PHILADELPHIA, PA, March, 2001 – Philadelphia is nearing the end of an unprecedented hotel boom. Since January 1998, hotel inventory in Center City has increased forty percent, from 6,000 rooms to 11,000 rooms and from 1,800 to 4,000 rooms at the Philadelphia International Airport. Over the same period, the total number of hotel rooms in the four surrounding suburban counties has increased by more than 2,000 rooms. In Center City, renovation of existing landmark properties accounts for about 80 percent of the new rooms.

"One of the most wonderful things about Philadelphia is its historic architecture," says Mickey Rowley, executive director, Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association. "Old buildings may not work well for new offices, but they work wonderfully for hotels. People are adapting them in very interesting ways."

One of the greatest works of the 20^th Century, the PSFS (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society) building has been converted into the new 585-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Designed by George Howe and William Lescaze, the building was erected in 1932 and was the first international style, modernist high-rise building. Today, the building retains period details, such as Cartier clocks, bank vault doors and polished granite, as well as modern amenities such as a full service health spa, business center, spinning room, lap pool and over 40,000 square feet of multi-purpose space, including three ballrooms. Each guest room has 10-foot ceilings, cordless phones, T1 cable lines, modem lines and electronic safes.

Hotel Sofitel has opened at 17^th and Sansom Streets in the former Philadelphia Stock Exchange Building. This hotel infuses French flavor with American style. Many of the staff are French, as is the cuisine in the hotel’s full-service restaurant, Chez Colette. With 300 rooms of unusually large proportions, averaging 400 square feet, it markets itself as a 4½ star hotel. Amenities include large desks, three phones in each room, high-speed Internet access and French chocolates on the pillow nightly.

Near City Hall, the exquisite, neo-classical domed Mellon/Girard Bank building has been restored as the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia Hotel. Built as a reproduction of the Pantheon in Rome, the bank was designed by McKim, Mead and White and completed in 1908; the adjacent high-rise was added in 1923. The new property consists of a rotunda featuring public areas, two full-service restaurants, the Rotunda bar, and an adjacent tower with 331 rooms, a tobacco lounge; and the Ritz Carlton Club, a private lounge with dramatic skyline views and private access to 45 club rooms and suites. Both the interior and exterior of the rotunda feature soaring white marble Ionic columns.

Completed in November 1999, the 500-room Courtyard by Marriott is in the City Hall Annex. The magnificent 15-story Art Deco building was built in 1929 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It features 10 meeting rooms, restaurant, in-room business services.

Slated to open in January 2002, the 270-room, Art Deco-style Residence in by Marriott is in the former Market Street National Bank. Built in 1930 and designed by Versus Ritter and Howell Shay, the building features a colorful terra-cotta façade, which will be incorporated into the new hotel’s design. It will offer extended-stay rooms ranging from studios to one- and two-bedroom suites that include a fully equipped kitchen. The property will also offer 3,960 square feet of meeting space, an exercise room, pool and lounge.

The Inn on Locust, a 24-room boutique hotel catering to businesspeople, opened February 2001 on 13^th and Locust streets. The building was constructed for the Philadelphia Board of Realtors in 1926 and has been completely refurbished. Rooms are fully convertible from bedroom to office to boardroom and feature a kitchenette, fax/printer/copier, DVD player, vidie/tele-conferencing, high speed internet access, full sized desk with ergonomic desk chair

Courtyard by Marriott, east side of City Hall. 500 rooms.

Greater Philadelphia Marketing Tourism Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to generating awareness of and visitation to Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call (888) GO-PHILA.

###

Back to News Release List