The Rittenhouse Hotel

We had a wonderful stay at The Rittenhouse. The service was excellent, especially the front desk team, who were always attentive and made us feel very welcome. We truly appreciated the room upgrade, which made our stay much more comfortable while traveling with our children. A beautiful hotel with great service and a team that genuinely cares about its guests. We would happily return!

The Rittenhouse charges five-star prices but fails to deliver a five-star experience. The most significant issue is the service. Staff seem inadequately trained in guest experience and are far too quick to say "no" instead of offering solutions or alternatives. Throughout our stay, it became clear that guest satisfaction is simply not a priority. The property itself also falls short. The lobby creates a disjointed first impression. Its awkward layout contains a great deal of wasted space, and what may once have housed retail shops now feels vacant and soulless. There is nothing warm or welcoming about entering the hotel. The hallways leading to the rooms are similarly tired and dingy. Our room offered a beautiful view of the park, but beyond that, it felt dated and overdue for modernization. Accessible outlets were virtually nonexistent. Even the desk lacked usable power outlets because they were occupied by large, chaotic-looking adapters that appeared loosely connected to the wall and controlled the room's lighting system. The bathroom was particularly disappointing. The towel bar was broken and detached from the wall, the sink gurgled and drained poorly, the toiletries were far from luxurious, and the shower felt like a sarcophagus with little to no water pressure. Dining and bar experiences were equally underwhelming. Breakfast at Lacroix was outrageously overpriced and mediocre at best. The library bar was tiny, unpleasantly loud for its size, and unable to accommodate us. Rather than offering alternatives or treating us with any priority as guests, staff simply turned us away, leaving us to take a mediocre glass of wine back to our room. The most egregious example of poor service involved the hotel's complimentary black car service. A concierge had offered to have the hotel car take us a few blocks with our luggage. When it came time to use the service, however, the excuses began. First, we were told the car was unavailable. When we asked when it would be available, we received more vague responses. When pressed to contact the driver directly, we were told that was impossible because the driver would not answer while driving. Only after I requested a manager did the story suddenly change. Despite being told no manager was on site that day, reaching the driver somehow became possible. We were called back and told the driver would return in ten minutes. When we went downstairs, we encountered the same front desk employee, whose attitude remained rude and dismissive. She then presented our bill, which was missing credits. At a hotel claiming to provide five-star service, guests should not have to audit their own invoices for accuracy. After resolving that issue, we waited in the lobby for at least another ten minutes. The driver never arrived. Rather than continue relying on promises and excuses, we called an Uber and left. Ultimately, we transferred to a different hotel for our final night because we could no longer justify paying such a premium for such little value and such poor service. Offering amenities like a complimentary black car service means nothing if guests cannot actually access them. That experience perfectly summarizes The Rittenhouse: a hotel that charges luxury rates but delivers neither luxury accommodations nor luxury service.

Beautiful hotel! The rooms are a good size as well as the bathrooms. We had great service from everyone there. The location is very good and having a lovely park across the street is a big bonus.

Excellent accommodations and service.

Overall, an excellent hotel. The staff, the facility, and the room were all at their best.