In July we will go on a college tour and include Haverford and Villanova in the Philadelphia area. Do you have any suggestions on where to stay? Are there any unique hotels, inns or B%26amp;Bs? I estimate that we will arrive around 5 - 6pm in the afternoon. We will probably have enough energy to see or do something that evening. Any suggestions? Husband, wife %26amp; 16 year old. We spent a long weekend seeing sights in Philadelphia a few years ago. I don%26#39;t remember doing much at night. Other than being large, is there anything special about the mall to the north?
Advice much appreciated!
College Tour Activities %26amp; Places to Stay
For hotel I suggest the Wayne Hotel see http://www.waynehotel.com/ They also have a great restaurant.
I assume you are referring to the King of Prussia Mall. It%26#39;s very nice as malls go, there is a Neiman Marcus and Norstrom there. Check it out at http://www.kingofprussiamall.com/
There is a movie theater in Wayne and some cute shops not sure how late they are open. The main drag is Rt. 30 (Lancaster Ave). Drive east from Wayne to check out other areas like Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Ardmore that have shops and restaurants and will give you a feel for the area, also another movie theater in Bryn Mawr that shows art house flicks. http://www.brynmawrfilm.org/ Ardmore also has a nice shopping area that is North of Rt. 30 called Suburban Square, it includes an Urban Outfitters store that your teen would probably enjoy browsing in.
Milkboy coffehouse could be worth a visit for some entertainment depending on what%26#39;s happening there. http://www.milkboycoffee.com/
College Tour Activities %26amp; Places to Stay
Wayne Hotel is probably the most unique in the vicinity and I believe they have recently updated some things that were lacking, so it is probably your best choice. Definitely better than the Radnor Hotel. If you go closer to the King of Prussia Mall, you will find chain hotels - Sheraton, Radisson and the like. The attached restaurant to the Wayne Hotel, Taquet, is absolutely excellent French cuisine, but very expensive. I used to eat lunch there frequently for work and for just 2 of us, we never got out for under $100 and it was usually more than that. They do have a bar which, I believe, serves less expensive bistro fare. Just a FYI.
Wayne is a charming little town with nice restaurants if you decide not to splurge on Taquet. Christopher%26#39;s is good for casual fare and Teresa%26#39;s has very good Italian. Both are on North Wayne Avenue, about a block from the hotel.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Suzanne
In Radnor is Margaret Kuo%26#39;s. Admittedly its been quite a while since I have been there, but the food used to be excellent and not too expensive.
You%26#39;ll be far enough outside the city that I wouldn%26#39;t worry about going in.
Thanks for the suggestions! I will look into staying at the Wayne. Some of the reviews are not too kind. Did they do a major remodel recently? Are there any places nearby with a great philly cheesesteak or other foods more unique to the area or just unique?
Good food but nothing really unique. The area caters mostly to upscale businesspersons and college students..
Regarding cheesesteaks you could check out Garrett Hill Pizza which was in recent years named best cheesteak in the suburbs by Philadelphia magazine; I have not eaten there myself. I like cheesesteaks, pretty much whereever they are sold.
http://www.ghpizza.com/
regarding something unique, there is Peace a Pizza a gourmet pizza shop (local chain) with a location in Rosemont that also has a Hope%26#39;s (cookies and ice cream). This is the kind of place where you could get a cheesesteak pizza. http://www.peacepizza.com/
There are several nice BYOBs in Bryn Mawr, I like Sola in particular, this would be for a nice night out. Yangming in Bryn Mawr is a really good asian/chinese place. These would be expensive.
Regarding your concerns about the Wayne Hotel, if you prefer a unique property that has some charm then that is the way to go. I don%26#39;t know how much it matters to you whether the pillows are soft as mentioned by the prior unfavorable reviews. I noticed the recent reviews seemed more favorable so maybe they changed the pillows!
The Wayne Hotel is in a good location for your visit and also being right in the center of Wayne you can walk to restaurants, shopping and movies.
Thank you for all your suggestions! I made a reservation at the Wayne. They changed the bedding last year, and are expecting in a shipment today to change all the linens including new pillows. I%26#39;m copying all your restaurant suggestions and bringing them along. We should have a pleasant late afternoon/evening exploring Wayne. I guess it%26#39;s considered the Mainline?
absolutely, very Main Line!
Have fun and have a great college tour. Another place worth considering for dinner is 333 Belrose in Radnor - only about 5 minutes by car at most. Contemporary American cuisine. One of my favorite Main Line restaurants. Not cheap, but not as pricey as Taquet at the Wayne Hotel, either. Good place for lunch as well.
Suzanne
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