Market East / Convention Center

Loews Philadelphia Hotel

★★★★★

The Loews Philadelphia Hotel lives inside one of the most important buildings in American architecture: the PSFS Building, completed in 1932 for the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society and widely regarded as one of the nation's first modern, International Style skyscrapers. Its sleek cantilevered tower, polished granite base and the giant red PSFS letters glowing on its roof are a Philadelphia landmark, and the hotel conversion has kept many of the original modernist details — the banking hall's sweeping spaces, chrome and rare marbles, custom clocks — that make walking through the public areas a design lesson. With 581 rooms and suites, it is a big, efficient hotel built for both conventions and leisure: Bank and Bourbon serves American fare in the building's former banking spaces, POD Market in the lobby covers coffee and snacks, and the hotel has a Four-Diamond rating, an extensive fitness center and a newly refreshed 33rd floor. Note that the hotel no longer has a pool. The location, at 12th and Market, faces the Pennsylvania Convention Center and puts Reading Terminal Market a block away, Chinatown and Midtown Village's restaurants a few minutes' walk, City Hall two blocks west and Independence Mall about fifteen minutes east on foot — the Jefferson Station rail hub and the Market-Frankford Line are right below. For families, convention travelers and anyone who wants a central, well-run, often good-value hotel with real architectural pedigree, the Loews is an excellent pick.

The PSFS Building is worth understanding even if you only stay a night. Designed by George Howe and William Lescaze, it broke with the ornamented skyscrapers of its era by expressing its structure and function directly — a T-shaped tower, a curved base for the banking floor and those rooftop letters, visible from much of the city. Architecture fans should spend time in the lobby and public floors, where many of the original materials and fittings survive, and look up at night when the sign glows red over Market Street.

As a base, it is convenient and practical. Reading Terminal Market for breakfast, Chinatown for dinner, and the subway and regional rail below the building make it easy to get anywhere; the airport line stops at Jefferson Station, so arrival and departure can avoid cars entirely. Rooms are comfortable and modern, with higher floors catching city views, and suites suit families. Convention weeks fill the hotel and push rates up, so check the Convention Center calendar; weekends and holiday periods outside big events often bring the best prices in Center City.

Who it suits: families who want space and walkability at a fair price (though no pool), food lovers who will be in Reading Terminal Market daily, architecture fans, and convention-goers. Travelers seeking boutique intimacy should look at the Notary or the Hotel Monaco. For a central, landmark hotel that rarely disappoints, the Loews is one of the city's most dependable addresses.