The Westin Philadelphia Review: Affordable Luxury Hotel in Center City Philly

Westin Philadelphia King Room
Westin Philadelphia style design lobby
With a wink and a nod to the history of Philadelphia in the luxury design of the Westin Philadelphia

The smell was familiar as I exited the elevator to the lobby, I had arrived at the Westin Philadelphia.  The distinctive smell was courtesy of the candles surrounding the floral arrangement on the entry table.  I was now instantly relaxed, the hell of the commute quickly recessing from my mind, as I knew my Heavenly Bed was only minutes away.  With all the brands in the Starwood (SPG) portfolio of hotels, now owned by Marriott, the Westin seems to fit my lifestyle the best.  Don’t be fooled, the travel industry has created and marketed lifestyle brands to align to your life (or the life you want to lead).

Location

The Westin Philadelphia location, just a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square, is fantastic on 17th street between the business buildings of Market Street and the shopping on Chestnut Street. 17th Street hosts the Westin, Kimpton Palomar, Sofitel Philadelphia, Club Quarters and the Radisson making it a great location from which to explore the city. City Hall’s Dilworth Park, with the famous “Love” statue is two blocks away as is the Comcast Center and Suburban Station.  Reading Terminal Market (a must for any visit to Philly) is ten minutes’ walk to 12th & Filbert streets.

Shopping & Food

Pennsylvania is tax-free for clothes and shoes (sadly not handbags, Apple items or jewelry) so the Westin Philadelphia is in a perfect location to take advantage of the shopping nearby in Rittenhouse, along Walnut Street (Apple Store, Stuart Weitzman, Urban Outfitters, Zara, Lagos Jewelry, BlueMercury to name a few) and Chestnut Street (famous Philly boutiques such as Boyd’s, Joan Shepp and Knit Wit). The hotel entrance is next to the Shops at Liberty Place entrance, step inside to find Bloomingdale’s Outlet, a food court and the new Liberty Observation Tower in Two Liberty Place. Chestnut Street is anchored at 17th Street by Nordstrom Rack, Davio’s Steakhouse and a Rite Aid Pharmacy.  Walk further down 17th street and turn onto Sansom Street for a plethora of food (Federal Donuts, Philly Soft Pretzels, Dizengoff Hummus, and Dandelion British Pub), spa (Adolph Biecker), craft beer (The Foodery) and wine (Tria Wine Bar) options.

Dessert Cart Davio's Philadelphia
The amazing, worth every extra hour in the gym Dessert Cart at Davio’s Philadelphia

 

Westin Philadelphia Parking

I drove to the hotel and chose to valet park ($54 – ridiculous I know but so convenient in this part of town).  I was instantly greeted and welcomed to the hotel by staff.  Normally, I’d park a few blocks away for less but with a tight time schedule and traffic upon arrival (note 17th is notorious for backups and it once took me more than an hour to go one block).  There is self-parking in the building for about $41 but it’s my least favorite parking garages in the city so I go out of my way to avoid it.  To retrieve your car from valet, you send a text with your ticket number and get a reply with the wait time.  My reply was immediate and my car was waiting for me at check out.

Luxury touches at the Westin
Luxury touches at the Westin
Westin Philadelphia arrival lobby
Entrance lobby bellman and valet parking desk

Arrival

I’ve stayed at the Westin Philadelphia many times over the years so am familiar with the building (plus it was the Ritz Carlton eons ago when my firm used it for events).  Upon arrival, you walk through the doors to the elevators to go up one floor to the hotel lobby. There are bellmen to greet you and assist with luggage.

Westin Philadelphia lobby elevators
The Westin hotel is hidden on the second floor – the elevators feel quite private

Upon exiting the elevator, the smell as mentioned above greets you first as you walk to the desk.  My check in was quick (photo ID check, credit card swipe), my SPG gold status recognized (I picked the points over drinks) and my room preference verified (quiet away from elevator, king bed).  I was assigned a corner room on the 10th Floor (SPG Preferred Floor).

The Lobby – Lounge Area

The hotel hit “refresh” recently and the décor and color palette were updated along with the art to present a modern, affordable luxury hotel (I do miss the wood-paneled and fireplace of the best hidden bar in the city).  If you didn’t know better you’d think the hotel stole a designer from the stylish boutique Kimpton Hotels (the Palomar is one block away).  The artwork captures the history of the city through the founding fathers and a colorful, modern interpretation making this a departure from the other Westins I’ve stayed at.   The lobby has three distinct areas – Winthrop & Valentine (a nod to the movie Trading Places but not my favorite name) restaurant and bar, a piano area and a separate seating area to meet, east and drink comfortably. The lobby provides free wi-fi, sadly, it costs $15.95 a night otherwise.

Westin Philadelphia Lobby View
The lobby view of the common areas – lounge, restaurant and bar at the Westin Philadelphia
Westin Philadelphia lounge
One lobby seating areas that’s great to meet friends and enjoy drinks at the Westin Philadelphia
Westin Philadelphia lobby bar
The lobby bar, restaurant and lounge seating at the Westin Philadelphia
Westin Philadelphia style design lobby
With a wink and a nod to the history of Philadelphia in the luxury design of the Westin Philadelphia

Westin Philadelphia – Standard King Room

The Preferred Floor has a set of standard rooms all about the same size based on the floor map.  When I entered the room, a large closet is on the left with a bathroom on the right.  The room has an entry table with a lamp and coffee machine (Starbucks coffee), television, minibar above and below, storage drawers and a desk on the left side of the room.  On the right side of the room is the Westin Heavenly Bed (a bit lumpy upon arrival as you can see), side tables (each with outlets) as well as a reading chair and small table with overhead light.  The views from the hotel aren’t great as its surrounded by buildings.

