For the next portion of our Good Morning Milan, Goodnight Moon trip, Ford, Miles, and I, spent two nights at the 219-room Four Seasons Philadelphia at Comcast Center. I’ve been curious to stay at this hotel since it opened back in 2019.
Continue reading: Review: Four Seasons Philadelphia (One Of The Best US City Hotels)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Glad you did this and it seems to be totally under-reviewed for a truly remarkable property. I am from Philadelphia and back for business 4-6 times per year and stay there religiously if I can get a particular corporate rate. I've stayed in some amazing hotels and this is, indeed, among the finest city hotels in the world in my opinion.
Huge fan of this hotel. The food, spa, and pool were amazing. It’s rare to find hotels on high floors in the US. Reminded me of the Signiel in Seoul. Wish we had some in NYC; most put the hotel floors on the bottom (see Park Haytt NYC).
About 10 years ago while visiting Philly for work I had dinner with colleagues at the first Vernick restaurant on Walnut St. I still remember it as a fantastic spot even if the details are a little fuzzy now. Glad to hear they're still going strong.
Oh, and on that trip I stayed at the Four Seasons but in their old location, where the Logan Hotel is now. Great stay, but certainly not as spectacular as in the Comcast Center.
Minus the bar and restaurant, it looks like a high end condominium in the city
The same can be said about most of the high end modern city hotels in the world, so whats your point?
Probably not something people staying at the Four Seasons care about, but the building is directly connected to Suburban Station, which has the airport line running every 30 minutes almost all day long - first train to the airport is 4:30a and last train back is after midnight.
Have you stayed at the Four Seasons Chicago? It looks very similar to this one. I understand your job is to review hotels but the last place I would eat is at a hotel with so many great and cheaper options in Philly.
I live about a five minute walk from that hotel. A few points: it's worth noting that the Comcast building in which the hotel is located is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere outside of NYC and Chicago. Also the part of Philly you were staying in is not called "downtown" but "Center City." 🙂
I disagree with your assessment of the Philly skyline. It's really come into its own in the last ten years and is definitely one of the nicest looking skylines in the U.S.
Great that you went to Vernick Fish so that you got to enjoy the work of a local chef, something that doesn't often happen if you only dine in hotel restaurants.
Glad you made it to Philly and Go Birds!!
Surprised you didn't mention that both Vernick Fish as well as Sky High are on the Chase sapphire reserve dining list to trigger the semiannual $150 credit. Vernick fish is terrific, been there multiple times.
As a former Philly resident who's never stayed at a four seasons before, I want this to be my first (maybe when town for a Eagles game), but the prices are always sky high on AMEX FHR on the weekends I want to come.
You should have added a night at the Bellevue (Hyatt) which is definitely a step below 4S, but has probably the best hotel gym arrangement in the country with guest access to the Bellevue Athletic Club - and the hotel itself is really nicely renovated.
I lived in the Rittenhouse Square area of Center City in the mid to late 90's and the "original" Four Seasons was just off Rittenhouse Square and was hands down the best hotel in Philadelphia. The Comcast location is just breathtaking ! I almost want to fly up for a weekend !
Never actually stayed at the Bellevue, but agree it's worth checking out. Agreed 4S is the top, but the Rittenhouse Hotel was redone fairly recently, and is your classy old city hotel with more character. Also in my opinion the better location right on Rittenhouse Square so that would be my second choice if I was staying in the city.
The Ritz is in a nice old building, and generally actually where I do stay if I'm doing a quick night or two in the city because they are generous with the AMEX FHR benefits and you can pretty much always get a nice upgrade through FHR and they will also generally let you doubledip with AMEX and Bonvoy points which I haven't found to be the case at a lot of other properties within Bonvoy.
Yup. Before retirement, even when I could rent a car, cab, Lyft or car service, I would always try to use rail service between city center (any city’s center), and the airport. Many viable cities. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, etc. I’m sure I’ve missed a few.
Ben - this would make a good feature.
One of the interesting things about the Philly skyline is that for decades there was an understanding that no building would be built higher than the hat that William Penn is wearing as he stands atop City Hall. It wasn’t until about 1986 that a developer decided he was going to build a building that blew through the unofficial understanding.
The original Four Seasons was off of the Ben Franklin Parkway. Maybe you are thinking of The Rittehouse?
The original Four Seasons was off of the Ben Franklin Parkway. Maybe you are thinking of The Rittehouse?
Not high-end luxury, but the Westin Element in Center City has beautiful skyline views as well (not quite as high up)! We were pretty amazed when we stepped into the room.
As a former Center City resident, Vernick Fish is a great local restaurant in my opinion. I didn’t even realize it was connected to the 4S the first time I went.
You may be thinking of The Rittenhouse, which sits on Rittenhouse Square. The old 4S is in Logan Square and is now called The Logan.
It's kinda funny but also pathetic how you came back two days in a row to write the same inaccurate and ignorant comment.
The real question is the pricing. Is it really worth $700-$1300/night. Let's face it similar hotels in many other countries charge a lot less. The gingerbread man and the other kid-friendly aspects are cute touches.
I lived there for four years (fortunately no more) so my comment/opinion is informed, not “ignorant”!
Philly and Chicago have the distinction of being the only two cities in the US with a ton of amenities and reasonable real estate costs, which is part of what drives this