Hotel Hershey
 

Hello,

My friend and I booked 2 nights this fall at the Hotel Hershey in PA. Has anyone stayed there recently and if so how would you describe the overall atmosphere-pretentious, casual, laid-back, etc.? Are the employees friendly?

Also, we plan on using the shuttle service to and from the train station.

Thank you for any insight.

We stayed there twice this summer and twice last summer. It is not at all pretentious. The staff is very friendly and generally competent - though occassionally you will come across the less than interested summer help.

It is fairly casual. If you are looking for a Pa. version of the Greenbrier or The Breakers (West Palm Beach) you will be disappointed. The Hotel Hershey is nice - but it is not in that league. The food is generally good at both the more formal Circular dining room and the more casual terrace cafe. (I think that's the name.) The bar and the 2nd floor lounge area are very nice as is the grounds surrounding the hotel.

We've stayed in both the "new wing" and the original wing of the hotel. The new wing is closer to the pool and the healthclub. I would definately ask for a room in the original wing of the hotel. They are by far larger rooms and may be a bit quieter.

One caveat, those who seem disappointed by the hotel are couples who went expecting a romantic getaway and found out the reality is that The Hotel is usually packed with families who are there to visit the amusement park for the weekend. That will be less of an issue in the Fall as the park is closed - except on nights when they have their Halloween event. I believe this year it is the coming weekend and the following weekend.

FYI, their Chocolate Martini's are really good.

Ryan gave you a lot of good information. I was there at the end of October in the middle of the week for 2 nights and it was fabulous. When I booked the room, I specifically asked for a room in a quiet location as I had heard that some of the rooms (specifically in the older section) had paper-thin walls. We were booked in an upper floor in the newer section and it was SO quiet. I think part of the reason was because there were very few people in the hotel mid-week. In fact, I don't remember seeing any children at all. So if quiet is important to you, let the hotel know that now and I am sure they will do what they can to give you a room in a quiet area.
One fun thing we did was to do a walk through the area where they had set up for the Christmas lights drive. By the end of October all of the lights were up and we had fun walking through the area and figuring out what they would look like when lit up.
Also, an example of how quiet the hotel was during mid-week--I went swimming twice in the indoor pool and both times I had the pool and spa all to myself. To me, that's heaven!

I actually found the rooms in the old wing to be quieter. Perhaps it's a function of who you are near!

Wow, thank you so much for the great information! I can't wait to go.

FYI, we took our kids on a last minute trip to Hershey this weekend for their Halloween event.

I might suggest that if you're dining in their cafe, the more casual restaurant, you make a reservation when you arrive. With the outdoor tables closed, I'd forgotten how small that room can be.

I have been there a few times now in the last couple of years and Ryan has summed it up pretty well.

I went there for a girls weekend mainly focused on spa treatments which were amazing.

It was a couple years ago but I remember I had a hot cocoa bath, a chocolate scrub and a regular massage.

I highly recommend a stop at the spa if you're into that.