Housing/Travel
Find traveling to a new city overwhelming? Jen is happy to help. Drop her a line with questions, and she will talk you through all of the travel and accommodations options (and some cool inside info!) that will work for your situation. Just think of her as your personal travel agent.
While we love having Bal dancers over, BalJam Philadelphia will not be arranging local hosting. The reason for this is that strangely, the majority of Philly Bal dancers don't actually live in the city, but are scattered far and wide into the wilderness surrounding Philadelphia and will be needing to find accommodations themselves.
If you would like to try for local housing, please put up a request by posting on phileswingdance.com (local Philly swing dance message board).
We are going to suggest finding accomodation at either the Rodeway Inn (1 block away) or at the Club Quarters hotel (2 blocks away). BOOKING your room ONLINE through their sites will give you a discounted rate for both hotels.
The Rodeway Inn
www.rodewayinn.com
Address: 1208 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19107
Phone: 1-877-424-6423
Book Room ONLINE for their discount.
The Rodeway Inn® hotel is ideally located in the downtown central business district, with easy access to all major highways. Only five blocks from this Philadelphia hotel, visitors will enjoy a trip back in time while exploring the area's most historic sites, including the Liberty Bell Center, Independence National Historical Park, Lights of Liberty sound and light show and Independence Visitor Center. The Philadelphia International Airport is minutes away.
The Club Quarters
www.clubquarters.com
Address: 1628 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-282-5000
For Booking information, click here
The Club Quarters in Philadelphia is located in the business district of Philadelphia, Pa., across the street from the shops at Liberty Place. The hotel is two blocks from Rittenhouse Square, a park surrounded by shops and restaurants.
Quick Facts: Check In Time - 3 p.m.,Check Out Time - 12 p.m., Internet Access Available,Parking, Restaurant On-site, 24-hour front desk, Credit card required, Deposit required upon check-in, Early check-out fee - $30, Extra person charges
Alternate Hotel arrangements:
If you don't mind driving 20-25 minutes into the city, cheap motels are available across the Delaware in New
Jersey. If using the Ben Franklin Bridge to get back into Pennsylvania, there is a $3 toll.
We suggest using priceline to bid on a 1 star hotel/motel in the Cherry Hill-Mt. Laurel area of New Jersey. All of the possible hotels in that area are safe and clean (if a bit modest). Hotel parking is free in this area.
Getting Here / Getting Around:
Map of center city Philadelphia
By Plane! Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is home to the following airlines: Air Jamaica, Air Canada, Air France, Air Tran Airways, America West, American Eagle, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental, Delta Air, Frontier Airlines, Lufthansa, Midwest Airlines, US Airways, USA 3000, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Many of those are "discount" carriers and offer great rates.
A taxi from the airport to Center City takes about 20 minutes and costs a flat rate of $25 plus tax and tip. Taxi dispatch is available 24 hours a day at the airport.
If you are staying at the Rodeway Inn, when you arrive at PHL, take the Septa R1 train from the airport towards Center City Philadelphia (there is only one train and only one direction you can take it, so that should be easy) and get off at the Market East Station (12th and Filbert). Walk to the Rodeway Inn hotel (12th and Walnut - 5 blocks south along 12th).
By Train! The Sunday dance is held just one block from the R1 train station. So plan on taking your suitcase with you to the dance, dancing the afternoon away, and then taking the train to your evening flight home.
By Automobile! Philadelphians drive to events in North Carolina (7 hrs), DC (3 hrs), NYC (2 hrs), York (2.5 hrs), Pittsburgh (5 hrs), Boston (6 hrs), and Ohio (7 hrs), so we know it can be done!
If you have a car, you might want to consider getting an inexpensive place in New Jersey (see Alternative Hotel Arrangements above) and driving to the events. Your best bet is to use the validated parking lot for the Friday and Saturday main dance, and the Saturday afternoon activities. You will be able to find free on-street parking within a few blocks of the Friday and Saturday late night and Sunday afternoon dances. If you want to stay in Center City, parking at your hotel will probably offer you the best rate. The Roadway Inn has very reasonable parking rates - always check those ahead of time for any hotel!
By Taxi! Fares are currently $2.70 for the first 1/7 mile and 30¢ for each additional 1/7 mile or minute of the motor running. Tips are expected, usually 20% of the fare. Count on spending a total of $8 for a cross-town trip.
If you need to call for a cab while in the city, two good operators are Olde City Taxi (tel. 215/338-0838) and Quaker City (tel. 215/728-8000).