<p>For the first part of D’s college visits trip, they are flying into Philadelphia Airport, going to Carlisle first (about 2 hours to the west, it looks like), then Villanova and Collegeville the following day (east of Philadelphia?) then will travel on to NY. I’m trying to help them find a safe place to stay in Philadelphia (so they can see the city during down time) or just west of it. I see a Best Western in Concordville that is reasonably priced and got good reviews…any suggestions?</p>
<p>When we went a number of years ago for S’s college visit, we made the mistake of staying near the airport. That lasted one night, then we moved to a chain (Hampton?) near Valley Forge that was wonderful, and much cheaper. And we got to spend part of a day looking around Valley Forge. We were visiting Penn, and the drive wasn’t bad, and we also spent time in the city.</p>
<p>You’ve got to go to Pat’s while you’re in Philly. MMMMM cheesesteaks!</p>
<p>sushi,
Since they’re planning on visiting Villanova, Collegeville (Ursinus?), and would also like to see Philly as well, then I would recommend staying in the King of Prussia area (Philly’s western suburb), since both Villanova and Collegeville are not that far from each other (and they’re both close to K. of P.), and they can go down to Philly via the expressway going east (which is about 30-40 min. depending on traffic). The King of Prussia/Valley Forge area is also convenient to the PA Turnpike, which will be convenient in travelling up to NY. Also, the K. of P. mall is a tourist attraction in and of itself. Another option would be to stay in Philly (downtown) and then commute out to Villanova/Collegeville for the visits.</p>
<p>We used to live about 10 minutes from Concordville. It’s closer to the Delaware state line (no tax shopping) then Philadelphia. Do they want to see a city or the area around the colleges? In Concordville they are pretty much in the Brandywine River area - Longwood Gardens, and Wyeth painting territory in nearby Chadds Ford. There is really not too much to Concordville itself and my recommendation would be to stay in Philly using priceline to get a great deal or to stay near one of the colleges they are looking at. King of Prussia is not a bad idea if they really like shopping and don’t mind traffic but in my opinion, it’s a just a huge traffic area with chain stores. The stores in the huge mall are not unique, it’s just staggering that there are so many of them in one place.</p>
<p>Another place, just up route 202 from Concordville is West Chester. West Chester is a neat town with lots of shops and places to eat. It’s home to West Chester University of PA, and lots of students walk to town and give it a vibrant feel, but the town itself is not so suburban feeling as K of P or even Concordville. It’s very convenient to the airport, but not in a big city. I have a good friend that grew up and lives there and can ask for hotel recommendations if you are in interested.</p>
<p>I’m confused. Do you want to stay near Villanova or Dickinson, or in downtown Phila? Near Villanova (about a mile) and an easy drive from the airport is The Radnor Inn (591 East Lancaster Avenue St. David’s, PA 19087 610-688-5800). We stayed there when D and I were looking at Haverford/Bryn Mawr/Swarthmore. In downtown Phila.</p>
<p>“I’m confused. Do you want to stay near Villanova or Dickinson, or in downtown Phila?”</p>
<p>D thinks they should stay in Philadelphia (preferred) or somewhere between P. and Carlisle, closer to P. since after they visit Dickinson they need to go east to Villanova and Collegeville and don’t want to be too far west of Phila, but frugal Dad doesn’t want to spend $200/night so that’s why I’m looking into neighboring areas that might be cheaper and safe. </p>
<p>How far is St. David’s from Phila and in what direction?</p>
<p>King of Prussia seems like a good location, though Dad hates malls/shopping and D. would like to be reasonably near the historical stuff.</p>
<p>There are a ton of restaurant choices in King of Prussia ( Valley Forge) and a lot of hotels. If you are not into the shopping you can head over to Valley Forge Park for a run, walk, or visit the museum there. Might be a nice chance to clear your head. It would be a good location between Carlisle and Villanova. Keep in mind that traffic can be a little crazy and be very careful on the Schuylkill Expressway ( nicknamed the “Surekill” around here. )</p>
<p>Well, I checked the Radnor Inn’s rate and they were higher than I remembered, but I might have negotiated a discount or gotten an internet rate. I do remember they were relatively cheap–although I chose them for the location, not the rate.</p>
<p>St. David’s is one mile toward Phila (east, I guess) from Villanova, just off the highway (Blue Route is the old name, now if’s been named I-476) which connects to the Schuykill Expressway, so about 30 minutes into Phila, outside of rush hour–who knows in rush hour?</p>
<p>Another hotel just off the Blue Route is the Marriott in West Conshohocken, which is nicer and more expensive. King of Prussia is very convenient to Valley Forge and okay as a drive to Phila. The Hampton Inn (in KofP) is clean and decent and reasonably priced too. The King of Prussia mall is huge but just another mall, IMHO.</p>
<p>Disclosure: I hate Philadelphia. I grew up there–a mile away from Haverford College on College Avenue–and have only been back for reunions and memorial services since I was 17. I have stayed at a lot of hotels in the area, since no family lives there any more, although for whatever reason, family events happen there (I guess because we all USED to live there).</p>
<p>sushi,
Another option would be to look into staying at the Villanova Conference Center which is right near Villanova U. and very close to the Radnor Hotel. <a href=“Smartproxy – Best Value Proxies & Data Collection Solutions”>Smartproxy – Best Value Proxies & Data Collection Solutions;
I just called them just to see if they are open to the general public, and they said that they are as long as they have rooms available, and was also told that the internet rate is usually less expensive than when calling for a reservation. I was quoted $169 just as a ballpark #, and that might have been via telephone. It might be worthwhile to check online to see if they have cheaper rates, which they very well may have.
