<p>I am taking D2012 & D2015 to visit Philadelphia schools Aug 22-25. We'll be driving in from Lehigh (staying with friends up there), visiting Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and UPenn, and then continuing on to Baltimore (where we'll stay with an aunt).</p>
<p>I am looking for suggestions on where to stay in the Philadelphia metro area. Considerations are:
(1) public transit into the city center
(2) easy driving coming in from Lehigh and going out to Baltimore, and to the suburban schools</p>
<p>I was hoping to stay right near Swarthmore, but they've got students coming in that week (not everyone -- I think just earlybirds, or maybe athletes), so the B&Bs in that immediate vicinity are all booked. Too bad!</p>
<p>What are the freeways like in Philadelphia in the mornings? Most of our tours are 10am-ish.</p>
<p>I'd also welcome suggestions on where to eat while visiting each college.</p>
<p>I would stay in the Wayne/St. David’s area. I think there is a Marriott Courtyard and a few others. I would then drive into Penn if that is your last tour, suck up the parking and head to Baltimore from there. Other option is stay in the King of Prussia area where there are tons of hotels and take surface streets into the suburban campuses and suck it up with traffic for the Penn day.</p>
<p>Holiday Inn on City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd will put you near all of the colleges and an easy drive to UPenn. I don’t know about public transit.</p>
<p>The Crowne Plaza Hotel is on City Avenue. There is a bus that stops in front. It’s close to Target and Saks and different restaurants. You can check the SEPTA website for routes to get you where you need to go.</p>
<p>Freeways in Philadelphia, like freeways everywhere, can get crowded in the morning. But not so much the week of August 22, when there will be approximately no one here.</p>
<p>MOWC is probably right. Staying in Wayne-St. David’s will be super-easy coming from Lehigh, you won’t have any traffic problems going to Bryn Mawr/Haverford (you won’t even get on the freeway), you will have at worst minor delays getting to Swarthmore (about a 20-minute drive from Wayne, and if you give yourself 30 minutes you will be early enough to get bored), and if you really want you can take a SEPTA train in to see Penn. But parking in the Penn area won’t be more expensive than two round-trip train tickets.</p>
<p>Another choice would be to stay in exciting Center City Philadelphia, see if you can get a hotel that throws parking in, and you can take the train to Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr if you want. (Each of them has stations essentially right next to campus.) That’s what I would do. [Philadelphia</a> - Official Visitor Site - visitphilly.com](<a href=“http://www.visitphilly.com/]Philadelphia”>http://www.visitphilly.com/) often has deals or packages set up.</p>
<p>Do you plan one school a day (as it sounds)? Do you prefer a B&B to a hotel?</p>
<p>University City, the neighborhood for Penn, Drexel, U Sciences, and the Restaurant School, has several nice B&Bs, all near transit that connects to 30th Street SEPTA station for suburban schools. Info: University City District website.</p>
<p>In terms of food, what do you like? What’s your budget? Again, University City District website also has lots of information about places in the neighborhood. For suburban schools, I’d check their websites and/or ask when you visit. </p>
<p>If you have more questions, please feel free to post.</p>
<p>DW, D1 and D2 stayed on the Bryn Mawr campus in their guest accommodations and were quite happy with it. </p>
<p>We’ve also stayed out in King of Prussia—lots of hotels out there, cheaper than center city, pretty easy drive to the Main Line schools including Villanova, Bryn Mawr and Haverford (mostly not on expressways, making it easier during morning rush), and from there it’s a short 20-minute train ride to Philadelphia 30th St. Station which is a few blocks walk from the Penn campus. There’s another commuter train you can catch on the Penn campus that will take you to Swarthmore, about 20 minutes away.</p>
<p>I would also stay in KOP area, for lower cost hotels, good places to eat,easy access to the Mainline area schools, and a decent commute into Philly…though if you are doing this all in one day, i might think differently…from KOP, you can get on 476 south to pick up 95 so as not having to cut thru the city on way to Baltimore</p>
<p>When we visited Swarthmore last spring, we stayed at the nearby Days Inn. We got in late the night before and left early the next day, but it was clean room, responsive service and a great rate. Because it’s only a few miles away, it could be booked up.</p>
<p>Only downside was dragging our suitcases up the stairs at 11 p.m. (no elevators). But hey, I was sitting on my rear in the car most of the day so it did my body good.</p>
<p>When I took my son to visit Haverford and Swarthmore (few years ago), we stayed at the Holiday Inn on City Line Avenue, and I thought it was pretty sketchy. I am originally from Philadelpih and lived in Manhattan for many years, so I don 't scare easily. There was an incident at a close-by restaurant that I found very frightening. I would not stay there again.</p>
<p>We’ll be staying 3 nights (arriving Aug 22nd, checking out Aug 25th).</p>
<p>I prefer a B&B, as long as it can accommodate 3 people (two double beds; or else a queen bed + rollaway/fold-out). If it’s a hotel, I’d really like it to offer breakfast, since that makes it so much easier to eat and get going in the mornings.</p>
<p>I’d really like to be within walking distance of a SEPTA station or bus stop, to avoid driving in the city center.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the suggestions so far. Please keep 'em coming!</p>
<p>Also, please post suggestions of student-favored eateries in the vicinity of Haverford/BrynMawr, Swarthmore, and UPenn.</p>
<p>With the schools you are looking at, you do not need to go into Center City.
