Ron Epstein
5/5
(Edited from a TripAdvisor review. Go there to read long version)
My girlfriend and I were This time out we were looking for a hotel to stay near the museum and Eastern Penitentiary for their Halloween event. It was easy to find The Maj Hotel through an online search as it had received an abundance of positive reviews. This was one of the best-rated mid-range hotels in the city. It soon became obvious to us why.
In short, our stay at the Maj Hotel was spectacular. I'll give you some tips to make your stay even more worthwhile...
We arrived at the hotel early in the morning, hours before check-in to drop off our luggage. The front door of the hotel is always locked, which is odd. You need to ring a bell and someone will open the door for you. It was at that moment we met Esmeralda, the front desk clerk, who was happy to store our bags for the day so we could go sightseeing. We couldn't understand why a hotel would lock its front door, but as we walked around the city, we saw a good amount of homeless people and it occurred to us the hotel was taking necessary security measures.
Being the huge tech guy that I am, I was quite pleased with the room, which is filled with modernized gadgets. The shades and lights are controlled by buttons. The thermostat is modernized and easy to adjust. The shower has wide heads and hand-held extensions. However, the most impressive aspect of the room is the bathroom mirror, which is digital, displaying the weather, and top news stories, has a browser, and plays Spotify Music. You use it like a tablet while brushing your teeth or shaving. The first thing I said to my girlfriend when I saw the bathroom mirror was that I had to have one for my home.
The room has the usual inclusion of amenities including an ironing board, steam iron, and safe. Two notable extras that we noticed were a bathrobe and two bottles of water. These days, most hotels in this price range don't give you a bathrobe or even provide bottled water in the room. WiFi is included, it worked well and there were plenty of outlets to plug in my devices. There is a large-screen TV on the wall that we never turned on since we spent a limited amount of time in the room.
The bed was fantastic with an ultra-firm mattress and comfortable comforter that provided the best sleep I had in a long time. We were very, very comfortable. The room, including the entire hotel itself, is immaculate. The staff does an excellent job giving a warm, first impression as you enter the lobby. The elevator is modern, the hallways are well maintained (none of those dirty rugs you see at mainstream hotels), and the room was spotless.
We loved Esmeralda. She gave us an immensely positive first impression of the hotel and went above and beyond during our stay to make certain we were taken care of.
Now, I promised you some tips...
There is no parking at the hotel. We found an excellent, highly affordable garage at One Franklin Town (1701 Callowhill St) that is less than a 15-minute walk from the hotel. They charge $20 for 24 hours and it's an indoor garage, highly rated, and seemed very safe. If you wish to use SPOTHERO to book a garage, there is a public garage right next door to it that you can pay in advance, but I think is more expensive.
One of the main reasons we selected this garage was that right across the street is one of the best-rated breakfast places in the city, SABRINA'S CAFE.
The praise I have for this hotel is off-the charts. This was a memorable hotel stay and I honestly can't say that about any hotel I have stayed at in recent memory.
