Our recent stay at this Holiday Inn at 1305 Walnut was great. Within walking distance to the convention center, nice breakfast (great pancakes), comfortable rooms and really great folks working there who were always pleasant and helpful. We will remember this Holiday Inn Express when we return. Many thanks to all there for a great stay.

We've been brand loyal to IHG for many years, including under a previous name/IHG account. Recent stays to several locations have left me thinking I needed to rethink my IHG loyalty, but we decided to give it another try.

This location is fantastic!

The front desk staff were so helpful with directions and suggestions for places to visit. The housekeeper for our floor was also super helpful the first day (although we didn't require services the next day). The morning breakfast staff was friendly and quick to refill items as needed.

The hotel itself is in a great location downtown. It is within walking distance to Reading Terminal Market and Independence Hall. There are coffee shops close by as well as restaurants.

The room itself was MASSIVE and roomy. I wasn't sure what we'd get since we were using reward nights but we felt spoiled. The bathroom toilet is a little cramped, but hey - it's a hotel!
We would absolutely stay here again should we return to Philly.

Travel Tips:
We arrived by Lyft from the William H. Grey train station, but I believe there are other options.

Eastern State Penitentiary wasn't on our original itinerary, but it is a moving experience.
Don't miss the Philadelphia Art Museum - plan two days for it if you can.
Grab a pastrami Reuben at Hershel's in Reading Terminal Market, even if you aren't a sandwich eater. It is DIVINE!
We walked to Independence Hall and the sightseeing bus. We had a CityPass from Groupon that covered many of the Philly attractions although we ran out of time to use our last option. I highly recommend the hop-on/hop-off bus. The live tour was excellent and really gave us a lot of Philly information.

Pros
Room Cleanliness, Location, Atmosphere, friendly/helpful staff (front desk/brkfst/hskpng)

I am EXTREMELY picky about where We stay when traveling. You really would like to find a place that is JUST as nice as your home. I read the reviews from This Holiday inn express/center city. I wasnt concerned at all, cause all the reviews were good. After traveling 6 hours on the train, we went to check in, and discovered that the computers had crashed, and we couldnt check in as of yet, they were in the middle of solving the problem. They informed us to wait in the lounge, and as soon as they got back up, they would inform us. they continued to check in on us, and the others to make sure we were comfortable, and they even gave us each a bag with snacks and water in it for the inconvenience. they really could not have been sorry enough for the computers, and they kept apologizing. When they finally checked us in, they were efficient in meeting our requests, checked us in quickly, and we got to our room. Room was a KING STANDARD. Was a pretty large space, plenty of room, clean, very clean, comfortable bed. could not say anything wrong about it. they also have a pretty good breakfast from 6:30am to 10:30 am, The staff which work in the breakfast area were so friendly as well. Throughout our stay there, everytime we passed by the receptionist desk, they would ask how we were doing, and make sure we were enjoying our stay. there was not 1 negative thing i can say about ALL the staff at this Holiday inn. Even in the morning, while eating Breakfast, the manager visited all the tables asking us how everything was. It was really a great experience we had at this Hotel. This particular manager should be very proud of the staff that she has, and the Holiday Inn Corporate office should be proud as well, especially at this manager.