<p>I am taking my daughter to visit Villanova and U of Penn can anyone suggest accomodations between the two?</p>
<p>It’s silly to look for accommodations between the two. They’re not that far apart – 30-45 minutes by car, about 35 minutes by commuter train. There are not that many places really in between them, and they aren’t so great, and it wouldn’t be convenient to get to either from there. I would suggest staying at one of the hotels by Penn (you probably want to see what the neighborhood is like at night anyway), and either taking the train to Villanova (from 30th Street Station, four blocks from Penn) or driving there. But you could also stay near Villanova and either train or drive to Penn. (I don’t know the hotels in that area, except the Radnor Hotel, which may be a little pricey. I’m pretty sure there are others, though. And certainly if you go out as far as King of Prussia there are a bunch.)</p>
<p>It’s pretty expensive to stay at the Inn and at the Sheraton near Penn. But you do want to see the school at night since it’s part of the city. My son is going Penn and loves it but it is the big city.</p>
<p>S1 is a senior at Penn. When it is not “high traffic” weekends we stay either at the Sheraton or the Hilton Inn at Penn, both in University City and “on campus”. During special weekends, ie: move-in, homecoming, Parents Weekend, Graduation, it is very difficult to get a room in either, and they raise the prices ridiculously. At those times we stay in Center City at the Courtyard Marriott, which takes about ten minute car ride from campus, and public transportation is available as well. It is a lovely hotel, and if you are visiting Penn with serious intent, then I suggest walking around Center City as well. And yes, it is a very easy car ride to Villanova so I also recommend staying “on” or near one of the campuses, not in between.</p>
<p>Between Penn and Villanova lies the Main Line, where Haverford College and other schools are located.</p>
<p>Haverford’s website lists accommodations that they recommend for visitors here:</p>
<p>[Haverford</a> College: Places to Stay](<a href=“http://www.haverford.edu/visiting/lodging.php]Haverford”>http://www.haverford.edu/visiting/lodging.php)</p>
<p>The Main Line isn’t between Villanova and Penn; Villanova IS the Main Line (as is Haverford). Haverford is one stop (maybe two) on the commuter train line closer to Philadelphia than Villanova. The Haverford web site is a good guide to places to stay near Villanova, except that the “City Line Avenue” area is what I was thinking about when I said not to bother staying half-way between Penn and Villanova. (It’s an indication how close the two colleges really are that Haverford, which is less than two miles closer to Penn than to Villanova, would describe as “close to the college” hotels that are probably physically closer to Penn than to Villanova.) </p>
<p>Don’t stay near the airport, though, which really isn’t that convenient to either, and makes City Line Avenue look like it has soul.</p>
<p>I would stay near Villanova and take mass transit into Penn. The hotel may be able to drop you off at the station. You can either take the commuter rail line all the way to the big 30th St. station, which is 4 blocks from Penn; or you can take the Norristown High Speed Line (light rail) to the 69th St. station and then transfer to the Market-Frankford subway to the 2 stations near Penn (I believe 34th and 38th Sts.) There are stations for both on the Villanova campus, as well as many other nearby locations.</p>
<p>Just be aware that not every run of the Norristown High Speed Line stops at the Villanova station. (I found that out the hard way). </p>
<p>Don’t drive the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) during weekday rush hours or when there are multiple events at the sports arenas.</p>
<p>Yes, driving the Schuylkill is no fun during rush hour (say, 7:00 am to 9:30 am, 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm). But I wouldn’t be afraid of it at other times.</p>
<p>You can actually drive between Penn and Villanova without going anywhere near the Schuylkill, although it takes more time. Lancaster Avenue (Route 30) starts just north of the Penn campus, and that’s the same street Villanova is on 10 miles later. (And Haverford and Bryn Mawr along the way.)</p>
<p>For visiting Villanova we like [Best</a> Western Inn King of Prussia](<a href=“King Of Prussia, PA Hotels – Best Western Plus The Inn”>King Of Prussia, PA Hotels – Best Western Plus The Inn) or [Courtyard</a> Philadelphia Devon](<a href=“http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phldv-courtyard-philadelphia-devon/]Courtyard”>http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phldv-courtyard-philadelphia-devon/). Both are further from UPenn, but as others have described, the trip into Philadelphia by train or car is fairly straight forward and convenient.</p>
<p>Agree with JHS- BETWEEN Villanova and Penn is exactly where you don’t want to be! I would stay in Wayne or somewhere else just west of Villanova and drive or take the train into Penn.</p>
<p>There is a Sheraton right next to University of Pennsylvania. However, there are a number of Sheratons in Philadelphia, so if you go that route, make sure you have the right one.</p>
<p>Conshohocken, which is at the intersection of 76 and 476, would be a convenient location for you.</p>
<p>I second Conshohocken.</p>
<p>Getting a hotel in Conshohocken is fine, but it’s not going to tell you anything about either college. Stay near one of them so you can walk around and see what the area is like at night. A hotel in Conshohocken is 15 minutes closer to Penn . . . big deal.</p>
<p>I would take archiemom’s advice and go to the Best Western at King of Prussia. The King of Prussia mall is AMAZING and you can get some awesome shopping done in between college trips.</p>
<p>Since KOP access to either Villanova or Penn is relatively easy,i’d also suggest staying in that area…decent restaurants and shopping like few other places in the country…you can spend significant time at both schools and then come back to a hotel in a very nce environment</p>
<p>If you are runners, stay at King of Prussia hotel and check out the paths in/around Valley Forge. That’s where the college teams train- starting at Betzwood trail access. You could run all the way to Penn!</p>
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<p>You can certainly accomplish that without sleeping there. If the hotels near the school are expensive I’d go ahead walk around the campus area at night, eat dinner there or something - and then retire to a cheaper but comfy hotel farther away.</p>
<p>Or, go the other route and stay at a nice downtown Philly hotel like the Rittenhouse.<br>
I don’t see why you really need to stay in the exact neighborhood at night to get a feel as to what each campus is like. You’ll be able to tell just from your visits and walking / driving around.</p>
<p>wow thank you all so much great advice! can you take taxis in Philly? that is what I have used in DC.</p>