Hotel4Real!

Downtown Philly pretty much has a perfect hotel for every single visitor, and the Notary hotel, occupying the (officially) historical annex of the City Hall (as recorded in National Register of Historic Places), is supposed to be a great contender. I have no issue with the hotel itself for the most part, but for an Autograph property charging upscale-to-upper-upscale rates located in central Philly, I left feeling weirdly unsatisfied.

This building used to be the place in Philadelphia “where a Notary’s stamp was given to signify the start of a marriage, a business or a new journey”, hence the name. Interestingly though, it operated quite a few years as a Courtyard, and it recently adopted its current identity and joined the Autograph Collection. The hotel was very easy to get to, and access to public transit was right there. I loved how the city hall was literally right outside, and a whole bunch of other points of interest were within walking distance – in fact, I only walked got to everywhere I needed/wanted to be aside from the round trip to/from PHL. The lobby was small, but tastefully decorated with the “Notary” elements.

Check-in was routine, although a bit mechanic or stand-offish, and so was my other interactions with the front office staff. I was given an upgrade to a city view room, however because I arrived before the standard check-in time, the room that was ready was on a lower floor. I took it but was skeptical how good of a view it was going to be – it was really good. The historical city hall complex was right in front of my window.

The room itself was interesting – it contained a good amount of quirky and fun details (there was a shelf full of them!), but I also found an abundance of Courtyard-related generic cheap-ness, especially in the bathroom quarter. The room also felt slightly empty in terms of furnishings, but at the same time claustrophobic to an extent, although being a historic building probably didn’t help in that department.

Breakfast was a la carte, however unlike other Marriotts that offer breakfast for one if only one person shows up, this hotel offered me the same amount of credit as if there were two guests, aka $46. Because of this, the Asian side of me over-ordered (see below) and I ended up fasting for the rest of the day. The food was great, not Michelin star worthy but enough to beat my expectations.

On a side note, I spent quite a while trying to locate where the restaurant was – later I realized it was right there behind the main lobby, but I didn’t think that was it because there was not a soul in the entire space, except for a gentleman who was on his phone the whole time – I had to step very far inside the dining area to get his attention. However, when the same gentleman took my order and served my food, he was delightful and his recommendations were on point.

Overall the hotel was decent, especially for my quick stay. But, circling back to my initial comment, I left the hotel feeling weirdly unsatisfied. Weirdly, because the hotel did almost everything right, and unsatisfied, because I was expecting some extra charisma considering the history, the hard product and the Autograph brand, and that was simply not there. Had this been a reno’d Courtyard I’m sure my verdict would have been different, but to punch into upper upscale market, it needed more.

RealScore

Service: 7.0

Design and Room Size: 8.5

In-room Amenities: 7

Bathroom Size and Layout: 8

View from (my) Room: 9

Hotel Location: 9

Available Guest Facilities: 7

Food Quality: 9

Food and Beverage Service: 7

Executive Lounge Quality: N/A

Final RealScore: 7.91

Final RealRating: A

Hotel is built/opened: 1999

Total number of rooms: 499

Length of stay: 1 night

Membership level at check-in: Titanium

Room type experienced: Premium Room (better view)