What hotels are in/near the Germantown section of Philadelphia?

May 12, 2008 9:31 PM

Can you help in finding a hotel in or near the Germantown section of Philadelphia?

I'll be in Philly next month for a conference to be held in Germantown (or perhaps between Germantown and Mt. Airy, per Google Maps) and I'm having difficulty figuring out what hotels are close to the conference location. (Right off of Germantown Avenue, in the 19119 zip code.) Conference organizers have suggested that the Chestnut Hill Hotel is the closest accommodation, but there are no vacancies over the weekend when the conference is occurring.

I ask for very little, my main concern is that it's clean and preferably quiet, free wifi would be a major plus. I don't bother with affinity programs so I don't care much for branding.

Suggestions for other hotels in the area or even how to narrow my searches to this area (TripAdvisor, for instance, divides the city into Airport, Downtown/Center City/Historic Area, Old City, University City/West Phila and City Line/Northeast and I have no idea where Germantown falls in those divisions) would be greatly appreciated.

posted by Dreama to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

Go to Expedia, click on the Hotel button, and pull the "Find Hotels near" down until it reads "A US Address". Enter the address and the dates, and click "Search for Hotels". You'll then get a list of bookable hotels from nearest to furthest, with ratings and reviews.
posted by eschatfische at 10:57 PM on May 12

I knew there had to be some website that had a feature like that! Thank you!
posted by Dreama at 1:23 AM on May 13

Off the top of my head it's largely residential. A B&B might be a better bet. There are large chain hotels on Rt 1 (City Ave) just across the river from where you will be.
posted by fixedgear at 2:18 AM on May 13

The Chestnut Hill Hotel is the only thing that immediately comes to mind, you're sort of in a remote part of the city up there in the Northwest. You can probably find a B&B in Mt. Airy/Chestnut Hill but it's worth bearing in mind that Germantown is sort of divided in half between really gorgeous historic preservations and gentrifying blocks with well maintained old houses to the west an increasingly dangerous ghetto the further east you go on Germantown Ave, especially to the east of Chelten Ave.

The hotels on City Line are good bet, there are some small mom and pop joints on the Roosevelt Blvd. just to the northeast of Gtown that I would not recommend, very seedy spots.
posted by The Straightener at 5:19 AM on May 13

Silverstone Bed & Breakfast is right on Stenton Avenue and the owners, Yolanta and Romuald, are very nice. Bonus points if you speak Polish -- they are originally from Poland. I work directly across the street from there and many families who come for our conferences stay at Silverstone. If you call them, say that Colleen from The Institutes sent you. I'm the violin teacher. :)

There is also Anam Cara, right in the heart of Chestnut Hill. Teresa and Jack also host families for our conferences, and we have heard only good things about them.
posted by chihiro at 7:52 AM on May 13

I don't think there's much in the way of hotels out there. If you decide not to go the B&B route, just stay at one of the big hotels downtown (priceline name-your-price works pretty well) and take the train up there. It runs frequently.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 8:50 AM on May 13

there are some 'business class' hotels on germantown pike almost directly across from the plymouth meeting mall... thats a 15 minute drive from where you'll be, and its a straight shot right down one road so no need to worry about getting TOO lost.
posted by hummercash at 9:14 AM on May 13

hummercash is right, but definitely budget more than 15 minutes to get to Germantown from Plymouth Meeting if you'll be driving during rush hour -- it really is just one straight road with several schools and shopping centers along the way, so traffic can get pretty backed up.
posted by chihiro at 11:56 AM on May 13

Yeah, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School during let in and let out times turns the Pike into a total nightmare. If you stay at a hotel on City Line you'll be reverse commuting up Lincoln Drive towards the northwest when everyone in the northwest is trying to get to Center City so it should be fairly wide open. Plus, Lincoln Drive is a really, really pretty stretch of road, winds along the Wissahickon Creek with steep, rocky hills on either side.
posted by The Straightener at 12:56 PM on May 13