At check-in, I asked about a paid upgrade to a room or suite with access to the club lounge. I was told it would be an extra $400 a night, except the lounge was closed for half my stay. That made no sense. Why would you sell club lounge rooms on nights with no open and operational club lounge? Also, $400 seems steep. I may have considered it if the upgrade price was $150-ish.
I was upgraded to a suite on the 28th floor. There are 30 floors. The club lounge is on the 30th floor.
No in-room amenity or even a thank you card. At check-in, I also didn’t get a welcome letter.
The suite had a mini-bar, but it was unstocked and warm to the touch. So, the refrigeration wasn’t working.
The suite was dirty with hair on the nightstand and in the nightstand drawer, hair on the toiletries in the bathroom, and extensive mold or mildew in the shower. Obviously, that’s unacceptable, not least for a suite. This should be one of their best rooms.
Décor was fine. On the more classic end, which is fine. But it didn't feel like luxury. The overall room/suite was more like a pre-pandemic Sheraton, Westin or JW Marriott. More on this observation later.
I was moved to a second room, a non-suite. I was told no further suites were available, except on a much lower floor.
The bellmen quickly moved me to the new room. But upon entering, none of the lights worked. So, he took me down to the front desk.
At this point, I asked for the duty manager. He was apologetic, but I emphasized my disappointment because these rooms should have been inspected. How does someone inspecting the rooms not notice nonfunctioning lights, let alone the cleanliness issues in the suite?
I was given a third room -- a regular king room on the 24th floor with a decent view of City Hall.
This room was mostly clean. I say mostly because some hair was on the floor around the toilet. I also saw hair in the bathtub. In the walk-in shower, the grouting could be updated.
Turndown service consisted of a housekeeper placing two chocolates and two plastic bottles of purified water on a nightstand. The bed itself wasn’t turned down. The curtains weren’t closed.
Housekeepers put a QR code in the room for tips. I know this is common at many hotels today but it comes off as tacky at a Ritz-Carlton.
I asked for a newspaper at the front desk and was told one would be delivered to my room in the morning. I never received a newspaper. However, I found three newspapers at the front desk: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and a local Philadelphia newspaper.
I assume the hotel offers room service. There was a card to hang on the door for breakfast, but no menu or information on room service at other times during the day.
In general, I thought the hotel was showing its age. Some of the wall coverings were scuffed and scratched. The old in-room thermostat was covered over with beige and white plastic. The last renovation was in 2016. Rooms only have 1 USB outlet. How does a hotel room in the year 2025 only have a single USB outlet? One of the lamp shades was twisted around. My third room had a stocked mini-bar, unlike the suite, but, like the suite, the mini-bar refrigeration was broken. So, everything was at room temperature. That just reinforced the lack of attention to detail. I also didn’t see any prices for any items in the mini-bar.
Noise insulation was poor. While I couldn’t hear street noise, I could hear the room beside me. Every time they used their phone on speakerphone, I could hear them dial the number and even the conversation. It was like I was in their room. So, if you’re staying here, you probably don’t want to have any sensitive telephone conversations in the room.
The lobby bar and restaurant is better than average. Both at night with drinks and dinner, and in the morning at breakfast. Prices were what you expect at a downtown hotel. Service was good, although the waitress in the morning at breakfast was calling male customers “hunny,” “sweetheart,” and “love.” It was well-intended, but you don’t expect that at a Ritz-Carlton. The wine list is excellent. I really liked the fact they had two Mexican wines from Monte Xanic in the Valle de Guadalupe.
In the morning, there's free self-serve coffee in the lobby. It probably doesn't make sense to pay $6 for a cup of coffee in the restaurant when it's free in the lobby.
Also, the lobby restaurant is strangely closed on Monday outside breakfast. So, I'm not sure what hotel guests are supposed to do for dinner if they stay on a Monday. It's unclear if the lobby bar is also closed on Monday afternoons and evenings.
For $322 per night before taxes and fees, the Ritz-Carlton is about $75-$125 more per night than many of the other Marriott options. I think it’s an okay value. But, in all honesty, the hotel's overall standard is more equivalent to a 4-star Sheraton or Westin (at least pre-pandemic) than a real 5-star luxury hotel. If you're used to real 5-star luxury hotels, the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia will disappoint.
KW