Hi! I'm headed to a conference in October and staying at the above hotel.
1)Is it safe and okay for a couple of females? Anything special we should know about it?
2)Any recommendations for things to do when we're there? One of us loves to shop?
3)Any recommendations for restaurants/bars nearby?
Thanks!

Lynne,
The Doubletree hotel, Broad & Locust Sts., is in a great location. Perfectly safe for females. Directly across the street are The Academy of Music and Merriam Theater. Philadelphia is home to many restaurants, particularly Le Bec Fin which is on every list for 'best restaurant'. Dinner is pricey @125p/p but the lunch is a 'bargain' @35p/p Mon. through Fri. Other good dining could includ Pasion, Buddakan, Fork, Brasserie Perrier [owned by Georges Perrier - Le Bec Fin], Rouge 99, Stiped Bass and Susanna Foo. As for shopping, Chestnut Street [a few blocks from the Doubletree] has many shops, as does Rittenhouse Row [antique shops and boutiques], as well as Walnut Street, which is home to 'Joan Shepp' a fabulous clothing store. A good website to view is:
http://www.gophila.com

Hi - The Doubletree use to be the Hershey Hotel. After dark, I would not recommend being in the area of Locust between 13th and 11th Streets (the streets traveling north and south are numbered - Broad would be 14th if assigned a number)- during the day it is perfectly safe.
(2)The restaurants that Elaine mentioned are all 4 star restaurants - all excellent but pretty pricey. If you are limited by your company to $25 per meal for reimbursement, you will be paying the difference out of your own pocket. There is a good Italian Restaurant across from the hotel called 'Upstares at Verilli' (the way I spelled upstares is not a typo; the restaurant is on the second floor, so it is a play on the word upstairs...I digress). The food is very good and reasonably priced. If you want to see something interesting, take a cab to 8th and South Streets (about 10 blocks from your hotel, cost @$5.00) and walk up to Front Street (which would be 1st if numbered; don't go higher than 8th Street, especially at night). South Street and the streets around it are loaded with restaurants, bars and really unique boutiques and stores. Since you are coming in October it will be less crowded - it is packed during the summer. If you let me know your age group I can make restaurant recommendations. South Street has something for everyone.
Enjoy the city.

Lynne,
Wallace is correct..my restaurant list is 'pricey'. These are just a few of many. If locals know your preference, we may be able to advise. Sights to see include: our Art Museum, Rodin Museum, Independence Mall [take the guided tour], Old City/Society Hill area including Elfreth's Alley. Traveling in cities requires common sense. Cabs after dark would be advised, whether female or male. A brief intro to Philadelphia!

Thanks so much!
We range from 34 and up. I'd appreciate some "reasonably" priced restaurants as well that wouldn't be too far from the hotel--if you have any ideas? We might also get out for one good meal as well - but as you pointed out we're on an expense account.
Thanks for the help!

Lynne,
Re: Restaurants...
Zanzibar Blue, Broad & Walnut Sts. -
ask for the 3 course $24 prix fixe dinner [it's great]. This is also a well known, upscale jazz club, close to your hotel.
July Grille & Gallery - 1334 Walnut St. - very easy to miss and BYOB - low key great rack of lamb - near hotel but cab at night [am uncertain re: reservations]...very reasonable and good.
Toto - 1407 Locust St. - you can walk -
sit in bar and order cichetti [larger than an appetizer, smaller than an entree] - great menu, Italian, excellent food. Bar Menu $7.50-$14.50
If you have time during the day, go to Reading Terminal Market, 12th & Arch Sts.-open Mon. through Sats, 8am-6pm-lunch at Delilah's [soul food], Jill's Vorspeise [vegetarian], 12th St. Cantina[Mexican]. The Market is a 'landmark'...a great place to spend a few hours.
Hope this helps!

Yes, thanks very much.
Any more ideas?
Any bargain shopping in the area? We probably won't have much time during the day...

There are some discount stores on Chestnut Street - Daffy's at 16th and Filene's Basement between 15th and 16th. There are also a lot of other stores that sell cheap things on Chestnut Street but there is also a lot of junk too. The 6% sales tax is waived on clothing purchases. It doesn't sound like your itinerary allows for a trip out to the outlets in Lancaster (great bargains). The Gallery is the city's shopping mall, but I wouldn't recommend it. You will find that Chestnut and Market Street are mostly commercial and pretty deserted after 7:00. Hope this helps.

Outlets, great!! Actually we should have at least one free day as we have to stay a Saturday to get a better price on the flight? How far are the outlets and what is there? Is there a BASS outlet?
Wow...this is great! Thanks so much!

Lynne,
Re: outlets in Lancaster. First, it would take you approximately 1 1/2 hrs. to drive one way. There is a train to Lancaster, but not remotely near or close to the outlet areas. There are some outlets in New Hope, but that also would require a car...same for Franklin Mills. Why not spend Saturday seeing the sights of the city? Philadelphia has much to offer. If it will make you feel better, I have been to the Bass outlet and can find a better value at Macy's or any large dept. store when there is a good sale. However, it is entirely your choice. I believe [perhaps Wallace can confirm] that to reach any outlet destinations, you would definitely need to rent a car. Let us know if you need add'l info.

