Looking for 'value-oriented' Philadelphia hotel recommendations after we arrive by train....we'll be doing an 'art trip' in late May, so reasonable access to the Barnes Foundation & the Museum of Art (etc.) would be ideal! (And twin beds.)
Posted by
Green Bay
20137 posts
You might look at this place. I have not stayed there, but there is a flash sale going on now.
https://www.thewindsorsuites.com/our-hotel
It is a 2 block walk from Suburban Station. Transfer at 30th Street Station (the main station where Amtrak trains stop) on the suburban platforms for the short ride to Philadelphia city center. 10 minute walk to the Barnes up Ben Franklin Blvd. And about another 10 minutes to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Posted by
northern CA
2464 posts
There used to be a hostel in a historic building inside Fairmount Park but I can't find it in a quick search right now.
I remember coming down for breakfast in the communal kitchen years ago wearing a red flannel plaid bathrobe and some German visitors asked me if that was current fashion in the US - No, I just haven't gotten dressed yet.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7319 posts
We stay at the Hilton Garden Inn a lot, but that's for the Convention Center, which is only "near" the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts, which you MUST add to your list. Very few people can walk from the Barnes to the Museum of Art (note annex, a lovely old insurance company building, about 1/10 mile away), but I have done the walk. Museum of Art has an outdoor sculpture garden too. (Easy walk from Academy of Fine Arts to Barnes.) Note Rodin Museum next to Barnes. Univ. of PA has a modern art museum, but not very big. They also have a big and very important Archaeology Museum, with significant artifacts from the Classical era and older. Rosenbach Foundation (a "mansion visit") owns a bit of nice art and applied arts, it's not just a "manuscript" museum. Check what's on display. There may be a bit of art at the Afro Am Museum or the Jewish Museum, if they are open - had some financial troubles.
I'm not big on public murals, but it's a BIG thing in Philadelphia. It doesn't count as art, but the historic Masonic Temple has very interesting tours of the faux-ethnic meeting rooms. Don't miss the pipe organ at Macy's (formerly Wanamakers, a local landmark.)
Honestly, I think graduations and public events will have more effect on price than your location choice. Unfortunately the public transit isn't as good as NYC, but there is a bus to the Art Museum. Note that most Amtrak tickets include optional change to commuter train to Suburban Station or Jefferson Station (which is where the Reading Terminal Market is, under that Hilton Garden Inn) if that's any use to you (for example, to Independence Hall.)
If you are coming from NY, you can sometimes save money or avoid having pick a specific time with buying both the NJ Transit ticket and the SEPTA ticket together at the same time in NYC Penn Station. But you have to change in Trenton, and it's not as fast as Amtrak. There are also companies like Megabus that can be very cheap, but fixed drop off points only.
Posted by
ATL, USA
421 posts
We stayed at The Maj hotel when we went to Philly at the end of 2022. They don't have rooms with twins, but with two queen beds. It was walking distance to the museums. (I have also stayed at the Sofitel, which was very nice, more expensive, but not within easy walking distance). The Barnes is probably my favorite museum in the world. Enjoy!