water at check-out. I was still at the reception desk when the two people were given free bottled water. There were two employees at the reception desk. It was the employee on the left side who gave out the water. The mother and daughter were both white. I am polite and friendly, but I am not white. Well, neither were the employees at the reception. This happened on Friday, November 24, 2023, just before 2PM."

"Great location. Rooms left much too be desired. 1. Bathroom doors do not lock but are closet doors with a decent gap that looks right at the toilet. 2. Walls think and we awaken at 3am with a couple fighting 3 rooms down the hall. 3. Shower takes several minutes to get warm with it never getting hot. Be quick! Breakfast was good, service good. The building is not worth the nightly rate."