Philadelphia Marriott Downtown Renovates Rooms & Meeting Space near Pennsylvania Convention Center

Philadelphia, PA (December 3, 2010) – Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, the city's only meeting hotel connected by skywalk to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, is scheduled to undergo a major $57 million renovation this month. When work on the Philadelphia hotel's 100,000 square feet of meeting space is completed in March 2011 and all 1,408 guest rooms and corridors through summer, the hotel will be sporting updated high-tech amenities and security features, new furniture, carpeting, lighting, artwork and a stylish contemporary décor. The first renovated rooms will be completed in January and continue through August 2011. This downtown Philadelphia meeting hotel will also be the first Marriott hotel to have HDTV over the Internet, offering guests many uses of the television.

Meeting planners, who are scheduling events after mid-March, 2011 can book now to have their group be among the first to enjoy the renovated space at one of Philadelphia's top meeting venues.

Total cost for the nine-month long renovation is expected to be about $57 million, with $40 million going to the downtown Philadelphia hotel's 1,408 guest rooms and suites and $17 million on the meeting facilities and event spaces. Renovation details include:

Meeting Space - new design to be unveiled March 8, 2011 to coincide with the early March opening of the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center
- New carpet, paint & vinyl in all meeting rooms and spaces (except Exhibit Hall)
- New air walls in the three largest ballrooms, remaining air walls in meeting rooms get refurbished

- New lighting, audio system and an electronic reader board system
- New banquet chairs
- Totally new design of the bridge connecting the hotel to the Pennsylvania Convention Center

Guest Rooms and Suites to be completed by August 2011
- The hotel is receiving the new generation of Marriott guest room decor featuring a color palette inspired by nature and organic elements to provide a calming retreat
- New furniture, in-room safes, telephones, closet doors & bathrooms 

- 37" flat screens with HDTV over the Internet - the first Marriott to offer this feature
- Both wired and wireless high-speed Internet in all guest rooms & suites
- Corridors get new vinyl, carpet, lighting and elevator furniture and art 

- New hotel wide fire protection system and new door lock system
- New guest floor ice machines

To contact a sales associate and book a Philadelphia, PA meeting or event call 1-215-625-6041.

The Philadelphia Marriott Downtown commands a towering presence in the heart of America's original capital. Surrounded by rich revolutionary history and culture, this Center City hotel exceeds the expectations of both business and leisure travelers. Business guests will enjoy the hotel's close proximity to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and vacationers can take in the city's famed sights all located nearby. A collection of Philadelphia's finest restaurants are on-site or within walking distance of the hotel in addition to the city's best shopping and entertainment venues. This hotel in downtown Philadelphia, PA is easy to reach by any mode of transportation. Ideal for commuters, the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown is just one mile from the 30th Street Train Station and nine miles from Philadelphia International Airport. For additional information or reservations, call 1-800-320-5744 or visit www.philadelphiamarriottdowntown.com.