I had drinks at The Library bar at Rittenhouse Hotel. Someone at the bar transposed the tip from $16 to $61. Mistakes happen but what has disgusted me is that no one at the hotel has responded to multiple calls and emails to address the situation.

We were in Philadelphia for one night and I had always wanted to stay here. It was a splurge for us and I would do it again. Sometimes when you stay at a place at this price point, the staff and ambiance can be a bit snobby. The Rittenhouse was extremely welcoming and relaxing. What we liked. The bellcap. We had been traveling for a while so we had a small bag of snacks and drinks to bring to the room. Upon seeing the open bag, the bellcap asked "would you like me to put anything in the inroom fridge when I bring it up?" Observant and helpful. Our room would not be ready for a bit (we were about an hour before check in time) so they gave us vouchers for champagne and we headed to the bar where I had a jumbo shrimp cocktail. Tea Time. The Rittenhouse has a beautiful tea room and afternoon tea. Unfortunately there was no availability on line. I mentioned this to the desk when we checked in and she immediately went over the the tea room to see if there was something she could do. Since there was a wedding reception being held there that day, she could not, but the effort was very nice. More champagne vouchers! The room was quite large, the fabrics luxurious and it had a separate closet, bathroom and vanity area. All the lights could be dimmed to create a wonderful ambiance. While we rested before dinner, the front desk delivered up complimentary warm pretzels and mustard. I wanted to see the spa and pool area. When I went down the staff gave me a full tour. Turndown service was unobtrusive and lovely. The towels were extremely plush. What could have been better. While the room for breakfast was lovely - overlooking the square and sunny - the buffet breakfast options were underwhelming. No omelet or waffle bar, minimal variety in pastries. You could also order a la carte. The food was fine. I would do room service next just to make it more special.

Tired and annoying sums up my review of this hotel. The overall design of the hotel is dated. That includes the outside, the reception area, hallways and carpets on each floor. The carpet leading to my room especially, reminded me of ‘The Shining’ (1980). The hotel was also very dark generally. The internet was also an annoyance. I was only able to connect 1 device with the help of the reception staff. When I would click on the wi-fi, nothing would happen. There would be no login page pop up or anything. The major annoyance throughout my stay was the breakfast situation. During the first morning, the breakfast items I received were not what I ordered. This was eventually acted upon, however, it was hard work. The original reception staff who I spoke with on the phone gave it his all to convince me it was my fault. When I spoke with someone else later that day, breakfast was refunded. The second mishap was during the third morning of my stay, when breakfast never arrived. When I phoned down and I was informed by reception staff that the restaurant had phoned reception to say they couldn’t understand the order or the writing on the breakfast card. Reception staff were confused as to why they were called and not myself. I was confused why I was never called to be informed of this. Why I had to phone down to find this out puzzled me. Anyway, eventually, a new reason was concocted to say that I had written the wrong room number on the card. If that were true, why was that not the reason initially raised? By the time this was all raised, I had run out of time for breakfast. The third mishap was during my final morning at the hotel, the breakfast tag had not been collected over night. I called down to room service and was given the option to order over the phone but again, I had no time to do this as the breakfast should have been there by that point and I had a train to catch. So no breakfast again. My breakfast trays from the first morning were also left outside my room for two days! I went down to the restaurant for breakfast on the second morning and it was nice, honestly. That was the view of the hotel roundabout and the food. However, a constant annoyance in most hotels is when the server brings you the bill without you asking for it. That happened on this occasion and the only message it sends is ‘can you go away now?’ I was also quite offended by the lady working the bar on the first night in her response to me asking if I could use my room credit for the drinks I ordered. This was at Lacroix by the way. It’s now time to talk about my room, which was absolutely freezing during the entirety of my stay. The shower also wouldn’t turn off properly and was constantly dripping water. Additionally, there was no hot water in either sink despite a member of staff attending the room to address the issue on night 1. The soap, paper cups, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel were also never replenished at any point. The bath was also never cleaned. It was also quite disheartening to see a rat around the hotel roundabout during the last but one night. During the final morning, I only wanted help with my luggage but no one on any line was answering the phone for a lengthy period. To end on a positive note, the reception and door staff couldn’t have been nicer. Especially, the young man with glasses who welcomed me back inside the hotel most days. The hotel is also near everything you would want to visit in Philadelphia. Despite those positives, this was a very disappointing stay at the self proclaimed best hotel in Philadelphia.

Nice staff at the reception, pretty nice and spacious rooms (although with a blood trace from a previous customer on the floor) - but TERRIBLE INTERNET, like almost non-existent. My communication with an overseas client was interrupted about 70 times... not really good for business.. You can't work from here. Receptionist told me they had this complaint before (!) and "sometimes it helps to just make your device 'forget the network' and try to log in again - at least that's "what other customers said". Anyway, I tried - didn't work of course. I even had trouble getting this mail to Tripadvisor (I had to try 30 times before it, almost accidentally, got through...)

The hotel was well appointed, as you would expect. Still, the layout and decor was lovely and welcoming. The bed was very comfortable, as were the pillows. The staff was very courteous and helpful, from Shawn the doorman to the bartender at the Library Bar. We had breakfast at La Croix restaurant in the hotel, and the food was good, if pricey. Service was a bit slow. We used the steam room and sauna as well as the pool and the gym facilities. The machines in the gym were top notch, and it was a pleasure to have the spa facilities available. We enjoyed the Library Bar, with cozy places within and without to sip drinks and hang out. They also have a food menu we did not take part of. Checkout was a breeze. There is valet parking, but for half the price you can use the self parking lot around the corner. The hotel is walking distance to many good restaurants including Le Parc. Close to Chris' Jazz Cafe and other venues and museums. A wonderful place to visit when you're in Philadelphia.