Alexis R.
Yelp
The Mint House at The Divine Lorraine Hotel - Philadelphia was one of the dirtiest hotels I've ever experienced. The booking and digital pre-check-in process was lengthy and included a background check and a photo ID through their website/system, so I was surprised at the way this hotel operates and runs when I stayed here in August.
The location is in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood. I wouldn't recommend walking in this neighborhood, at night especially. This hotel is also undergoing renovations, which wasn't listed on the website when I booked and the front desk agent who assigned me to a room didn't mention it. It wasn't until I got off the elevator and smelled the paint and read signs about renovations when I was in the elevator that I learned they're undergoing renovations. I booked this hotel because it seemed like the most decent and modern hotel closest to Temple University, where I would be attending a conference.
When I got settled in my room and was about to shower, I noticed there was what appeared to be gunk above the tub on the wall. I went downstairs and informed the front desk agent about it and he switched me to a different room with an upgraded city view.
When I checked in to the second room, I immediately smelled a cigarette smoke scent. The "city view" was the back of a daycare or school building and playground. As I started to get settled I noticed an area if the tub was dirty and the fitted bed sheet had stains on it. I called the number on the room key card holder and was connected to someone working off-site and she communicated with front desk on my behalf about it. The end result was that I would he moved again to a different room and one that was selected by the manager.
The third room was better, in the sense of I didn't have the same issues as the other rooms. But there aren't any "wow" factors about the units in general. The bedding wasn't that comfortable, the sponge in the kitchen looks like it hadn't been replaced in months, and there was a washing machine, but no drying machine. Also, all of the outlets were installed upside down. This hotel also just felt empty and vacant overall. I only saw two other guest's throughout my stay. Perhaps it might just be a slow season or quieter during weekdays.
I left out to go to my conference and when I returned to my room, I noticed the window to the patio closest to the kitchen was open. Mind you, I didn't open any windows before leaving, so I was a bit concerned. I couldn't get it to close, so I went downstairs and asked the front desk agent if he could close it. He said he never closed one of the windows before and would try, and thankfully he was able to get it closed after a few tries.
The next morning I went to the front desk and asked to speak with the manager and be compensated for one night for the inconvenience. The manager was in a meeting but followed up with me via email and informed he would be compensating one of my nights. I appreciate that he was responsive and granted the request, but the front desk staff should've been more attentive and took initiative to offer taking one night off of the bill or some other form of compensation and checking on how my stay was going the following morning -- and im saying this as someone who is a former hotel front desk agent.
During my second night there, I got stuck on the elevator for a few minutes. I noticed the elevator wasn't moving to go downstairs and my key card wasn't working. I pressed the emergency call button and the call went to someone's voicemail. Thankfully, my phone still had service so I contacted concierge via the Mint app. By the time I got on the phone with someone, a guest from the first floor pressed the button to go up, so I was able to go downstairs, finally. The woman on the phone said she would still log that I got stuck on the elevator.
Again, I appreciate the manager for following up with me, but I will not be staying here again and don't recommend staying here, not even if it would be more convenient in terms of location/access to train stations or being able to cook for your stay, especially considering the Aldi store next door isn't too great overall.