PHILADELPHIA, PA  — Steady recovery in the hotel industry has spurred a wave of new hotel developments and renovation projects in Philadelphia. Many of the City's hotels have already completed or are currently refreshing exteriors, upgrading amenities and more. In addition, several new properties are currently under construction, estimated to add more than 1,200 hotel rooms to the City's inventory in the coming years.

"Philadelphia is a hot destination for hotel development, which is key to serving conventions and global travelers” says Jack Ferguson, PHLCVB President & CEO. “New hotels add rooms that are needed with the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and show that hotel developers recognize Philadelphia as a vibrant, global, modern renaissance City."

“Convention and tourism visitors expect service and quality,” says Ed Grose, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association (GPHA). “So we're pleased that Philadelphia's hotels are investing more and creating an even more memorable experience for those who travel to our City.”

 What's Underway?

• Now under construction at 12th and Arch streets and adjacent to the Pennsylvania Convention Center is the Hilton Home 2Suiteshotel slated for a Summer 2013 opening. The hotel will feature more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space, 246 guestrooms and 750 square feet for ground floor retail and restaurants.
  
  
• The Navy Yard business campus will house the spectacular five-story Courtyard by Marriott in South Center City Philadelphia. The hotel features 172 rooms, executive suites, 2,000 square feet of meeting space, an upscale restaurant and lounge featuring park views, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. The Courtyard is expected to open in late 2013.

Undergoing or Completed Renovations

CONVENTION CENTER DISTRICT

• All guestrooms in the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on Market Street have been fully renovated with new furniture, wall coverings and bathroom refreshers, providing state-of-the-art, working luxury rooms for guests. By the spring of 2013, the hotel will have added five new meeting rooms that can accommodate 10-40 people each.

• The Holiday Inn Express Midtown, located on Walnut Street, has undergone full renovations of its breakfast bar and lobby including new furniture, vinyl and carpet. The hotel next plans on renovating the guestrooms.

• Market East's Rodeway Inn lobby has a brand new appearance thanks to a complete renovation. New carpets, furniture and drapes have all been installed to give the hotel a more modern appeal.
  
  

AIRPORT

• The Comfort Inn at the Philadelphia Airport has redone its lobby and breakfast areas. Both have new carpeting, window treatments and furniture. One hundred of its 150 guestrooms will have flat screen TVs, new sheet and comforter sets and headboards.

• Rebranded as of November 2012, the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center (formerly Ramada) in Essington PA, just a few miles from the PHL airport, finished its $5 million renovations in January 2013. Renovations include a new exterior and completely transformed lobby as well as upgraded guestrooms. The hotel's old restaurant was completely gutted and the new restaurant, The Red Fire American Grill, will hold its grand opening in the spring of 2013.

 
OLD CITY/ HISTORIC DISTRICT

• The Sheraton of Society Hill completed its 18-month long renovation process in January. The hotel's lobby and public areas, restaurant and bar, meeting spaces, guest rooms and corridors all have a transformed appearance with new furniture, hard and soft goods and bedding and lighting. Also installed are new club lounges, a fitness center and an indoor pool.

• The rebranded Holiday Inn Express, formerly Comfort Inn at Penn's Landing, completed renovations in 2013. The exterior of the building received a new paint job; a full lobby redesign, new landscaping and parking lot were also completed.
  
  

UNIVERSITY CITY

• Later this year the Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel will have completely new guestrooms thanks to fresh carpeting, wallpaper, draperies, bedding and a brand new bathroom remodel.

RITTENHOUSE SQUARE

• By late summer 2013,The Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel will become the Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel. The 301-room historic hotel will undergo a $17 million renovation to include a redesign of all guestrooms and corridors, as well as the hotel's grand lobby.
• The Sonesta Hotel (formerly Crowne Plaza), located on Market Street, is planning to undergo renovations in late 2013.
  
  

NEW JERSEY

• Mount Laurel's Comfort Inn completed its extensive renovations as of December 2012. In March of 2012 the guestrooms received new carpets, curtains and bedding, flat screen TVs, furniture, countertops, mirrors and fixtures. In the fall of 2012, the meeting room was renovated with new carpets, wallpaper and curtains, while the hotel's exercise room was expanded and received new equipment.

Re-Named

• The former Travelodge on Race Streetis now the Days Inn Philadelphia Convention Center and the Holiday Inn Historic District on Arch Street has become the Wyndham Historic District.

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Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), www.discoverPHL.com, a private non-profit membership corporation, is the official Tourist Promotion Agency for the City of Philadelphia globally, and the primary sales and marketing agency for the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center. The PCVB competes with its counterparts worldwide for convention and tourism business. The organization has departments dedicated to the multicultural, sports, and life sciences markets.