I travel to Philadelphia from time to time and have never been trilled with any hotels I have booked in the past so I decided to try something new. The DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Mt Laurel is located in South Jersey approximately 30 minutes east of Philadelphia in a nice neighborhood near a huge mall (Cherry Hill) with plenty of dining options nearby. Another key consideration for choosing this hotel was free self parking. I’m not a fan of valet parking, and hotel parking in Philadelphia is always a problem. Besides being upwards of $25-$50 per day, the valets are rough with your car.
Booking
I booked a one night reservation directly from the Hilton Honors website using the AAA discount which came to a total of $143.40, including all taxes and fees. I am a Hilton Honors Diamond member via the American Express Aspire Card (which costs me $450 annually) . Booking directly through the Hilton website grants me a host of perks as a result of the Diamond status so I go that route unless there is a huge price difference through a third party agent such as Expedia, Hotels.com, etc…
Check In
I checked in around 4PM. I was the only one in the lobby, and the process went smoothly. There were two women behind the desk and both were very pleasant and gave me a detailed overview of the property and amenities. Because all rooms at this property are suites, there was no real upgrade available through my status. This was expected when I booked and didn’t care in this instance. At the end of the process I was given a warm baked cookie typical of the DoubleTree brand. It was gone before I made it to the room.
Room
This hotel has three floors and my room was located on the second floor. This property has a larger than normal footprint, probably because every room is a suite, so the distance to my room was a rather far walk from the lobby. A little annoying, but I guess that comes with booking this type of setup. The room was a typical one bedroom; a living room with a tiny kitchenette, and the bedroom separated by a door. The bathroom was off the bedroom. There was plenty of room for one or two people. The sofa bed in the living room could sleep another two people, if needed.
Food
Redz was the only on site restaurant and bar which served breakfast and dinner. I didn’t partake in dinner, but the breakfast was better than most Hilton buffets. They also had a chef available for cooked-to-order eggs, omelettes, french toast or pancakes.
Amenities
This hotel had a fairly nice pool. As a general rule I make it a point not to use hotel pools unless it is a resort where the pool is the main attraction. I always imagine them ladened with bacteria. That’s just my weird quirk. To be fair, the pool seemed clean, and I had no reason to believe there was an issue other than my own mental hang-up.
Service
As mentioned earlier in this post the personnel at check in were great. I interacted with at least three people during breakfast and all of them went out of their way to make the experience a good one. I was greeting as soon as I entered the restaurant, everyone was attentive and friendly during my meal, and was told to have a great day as I was leaving. No complaints at all. Because I only stayed one night, I cannot comment on the cleaning staff, but my room was clean and tidy when I checked in.
Overall Impression
This hotel is a great new option when I visit Philadelphia. If it were a little closer, it would be my go-to hotel. The booking was reasonably priced, nice neighborhood, free parking, and great staff. As mentioned earlier, I’m always disappointed with hotels in Philadelphia. This place was a pleasant surprise.
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