Philly may be more fun when you sleep over, but at these prices?/R. Kennedy-GPTMC
Tomorrow’s cover story is all about doing your holiday shopping in Philadelphia. I’m totally on board. Great idea. Philly=good stuff.
Still. Who knows why — probably all the spendy Brits who couldn’t get hotel rooms in New York for their shopping sprees — but for some reason, a cold and wet Philadelphia costs more per night this week than a lot of other places where it would be nice to be next week – say, Las Vegas, for instance.
Check this out. We are, supposedly, in the dead zone, that space between Thanksgiving and Christmas when everywhere except New York is dirt cheap.
This year, not so much. For a sample date set of Dec. 4-6, Las Vegas is certainly holding up its end of the bargain – Wynn for $191? Are you nuts? No – easily booked. Flamingo? $54. Red Rock is just $159. Go already.
Then, take a look at Philly. Same dates. The miserable Loews is $278. (Avoid. I couldn’t be more serious about this.) The just-fine Sofitel? $305.
The tarted-up Rittenhouse B&B (now going by the dreadfully pretentious name Rittenhouse 1715) costs as much as the Four Seasons Las Vegas for these dates (they’re both averaging a little over $250 a night).
Listen. The 1715 is nice, in a trying-hard-to-rise-above-itself kind of way. Breakfast room in the basement, questionable decor in the lobby, facing a parking lot sort of way.
In fact, if I spend the night in Philadelphia, I always want to stay here. It’s really the only true charmer. But not at these prices. No thanks. Would rather splash out on an Acela ticket to get home fast, or do more shopping. (That is, if I shopped. Which I don’t.)
If a day trip doesn’t sound right for you, make sure you take advantage of the promotion the tourism board is laying on for the season – $50 off total hotel tabs of $150 or more, at time of booking. To get that deal, visit gophila.com/holidays.