We have stayed in a lot of hotels and as Hilton Honors Gold members, we seek out Hilton properties first and foremost. Recently in Philadelphia on a two-week work trip, we stayed at the Homewood Suites on City Avenue. We have stayed at several Homewood Suites properties in the past and knew what to expect. Suites with kitchen, fully equipped with pots and pans, dishwashing soap and sponge, salt and pepper, set of 4 plates, bowls, mugs, glasses and utensils are all standard amenities.
We were excited about staying at this property so that we would be able to cook some of our meals, which would prevent us from eating out three times a day. Unfortunately, when we got to our room, we were really annoyed with the subpar appearance of the room, especially the kitchen. We didn’t have four sets of everything. In fact, we didn’t have a matching set of anything (3 plates, 2 bowls, 1 glass, 2 mugs, random utensils) nor did we have a single pot or pan for cooking. The few things that did exist in the room were not properly cleaned (gross! gross! gross!). But that was not the worst of it, the real horror arrived when we politely requested pots and pans on the second day of our stay. First, we waited over an hour for them to arrive (annoying but got past it), when they were finally brought to the room, they were dripping wet and we were told, “I tried my best to clean them.” The initial shock at this bizzare interaction prevented us from reacting, other than politely thanking the hotel personnel and closing the door behind him. Once that wore off though, it was utter disbelief. Did this hotel have no other pots and pans that the only two they DID have, were in such bad conditions that they couldn’t be cleaned properly?! Are you kidding me?! How unacceptable!! And why are these dripping with water? Why are you handing them to us in this unprofessional manner?
We were already annoyed that the rest of the room was below standards: no trash bins in the room (just one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom). Neither of them had any bags (which is quite standard in many hotels) but the idea is so ridiculous, so we’re suppose to throw anything right into the bin itself? How gross! The bathroom sink kept clogging up if the faucet ran for more than 30 seconds.
TV displayed many of the main channels in static, the channel guide in the room did not match the actual channels.
The parking lot is a detached facility, which is somewhat bearable but the ridiculous check in and out process is not. We have to pull up in front of the hotel, take a ticket from the front desk, hand it to the parking attendant, at which point he hands us another ticket, which needs to be brought back to the front desk for them to stamp and the next time the car gets taken out of the garage, that new ticket has to be handed to the attendant. WHAT?! Why is parking THAT complicated? It made us not want to leave once we were in the room after work.
In summary, it is one of the WORST Hilton properties we have stayed at. We will never stay here again and we definitely do not recommend it to anyone else.
Have you stayed at the Homewood Suites in Philadelphia? Was your experience better or worse than ours?
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Happy and Safe Travels!
image courtesy of hotel website
