Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia Penns Landing

This Holiday Inn Express is located in a cream-colored high-rise with a bottom-floor stone facade and a porte-cochere entrance. The lobby is small but welcoming, decorated in neutral shades of beige, gray, and brown. A small sitting area near the windows offers a cozy stone accent wall with a fireplace and a wall-mounted flat-screen TV, while armchairs, couches, and ottomans are gathered around a wooden coffee table to give guests a chance to relax. While the space is somewhat generic, it's tasteful, well-kept, and clean. The hotel attracts a wide array of guests, including tourists, business travelers, or those on their way to nearby hospitals.

Located in the center of Penn's Landing and right on the border of the Old City, guests of this Holiday Inn Express can walk to some of Philly's most popular historic sights as well as restaurants, shops, and public transportation. The hotel's location is a mixed bag, however, being situated on a traffic-filled road, with busy bridges over the nearby waterfront. The surrounding freeways and major roads make the property feel more isolated than it is -- some of Philly's hottest spots are only a couple of blocks away. Market street is a 10-minute walk from the hotel, while the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall can be reached in about 15 minutes. The hotel offers a free shuttle that can take guests within two miles of the hotel and also pick them up. Philadelphia International Airport is a 15-minute drive, or 45 minutes away via public transportation. The hotel has on-site parking, but it incurs an extra daily fee.

• Nine-minute walk to RiverLink Ferry (for New Jersey waterfront)
• 10-minute walk to Market Street
• 10-minute walk to 2nd and Market Street subway
• 15-minute walk to Liberty Bell
• 18-minute walk to Independence Hall
• 24-minute walk to PA Convention Center (20 minutes via public transport)
• 20 minutes to Amtrak 30th Street Station via public transportation
• 25 minutes to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia via public transportation
• 35 minutes to The Lincoln Financial Park via public transportation
• 40 minutes to The Wells Fargo Center via public transportation
• 45 minutes to Citizens Bank Park via public transportation
• 15-minute drive to Philadelphia International Airport

Rooms are spacious and clean with standard chain-hotel style, which is generic, but functional. A neutral color palette includes patterned wall-to-wall carpeting, beige walls and curtains, white bedding, and dark wood furniture. Rooms include desks and chairs, dressers, and wardrobes with safes and irons and ironing boards. Flat-screen TVs have cable and HBO, and all rooms include coffeemakers. Bathrooms are beige with white tiling and usually include standing showers along with toilets, vanity sinks, individual toiletries, and hairdryers. All rooms have individually controlled air-conditioning and free Wi-Fi. Guests can rent a fridge, crib, cot, or microwave, but these cost an extra fee. Rooms facing the I-95 can get traffic noise, though the front desk offers ear plugs and white-noise machines. Some rooms have excellent views of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and such rooms have the added bonus of facing away from traffic.

The hotel offers a free daily breakfast buffet that includes omelets, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and a pancake machine, plus typical standards like cereal, muffins, and fruit.  There is otherwise no on-site restaurant, but the hotel has soda and ice machines. Guests are particularly pleased with the hotel's free shuttle, which operates on a two-mile radius and includes pickup. There is a small business center with two computers and a printer/scanner, plus Wi-Fi is free throughout. A boardroom can host up to 10 people for meetings or events. A small fitness room is equipped with two treadmills and a stationary bike, but no exercise mats or weights. The hotel offers dry-cleaning and laundry service, an ATM machine, and concierge services.