Do you want the SEPTA station nearby because you wish to sightsee in Center City?</p>
<p>I second the Wayne/St Davids area or King of Prussia. City Line Ave in Bala Cynwyd has quite a bit of traffic. Many of the hotels do have contenental breakfast. King of Prussia is near Valley Forge National Park and KOP Mall is something like the 2nd or 3rd biggest in the Country with lots of dining options including favorite name chain restaurants.</p>
<p>Re: Holiday Inn…I never had a problem there, but my last visit was at least 8 years ago…</p>
<p>In any case, I would suggest staying outside the city, nearer to the colleges. You will be able to get around the Main Line without venturing onto the highway. Traveling into the city for the one trip to UPenn shouldn’t be awful as long as you avoid rush hour.</p>
<p>Given the schools that you are planning to visit, I agree with others that it makes more sense to stay in the suburbs. That being the case, convenience to SEPTA will be absolutely irrelevant. The best suburban locations have already been given; B&B’s are not a big thing in this area. Either stay in King of Prussia or at the Radnor Hotel.</p>
<p>However, if you are really looking to enjoy the sights and local eatieries of Philadelphia, you COULD stay in Center City and take SEPTA regional rail to visit Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore; however, I can pretty much guarantee this will be more time consuming, and costly (SEPTA is not cheap) than driving from a suburban hotel. see [SEPTA</a> | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority](<a href=“http://www.septa.org%5DSEPTA”>http://www.septa.org) for train information.</p>
<p>Around Haveford/Bryn Mawr area, on Rt. 30 aka Lancaster Ave you will find many eateries. Gullifty’s in Rosemont is popular with a college crowd. There are also many restaurants if you travel East to Ardmore, and you may want to check out the Suburban Square shopping center in Ardmore.</p>
<p>I do live in that area so if you give me more of an idea of type of food you are looking for I can give you better recommendations.</p>
<p>When visiting D2 at Bryn Mawr, we would usually stay at The Wayne Hotel in Wayne. It’s fairly close to Villa Nova, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford (basically you stay on one road to get to each one). Wayne is also close to the highway that you take to get to Swarthmore. It’s a funky old hotel (more like a bed and breakfast), which is being updated. Coffee and a continental breakfast are included in the price of the rooms. My H is a hotel snob and prefers to stay in downtown Philadelphia. He kiddingly says that he only stays in hotels with turn-down service. He stayed at The Wayne one time and admitted it was nice–not the Four Seasons, but nice.</p>
<p>We stayed at a Residence Inn in Conshohocken, which I recommend primarily for its proximity to Lenny’s Italian Deli (900 Fayette Street). Their Italian pork sandwich was featured in the Sandwich issue of Saveur Magazine-- along with many other Philly favorites.
Don’t miss the Reading Market.</p>
<p>Best get a reservation going now. I’m looking for a hotel in the same general area for October 1st and the Wayne hotels are all booked. We have stayed at the Best Western Plus in KOP in the past and like it. FYI those OP dates are also move-in time for Villanova, so I’d book something sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Yes, just checked my calendar, and it is move-in time for Villanova…you can just about forget finding anything around the Mainline,and i’d quickly make reservations elsewhere…steer way clear of Lancaster ave ,and anyhwere near 'Nova…i remember move in day last year, and it took 45 minutes to go from 476 interchange to campus parking lot…</p>