In October 2011, I planned a six-night trip to the East Coast. Initially planned as a New York City visit with a day trip to Philadelphia, it was eventually changed into an open-jaw itinerary where I would actually fly into Philadelphia first and spend the first two nights there. As I had never overnighted in Philadelphia before, I had to do some serious amounts of research to pick a hotel that I could accept. Eventually I booked at Alexander Inn, and am extremely glad to have done so.

- Booking -

The hotel takes reservations directly at its website. What I found charming right away is that the hotel's rates do not fluctuate with the seasons, but stay constant. The rates are also very reasonable; I paid about $150 per night including all taxes and fees for a very charming double.

- Location -

The hotel is located four blocks or so south of Market Street, the main east-west thoroughfare of Philadelphia City Center. It is not too far from Broad Street either. Both Market and Broad have subway lines, so this makes for very convenient mass transit access. Independence Hall is also a short walk away, as is the antiques district. Even the Franklin Institute and other museums are within a long walk of this hotel.

Moreover, the hotel's location is smack in the middle of Philadelphia's gay district, which makes for very good amount of energy especially when it comes to dining and nightlife. The hotel is a member of IGLTA (International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association) according to the website, and does seem to cater to gay male couples who travel often and have discerning tastes. This single lesbian, traveling solo, did just as well.

- Service -

The hotel feels a lot like European urban hotels; it is located on a very narrow strip of land, and holds only eight rooms per floor. The ground floor has the breakfast room and lounge; free continental breakfast is served daily. The basement has housekeeping department as well as a well-equipped gym that also hosts complimentary Internet stations. One elevator serves all the floors; it is small and slow but gets the job done quite well, and even has visitor information inside.

When I arrived in the morning hours, the reception was very happy to hold my luggage until the check-in time. The receptionist (older gentleman) even made sure to give me his name on a business card, so that I could call the hotel back to see if early check-in could be possible. The personal touch continued - the hotel staff continued to address me not merely as "ma'am" but by my name. The reception desk is also very happy to provide sightseeing tips for the Philadelphia area, which I appreciated immensely.

- Room -

My room was a nicely equipped double on the sixth floor. It had a window cubicle that extended beyond the wall, for a bit extra space. The bed was very comfortable. There was a sizable closet as well. The television hung above the closet, and while it was not of the modern flat-screen variety, it did have ample selection of channels, including Philadelphia visitor information. The bathroom was well stocked with top-notch toiletries, though it only had a nice shower rather than a full bath.

My only negative about the room (and the hotel for that matter) is wireless Internet access; the signal was quite weak from my room, 607, which was toward the far end of the floor, and my iPad was occasionally losing the signal.

- Afterthoughts -

This is a very charming hotel and I am glad to have stayed there. While I am used to staying at properties like this when traveling in places like Europe, I rarely do when traveling stateside. It made my experience all the more memorable, combined with the ultimate in personal attention from the staff. The location was fantastic as well.

This was my first overnight trip to Philadelphia, and I picked a great hotel. I will not hesitate to book here again for my future Philadelphia visits.

Stayed one night in January based on the reviews on TripAdvisor and although I am rating it very good, would probably look for other accomodations for the next trip to Philadelphia. The good: excellent location. Was able to walk to South Street for cheese steaks, Independence Hall for history, Chestnut St for great meal at Chifa, Rittenhouse Square for shopping etc. The city is SO walkable it is great. The surrounding neighborhood is more residential which made walking enjoyable. The row houses are beautiful. Another positive was the continental breakfast. Good selection and the coffee was excellent. The staff was friendly and very attentive. The not so good was the actual hotel room itself. We had arrived early and the desk manager (think his name was John) let us check in at 1:00, which was great. We had a rm on the second floor right by the elevator. Everytime the elevator went up or down the room would creak. The temperature in the room was also cool. We called down and was told the heat was controlled by the desk and there was no individual adjustment. I have to say, it was the coldest day of the year...barely 20 degrees..so I do understand in an old building the ability to heat the premises evenly is a challenge. The worse part of the trip was the bed and pillows...it was possibly the most uncomfortable combination of the two I have ever experienced. The pillows were like rocks. If we were staying more than 1 night, we definately would have asked about either changing rooms or getting different pillows. Overall, the stay was good....but after walking so much on a very, very cold day...I really wanted a warm, comfortable sleep and the inn did not deliver.

We stayed at the Alexander Inn for our 2nd time for New Year's weekend and loved it once again. The location is perfect for both walking to all of the gayborhood's bars & restaurants, as well as the historical sites Philadelphia has to offer. The room rates are great and accomodations are nice and comfortable. All of the little things I expect in a hotel are there also - blowdryer, iron & ironing board, free breakfast in the morning, etc. etc. In addition to all of the wonderful things, the staff could not be any better! Each one of them is charming, nice and very helpful. I highly recommend staying at the Alexander!

I loved the cute neighborhood and alleys. I'd say the location is good for wandering to sites in all directions. The subway is close if you need it. Yes, it's an old building but it's an old city. My king size bed was very comfortable. Room size was great for one. TV reception was a little snowy but I had free wifi to distract me. Room temp was comfortable despite the chilly air outside. Friendly and helpful staff. Breakfast had the usual fruits, cereals, pastries, and hard boiled eggs. Parking is 2 blocks away and they'll give you a pass you put inside the machine at the *gate* so that it goes to your hotel bill. I messed this up but the parking lady was very nice and fixed it in a minute.