Villanova is west of downtown Philly, and isn’t far. It’s located on the Main Line, which is quite lovely. You can even get local directions for driving into center city without taking the expressway.</p>
<p>The whole area around King of Prussia (excluding Valley Forge) is one suburb running into another, and tons of traffic. Yes, it is close to all the necessary roads (turnpike, 202, 476 - called the Blue route by locals, and the dreaded route 76 - the surekill) and an area I generally avoid except maybe once a year. </p>
<p>The Marriott in West Conshohocken is a great hotel but right smack next to the Blue Route and 76. </p>
<p>I just remembered a great website that should help: <a href=“http://www.onebigcampus.com/[/url]”>http://www.onebigcampus.com/</a> This has locations of the philadelphia area colleges and hotel discounts for when you visit! It has a drop down menu too where you put in the college you are interested in and it gives you nearby hotels and discounted rates. good luck!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.chestnuthillhotel.com/[/url]”>http://www.chestnuthillhotel.com/</a></p>
<p>Quaint, inexpensive, on the boarder of Philly and Montgomery County, restaurants, galleries, cafes right outside your door and free parking in rear next to Farmers Market. Train to Center City a 3 min. walk. About 45 minutes from Ursinus but nicer than staying in the K of P area which is all highways and malls.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.chestnuthill.com%5B/url%5D”>www.chestnuthill.com</a></p>
<p>ooops, second link should be</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.chestnuthillpa.com%5B/url%5D”>www.chestnuthillpa.com</a></p>
<p>Chestnut Hill Hotel is quaint, lovely. If I were a kid, I would NOT want to stay there, or in King of Prussia, or Brandywine, or anywhere like that. Center City Philadelphia has a ton of hotels, and usually pretty good deals if there isn’t a huge convention in town that week (and there aren’t so many huge conventions in town these days). Check out gophila.com (which also has hotels in the burbs, by the way). I would look into them, and put your kids within walking distance of Independence Hall, the Reading Terminal Market, the Art Museum, the Rodin Museum, Old City, etc. Given that the places your D is looking at are fairly far apart anyway, and that none of them (except Dickinson) is more than 30-40 minutes from Center City, why stay out in the soulless burbs? (Or even the soulful quasi-burb that is Chestnut Hill, where I live?)</p>
<p>I think there is a Marriott Courtyard in Devon which would be convenient to Villanova and not a bad trip to downtown.</p>
<p>You could check out a Hilton and a Holiday Inn on City Ave. at the edge of Phila. You would not be IN Center city Phila., but not very far from it. Right off I-76 which will take you west to Villanova, (only 10-15 minutes from City Ave.)& the PA turnpike west to Carlisle.
Otherwise, the KofP area is probably good due to the wide range of hotel types and prices it offers and close proximity to turnpike for Carlisle trip and not too far to Villanova or Collegeville.</p>
<p>Oh yes, I’d forgotten about the Holiday Inn on City Line. I stayed there a while back–five or six years, I’d guess. Not bad, and VERY convenient to Center City.</p>
<p>When I was looking for rooms in the princeton area just recently I ended up booking through hotwire.com. The maps they give you gave us plenty of choices and the prices were decent. We ended up with the Hyatt Regency Princeton .5 miles from the campus for $58 per night. Internet rate was $195 per night for the nights I wanted, move-in weekend and reg. price was $255. I use expedia and orbitz to cross reference what possible hotels they could be based on star rating and possible amentities. Also use betterbidding.com for already purchased hotels by other users of hotwire and priceline (tips and advice provided by many users).</p>
<p>Needed a room for DD’s move-in for 8/15 in Abq, NM and ended up with Sheraton for $31. Rate was over $100 per night via their website.</p>
<p>If you need more suggestions, just ask.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Looks like Hotwire breaks the city into 6 different areas. Prices vary depending on locale and dates.</p>
<p>Betterbidding.com has a host of hotels pinned for hotwire for philadelphia. Just click on the PA thread and then the hotwire thread for PA and a bunch of hotels are listed by area and amenities with each hotel indicated. If you search the PA thread for hotwire it will indicate which hotels were purchased on specific dates and how much each hotel was. Usually these are always very accurate. At least has been for us the many times we have used it. Strategies for priceline also work fab as well.</p>
<p>Kat</p>