Goodmorning Lynne and Elaine -
Elaine you are right, Lynne would in all probability need to rent a car to get to the outlets. Lynne, visit the web site www.rockvalesquareoutlets.com
Rock Vale is the Outlet Center and the web sight will give you directions, a list of the outlets, etc. Yes, Bass is there. Good buys at the Ralph Lauren store and the Coach Store too. It is not a bad ride and Lancaster has some pretty country side. There are bus trips out there, some from Philadelphia, but I don't know the particulars. The Double Tree may know (the buses to the casinos in Atlantic City stop across the street from the hotel, maybe buses to the outlets too?).
Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks very much for all the help!

Dear Lynne,

Some quick thoughts on your Philly trip:

1. Like any big city, your safety depends on being smart. Once you're in a well lighted, semi-crowded area, you're usually OK. Actually, Philly's probably safer than most cities, in general.

2. While South Street is OK, you probably would have a better time in Olde City (Front to 5th streets E to W, Arch to Walnut N to S). There are quite a few good reasonably priced restaurants along 2nd Street, between Market and Arch, as well as a few funky Art galleries and shops. I personally like Nick's Roast Beef. Good sandwiches and dinners, around $15, plus Guiness on tap. Also, you can try the Continental - a diner atmosphere and famous for its unusual Martinis.

3. Another nice area you can try is Manayunk. It's a little north and west of center city, but only about a ten minute cab ride from Center City or a short trolley ride from 30th ST Station. Again, nice restaurants, funky shops and fun bars.

4. If you feel adventurous, you can try the clubs on Delaware Avenue. (In true Philly fashion, the road was renamed Columbus Blvd. about 5 years ago, but everyone still calls it Delaware Ave.) It's not my cup of tea - it's kind of a zoo on the weekends - but there are plenty of dance clubs and bars. It's also walkable from Olde City if you have comfortable shoes.

4. For shopping, you could try the Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philly. A few makers have outlets there: Hillfinger, Polo, Levi's, etc. It's about a twenty five minute ride up I-95 from downtown, but better than driving out to Reading. If you're really serious, there are also outlet stores in Delaware, south of Wilmington. They're about a 45 minute ride South on I-95, but I don't know how good they are. The advanatge there is that Delaware has no state sales tax.

5. If you like live music, there are several nice places to go. For Jazz, you could try the Five Spot in Olde city. It was an old speakeasy from prohibition days and featureslight Jazz and swing music eavery night. Also, you could try the Ortliebs Brau house on 3rd in Northern Liberties. Not the best neighborhood, but good music and great food.

For rock, there are several small clubs that are good venues. Upstairs at Nick's (yeah, it upstairs from the restaurant I mentioned earlier) and the Kyber on 2nd Street in Olde City. The North Star bar in Fairmount (North of the Art Museum on 26th St., I think) gets some quality acts, too.

6. A good source for things to do is the City Paper, a free weekly that comes out on Fridays and lists pretty much everything going on in town. I believe that they have a web site, but I don't know what the address is. Sorry.

I hope this helps.

Thanks again everyone!

Are there any special tours of the city that you would recommend?

Hi Lynne,
It might sound pretty corny, but a good way to see the city is by taking a trolley ride - Philadelphia Trolley Works just got a great write-up in the Inquirer newspaper which rated some area tours. Philadelphia Trolley Works also has a web site with more information. The trolley allows you to 'hop on, hop off' all around the city and it will give you a good overview of the city and it's history.

Lynne,

Wallace's suggestion is sound advice. Have you tried to access the webpage I posted earlier? Think there may be some good walking tours, particularly Independence Park,i.e, Independence Hall and even Old City/Society Hill. It's been awhile since we've taken visitors into the city for touring. If something comes to mind, I'll post here.

Some additonal sources of information about Philadelphia on the web:

www.phillyvisitor.com
www.phillyfriend.com
www.libertynet.org
www.pennslandingcorp.com
www.philamuseum.org

I just wanted to say thanks for all the help!! I had a wonderful time!

Lynne: Glad to hear you had a great time, what did you do? How was the Doubletree? We were in Philly last weekend and stayed at the Park Hyatt accross the street from the Doubletree. We had a great time and go back frequently. The restaurants on Walnut Street are excellant, we had dinner at Circa and highly recommend it. Tony Lukes is great for cheesesteaks, and breakfast a the Founders Room atop the Park Hyatt is an experience. We've done all of the historic sites but always enjoy going back.

I didn't have a lot of time as I was there for a conference but I did get to all the historical sites - used the trolley as well as the Phlash - both are great! We also went out to one of the malls as it was raining very hard the one day I did have off. I went to Atlantic City one of the evenings we were there - Tropicana - dinner there was the worst we had - too bad! Had fun at the slot machines then walked the boardwalk. I really enjoyed Upstares at Varilli's (sp?).
Thanks again!