<p>My son will be attending the Ride the Tide weekend and my wife and I are planning on going with him. This is our 1st visit to the campus and I would like to get recommendations on places to stay. My son will be staying in the dorms. My wife and I would like something as close as possible to the school because we are not planning on renting a car.
Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>There are a couple of B&Bs in Swarthmore. Other than those, the closest good accomodations are at the Howard Johnson in Springfield. Unfortunately, you’ll really need a rental car to get back and forth from any hotel, unless you stay in the city of Philadelphia and take the train, which is kind of a hassle.</p>
<p>We always stayed in the Howard Johnsons Inn up on the Baltimore Pike. Recently renovated old-school motel. Clean rooms, good TVs, in the $100 a night range. Best and cheapest accomodations around. It’s on this Google Map:</p>
<p>[Google</a> Maps - Swarthmore College Dining & Shopping](<a href=“http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=108559171071462350817.00044ef22f4e1ded2d98e&t=h&z=13]Google”>http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=108559171071462350817.00044ef22f4e1ded2d98e&t=h&z=13)</p>
<p>It’s about 1.5 to 2.0 miles from various points on campus, so you’d probably have to cab it. The motel does have an airport shuttle van, so they might take a slight detour and drop you off (they get a ton of business from Swarthmore families!) There is also a city bus route that connects the Baltimore Pike (inc that motel) with the campus. </p>
<p>There are a number of B&Bs right near the campus, although I’m not the expert. </p>
<p>See the full list here:</p>
<p>[Lodging</a> Guide](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/visitordash/visitors_content_lodging.php]Lodging”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/visitordash/visitors_content_lodging.php)</p>
<p>Here are two B&Bs that are both within walking distance of campus. We never stayed in either because they are booked years in advance for the stuff we did (drop-off, parents weekends, etc.):</p>
<p>[The</a> Longfellow House Bed and Breakfast](<a href=“http://www.thelongfellowhouse.com/]The”>http://www.thelongfellowhouse.com/)
[Purcell</a> Darrell House Bed and Breakfast - A Quick Overview](<a href=“http://www.purcelldarrellhouse.com/]Purcell”>http://www.purcelldarrellhouse.com/)</p>
<p>My wife found a deal to stay in a really nice room in a professors house with a donation going to charity. I’m not sure they still offer it. You might check with the parents office at the college and see. </p>
<p>The other option would be to stay downtown and ride the train to Swarthmore (the R3 line from downtown or UPENN directly to Swarthmore’s campus). Those hotels, of course, are going to be pricier.</p>
<p>You can also take the train from the airport terminal to Swat’s campus or cabs from the airport aren’t that pricey. It’s only about 7 miles.</p>
<p>luthcol,
I “third” the suggestion of the Howard Johnson’s on the Baltimore Pike. It’s technically in Springfield, PA, on the Swarthmore border. I stayed there a couple of weeks ago with one of my sons when we looked at Swarthmore. I was able to get a rate of $80.99 a night in a double/double. Perfectly adequate.</p>
<p>We recently visited Swat and here was how we did it.</p>
<p>Used priceline to get a very decent 3* hotel for $50 + tax a night (about $65 total a night) ~ 1.5 miles from PHL. Used hotwire to get a rental car for $27 a day. </p>
<p>Next time, since we know where everything is now, we would stay in the same hotel and take the train from PHL to Swat. If we need to go there again, that is.</p>
<p>When I traveled for Alumni Council, they put us up in the Courtyard Marriot near the airport. About a 20 minute drive from campus. If you have AAA, make sure to ask for the discount.</p>
<p>Like the others have mentioned, there aren’t many good options near the campus.</p>
<p>The airport hotels are often sensible options for Swat visits…we did that and it is really not a bad drive to Swat at all…but very corporate and isolated feeling.</p>
<p>We stayed at the hotel on the Bryn Mawr campus last time. Very quaint, community breakfast in beautiful old room with mainly their alum. We even just walked over and ate in their dining hall…interesting since our son might have been on campus for various things now and then…you do have to tiptoe a bit…it feels like a bed and breafast on a large scale…and is not full service.</p>
<p>You’re actually going to have trouble finding a place to stay, because RTT coincides with Parents’ Weekend.</p>