Westin Philadelphia King Room
The heavenly bed looks lumpy but is super comfortable in the King Room
Westin Philadelphia coffee
In room coffee options

While I’m usually citing hotels for lack of style and personality as they are missing pictures and color, this room did not have those issues – it had personality and style and wasn’t a cookie cutter Westin.   The rounded mirror, the wandering eyes of the bolster pillow, the script of the declaration of independence on the chair and the colors and print of the floor and accessories were quite pleasing for me.

Westin Philadelphia design
Style and luxury design are signatures at the Westin Philadelphia

The Heavenly Bed is really that heavenly.  Westin is one of the pioneers of the hotel bed that folks want to buy and take home (Four Seasons I think was the first and now the Sofitel So Bed is also in the game), the Westin has created a crave-able home product.  I can’t afford the whole bed (I’d never leave home) but have bought Heavenly Pillows and the Heavenly Sheet Set for just a bit of the luxury sleep experience at home.  It’s really hard to leave the comfortable bed especially with the room darkening curtains and the quiet as I was at the end of the hall.

Westin Philadelphia Luxury Design
Full of color, personality and style, the Westin Philadelphia is boutique minded

Heavenly Bathroom

The bathroom has been updated many times over the years, the layout hasn’t changed (I wish they would move the toilet quite frankly) but the décor is all Heavenly Bath – the robe, the towels and the waterfall shower (again, all available for purchase online).  I was a bit taken aback at first that my favorite green leaf White Tea soap was gone, but relieved to see it only changed colors – from green to white and the packaging had a makeover too.

Westin Philadelphia bathroom
Heavenly bath at the Westin Philadelphia
Westin Philadelphia White Tea Toiletries
One of my favorite hotel toiletries, White Tea at the Westin
Westin Philadelphia heavenly bath
Heavenly bath at the Westin Philadelphia

Welcome Surprise

Moments after swiping the keycard to enter the room, I had a knock on the door.  When I opened the door, I was greeted by a hotel delivery of chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of water and a personal welcome note that included my PhilaTravelGirl information and the hashtag #spglife.  This was quite the surprise because I’d never received a welcome gift before. I was staying on points and had not contacted the hotel in advance. When I returned from dinner, a bottle of wine (white) was waiting for me on the front side table in a bucket of ice.  Again a surprise.  I appreciated this type of recognition but wasn’t sure if related to my profile or my interactions with the SPG twitter team on an issue for my upcoming London stay or part of the #spglife program.  Either way, it’s always good to feel special (**note for the future – my perfect combo is Red Wine & Chocolate Chip Cookies).

Westin Philadelphia welcome amenity
Welcome surprise #1 at the door

Breakfast at Winthrop & Valentine

The on site hotel restaurant is fine to satisfy your food needs and late night cravings but it’s not a destination restaurant.  Frankly, there are too many amazing Philly food finds right outside the hotel so go explore.  For me, I enjoyed my American Breakfast ($14) which included: coffee (which I don’t drink), juice, two eggs any style, one meat (of course bacon!) with hash browns and toast.  There isn’t much open in the area for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. when I was eating so this was fine choice.

The Westin Philadelphia restaurant lobby bar
The Westin Philadelphia lobby restaurant
Westin Philadelphia Breakfast
American Breakfast at the Westin

Westin Philadelphia Rates

The Westin Philadelphia is a category 5 Marriott hotel now.  Since this is a heavily booked business travel hotel in Philly for conferences, the prices do fluctuate during the week and surprisingly you might see them on Hotel Tonight (app only so use my referral code SWOLKO1 for $25 off your first booking of $135+) with an extra room or two on slower nights.  The base rate is in the low $200 + tax per night but during events, I’ve seen it over $500 a night!

Westin Philadelphia King Room
King Room at the Westin Philadelphia

Overall Impression

The Westin Philadelphia continues to be one of my favorite hotels in the city.  I always recommend it to visitors as the location is wonderful and the staff so very friendly.  It’s consistent, quiet and relaxing in the center of all that I need in Philadelphia.  Its modern luxury décor, Heavenly Bed/Bath and excellent staff are a winning combination for your travel needs.

Westin Philadelphia lobby seating
One of a few seating areas to enjoy drinks and conversations in the lobby

 

2 thoughts on “The Westin Philadelphia Review: Affordable Luxury Hotel in Center City Philly

  1. You had me at the cakes. This hotel looks so incredible. I am putting it on my list. Funnily enough, my best friend (flight attendant) has been here last month and told me amazing things about it. The photos are very beautiful btw.

  2. My husband and I stayed there for some Valentines Day in the distant past when we were no doubt happy to get one night away from the then little gremlins (now grown and flown). I’m sorry to read that the hotel restaurant hasn’t improved. As you mentioned, there are plenty of nearby places to eat at all price points. There’s even a food court in the attached Liberty Shops.

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