Philadephia Bella Vista Bed and Breakfast

We stayed here for one night in August 2007. Although I had been told that the suite had just been renovated it was musty smelling. They hadn%26#39;t even bothered to remove the price tags from the antique auctions where they bought the furniture! We were very disappointed by the frozen waffles, etc. that was left for breakfast. How can a B%26amp;B not serve a fresh breakfast???? The neighbourhood was %26#39;colourful%26#39; as they put it. Not a safe place to be after dark. Also, there a many flights of stairs to climb to get to the suite we had. I asked before booking if there would be a lot of stairs as I have osteoarthitis in both knees and was told it was not bad. I was very disappointed and thought for the money ($145 per night) that they should have offered more.

Philadephia Bella Vista Bed and Breakfast

Sorry you were so disappointed. I have been looking at B %26amp; Bs for my upcoming visit. I looked at Bella Vista%26#39;s web site and they list ';frozen waffles'; as one of the breakfast choices, so it does not look as though they were trying to conceal that fact.

I was put off by the parking lot availability 2.5 blocks away.

Philadephia Bella Vista Bed and Breakfast

To be perfectly honest, I have never heard of this place and I (literally) live about 7 houses away. From what you described it doesn%26#39;t sound too good...frozen waffles? Yuck. But I did want to comment what you said about the neighborhood. Bella Vista (the name of the neighborhood) is a perfectly safe place to be after dark 鈥?in fact statistically, the neighborhood is one of the safest in the city. I%26#39;m a single girl in her 20%26#39;s and I%26#39;ve never had a problem walking around late at night. Of course, Philadelphia is a major city, and as with ALL major cities there are ';colourful'; people around. You just have to be alert and use common sense.

Just wanted to put that out there....Bella Vista is a beautiful little neighborhood. There%26#39;s nothing to be afraid of and I encourage you all to visit :)

przyk, i suggest the Morris House Hotel: http://www.morrishousehotel.com/

Nice bed %26amp; breakfast, and closer to Center City than anything in Bella Vista.

Designer,

Thanks for the recommendation. I looked at the web site and the Morris House is a little (actually a lot) out of my price range. I am still working on lodging for my October trip. Right now I have a reservation that can be cancelled without penalty at the Microtel near the airport. I have seen the negative reviews, so that%26#39;s why I am still exploring options.

I am not really much of a B %26amp; B person, but I found one called Twelve Chimneys in Germantown that has reasonable rates. I may also give Priceline a try as my dates get closer. Since I am traveling alone on this trip I really don%26#39;t want to pay a lot for a room.

I found Bella Vista on a web site called bedandbreakfast.com. They list the brand of frozen waffle as though it was a good thing, so I think at least it is a little upscale from the kind you buy 6 in a pack for $1.00 at the grocery store.

I post often on the Milwaukee TA site and on others and when the question of neighborhoods comes up I usually couch my response in things like it depends on your comfort level with urban areas and the diversity of race and economics among people you will encounter. I think it is unfortuante, but some people are not used to those environments and will not be comfortabe even if the area is safe. No one will convince them they are safe.

Thansk again for your respoponse.

';when the question of neighborhoods comes up I usually couch my response in things like it depends on your comfort level with urban areas and the diversity of race and economics among people you will encounter. I think it is unfortuante, but some people are not used to those environments and will not be comfortabe even if the area is safe. No one will convince them they are safe.';

At the risk of being argumentative, I have to disagree with this approach. It puts people off when you refuse to acknowledge their instincts, and it really doesn%26#39;t help to subtly accuse them of being racist and provincial. A visitor in an unfamiliar area is going to feel cautious if they have any common sense; it%26#39;s not neccessarily about seeing people of a different race or class.

Przyk,

Germantown is not the safest area and not the least bit convenient. I would not suggest it for first-time tourists.

I don%26#39;t think Germantown is a bad area, but definitely would not consider it convenient to center city.

On the web site the Twelve Chimneys B %26amp; B says it is 1 1/2 blocks from a station on the R-8 train line. I will also have a rental car, so I was thinking I could either take the train or drive into the city. I am still in the planning stage, but if I can get a room out of the central city for $80.00 per nite as opposed to $150.00 centrally located I will probably go for the cheaper room and deal with getting into the city.

Given that does Germantown still sound like a bad idea?

I know I was getting into a sensitve area discussing why people might be uncomfortable in urban environmnents. I certainly did not mean to offend anyone and I am sorry if I did.

Try the Bond House B%26amp;B. It%26#39;s right in the historic district and the cheapest room is $95 per night. I know people who have stayed there several times and never had any problems. You%26#39;ll save money and hassle for not using public transit every day to get to center city. Also, the R-8 only runs every hour, outside of rush hour(only every 90 min. on Sundays).

There is also an adjacent parking lot, but I%26#39;m not sure how much it is. Maybe by staying in Old City you won%26#39;t need a car?

Germantown isn%26#39;t the worst (crime wise) location, but certainly isn%26#39;t the best.

I live in the Detroit area where getting anywhere without car is almost impossible. They don%26#39;t call it Motown for nothing!

However, in Philadelphia, I find a car to be mainly an expensive and annoying inconvenience. particularly on weekdays. For travel virtually anywhere in Center City, a car usually also is more time-consuming than walking, taxi or public transit. Plus, you have the hassle of finding and paying for parking, which as in any large city, can be quite expensive.

Unless you need a car for business, to visit family or for travel outside of the city, my advice would be to ';ditch the car'; and save the car rental fees and overnight parking at the hotel. Then, walk, taxi or take public transit (Philly has lots of options in Center City). At the end of each day, the savings in parking fees for Center City driving to attractions and parking probably will pay for a nice lunch and--some days--more than that.

tylerarb pretty much nailed it car-wise. Lose the car and stay in town. It is almost always cheaper over the entire trip.