<p>I took the advice of varous posters for a recent trip to Swat. I rented two adjacent identical rooms for 3 nights at the HOJO on Baltimore Pike that has been previously referenced. The room that my wife and I stayed in had a total of 5 ticks over the 3-night stay (yes, blood-sucking type ticks). The morning we were leaving there was a pest control truck parked in the lot. If you would like to see the digital pictures, I would be happy to send them to you.</p>
<p>The hotel is a dive. Do not stay there if you are looking for a clean, nice, sanitary place. We have already made reservations at another hotel near the airport for our next trip to the college.</p>
<p>Is Lyme disease endemic in Philadelphia?!</p>
<p>That bites! Thanks for the tip. Lyme disease is everywhere on the East Coast. I think it’s okay if they aren’t on your skin for more than 24 hours. But then again, I am not a doctor!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about that. While it was no palace, we’ve found the HoJo in Springfield to be perfectly satisfactory on previous visits, most recently for graduation in June 2007. I noticed on a recent visit to Swarthmore for Family Weekend that the HoJo is in the process of converting to a Days Inn. Don’t know if that will have any impact on operations / cleanliness at the place.</p>
<p>And yes, Lyme disease is prevalent in the Philadelphia area. S#2 got Lyme when we lived in the Philadelphia suburbs 13 years ago. While the bullseye rash is a common symptom, it is not always present, and can be hidden by hair if the bite occurs on the scalp. So be aware of other flu-like symptoms (don’t we have enough problems with worrying about swine flu?).</p>
<p>Starch - gosh we are staying there this weekend. What was the room number you stayed in so I can request a different room, if they try to put us in the tick infested one?</p>
<p>We too stayed at the HoJo’s on The Pike in March, on the recommendation of folks on this site. We stayed 5 nights (spent our Spring Break visiting our Swat S and D). While we found it to be relatively newly renovated and clean, we had to change our room after 2 nights because the wall heater was SO LOUD neither of us could sleep a wink. A new room was no better. Proximity to campus is very nice, but I’d opt for a Marriott next time. Also, no breakfast, which is a bit of a minus. For graduation, we’re staying in Willet’s: we’ll trade ticks for MICE!!</p>
<p>We stayed at the HoJo’s on the Pike in March, too, while my high school aged son was checking out Swat. We had no problems and I’m sorry to hear of these issues because while not the Taj Mahal, it seemed clean and convenient. In the past, we’ve stayed at hotels at the airport.</p>
<p>Swatmom:</p>
<p>I don’t recall the specific room numbers (we were on the second floor facing the inner parking lot). Unfortunately I don’t think a specific room selection will necessarily preclude un-invited visitors. Hopefully the exterminator helped with this issue.</p>
<p>I wish we had moved to another hotel in retrospect. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>S is a Swat08 grad & we usually stayed at the airport when we visited. There are back roads you can take to campus so it’s relatively quick & easy to get there. There are several hotels to choose from, including some that have free breakfast.</p>
<p>There are really zero decent hotels within a 3 mile radius of Swarthmore. Maybe the B&Bs in Swarthmore are OK but, as has already been mentioned, they’re booked long in advance and can’t really accommodate many people. The last time I was there, I stayed at some place on the Baltimore Pike that seemed like a great place to stay… if you were looking to score some crack.</p>
<p>Really, your best bet is to stay in one of the airport hotels.</p>
<p>Agreed. Apparently one has to be careful with the B&Bs as well. During one of my wife’s first visits to the campus she stayed at the most convenient B&B to campus. Although the location was fine, she had to share a bathroom with other guests. Usually not a problem- unless it there is a guest/student and her boyfriend having sex in the bathroom … Gives water sports a whole new meaning.</p>
<p>Stick to the commercial airport area hotels.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Days Inn (formerly HoJo) on Baltimore Pike last night. While not a luxury hotel, it was clean, quiet and convenient. No sign of ticks or any bugs for that matter. This was our third time staying there with similar results. I was a bit worried we would find ticks or worse…</p>
<p>Thanks Swatmom, that is good to hear! Especially, since my wife and I have reservations there for two days in August.</p>