Alexander Inn

The hotel has a nice feel, a hint of art deco, and really friendly staff. The rooms are quaint and affordable, and the light breakfast is enough to start the day. I didn't get to try the complimentary wine and cheese offered each evening, but it's a nice touch. My main issues were the musty smell, which makes sense in a pet-friendly hotel, and how easily noise passes between rooms. It was mid-November, yet my room was around 80 degrees at 3 a.m. with no thermostat. Maybe some people would love that, but for a Midwestern guy like me it was way too warm.

The location was my favorite thing. It was my first time in Philly, and I only needed Uber for the stadium and airport because everywhere else was walkable. The room was small, though clean, and I guess that's the Northeast. The elevator worked fine, and the staff were cool during my two-night stay. Breakfast was very basic but free: bagels, boiled eggs, juice, cereal, and a waffle. They also gave us two glasses of wine. I'm from Texas, so I tend to expect everything to be bigger. The walls are thin, and I could hear the person next door coughing all night.

The staff were lovely, and the location is really convenient. It was affordable, which matters, and I'd go back for the price and location. Maybe the owners count on repeat guests because most of us are broke! The building is old and the room had a lot of issues. The elevator worked, and they fixed the broken table lamp, but the windows were broken, there was no light above the bed, and I couldn't control the heat. The furniture was beaten up, and the owners haven't thought much about how to equip a hotel. The bed was very hard, and two 6.1 guys sharing a full-size bed was tricky. There was an outlet strip for charging and lamps.

This was our third stay at the Inn, and we'll definitely be back. It's well located for an easy walk to Reading Terminal Market and downtown Philly, and the rooms are nice, clean, affordable, and quiet inside. We enjoy the breakfast and the evening reception with wine and snacks. The staff are polite and nice, and the Inn is pet-friendly. The room heat is the reason we give it four rather than five stars. It's central heating, and our room was like a sauna when we arrived. We opened two of the three windows and left them open all night in 32-degree weather. After a couple of hours the room was probably around 65F, which was good for sleeping. Parking is in a garage a few blocks away. The front desk gives 10% off the hourly rate, but not if you want in-and-out privileges. One safety detail: there's an interior stairwell for emergencies, but the door marked Exit on the sixth floor near our room leads to an outside balcony with no stairs, too high to jump from. Farther down the hall there's an exterior door with a full steel stair exit.