Fitler Club Hotel Review: A Private Club With a Hotel on Top

The short version: For $409 I got a loft-style room, one of the best gyms I’ve seen at any hotel, a lap pool, a sauna and steam room, and a free co-working floor. That’s the deal at Fitler Club, a private members’ club on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia with a 14-room boutique hotel on top, all on one floor. It’s a very unique hotel for Philly, and for what you pay, the value is hard to beat in the US. The room is nice but not perfect, and the service, especially at the restaurant, is the weak spot. Go for the club, not the room.

I stayed at Fitler Club for one night, October 15 to 16, 2026, in a Fitler Bedroom with a queen bed. I paid for it myself, and nothing was comped. One thing you should know: I’m a member. I studied at Penn, called Philadelphia home for a few years, and used to spend whole days here, so this is less a first-impressions review than a what-it’s-actually-like one. I booked the room through super.com, because it came out cheaper than the 15% member rate, and the hotel didn’t know I’d be writing this.

Pros

• A huge two-story gym, a lap pool, sauna and steam, all included
• Free co-working space with meeting rooms and phone booths
• One restaurant (three rooms, one menu), open all day, which is rare
• Right on the river, 5 minutes’ walk from 30th Street Station, close to Penn
• A loft-style room that feels more like a Philly apartment than a hotel

Cons

• Trucks unloading at 4:30 a.m. on the 24th Street side woke me up
• Some wear on the walls, and a little dirt by the bed
• Restaurant service is poor: 30 minutes at the bar without a menu, and my fries cleared twice before I’d finished
• A 20% service charge on every food bill regardless
• The queen bed is on the small side for two

Arriving

Fitler Club is downtown, right on the Schuylkill River at 24th and Walnut, a 5-minute walk from 30th Street Station and 20 to 30 minutes from the airport. The building is on several levels, which takes a minute to figure out. The riverside ground level is the easiest way in from the train station, and the 24th Street ground level takes you into the gym and the lobby. Check-in for the hotel is on the second floor, at Member Services, where the restaurant and the rooms are. If you’re arriving for the hotel, enter through 24th Street.

Valet parking is $60 a day. I didn’t use it.

The room: 7 out of 10

I had a Fitler Bedroom with a queen bed. It’s a pretty nice room, with dark undertones and very tall floor-to-ceiling windows, and it feels like a loft, like a lot of Philly apartments, more than a hotel room.

The bed is comfortable, and I like it, but it’s a little small; for two people it would be tight. There are retro touches everywhere: a mint-green hotel phone, a CD-player-looking thing next to a Marshall speaker by the bed, a retro Frigidaire mini fridge. The snacks and soft drinks are free: SkinnyPop, PopCorners, Dot’s pretzels. The cocktails and wine are not.

The shower is glass and looks straight into the room, from the desk side, not the bed. I like it, but it’s worth knowing if you’re traveling with someone you’d rather not shower in front of. The water pressure is good. One odd quirk: there are two handles, one for the big shower head and one for the small one, and they turn in opposite directions. If you turn both on at once you get sprayed in the face. The curtains aren’t full blackout, but they block almost all the light, which is nice. I didn’t use the desk to work, since the co-working floor is downstairs.

Now the downsides. It was quiet for the most part, probably because there weren’t many guests, but it’s not super soundproof. Around 4:30 or 5 in the morning I heard trucks backing up, with the beeping, and loud thuds as they unloaded, which I think was on the 24th Street side where deliveries come in. The other side faces the train tracks, so I’m not sure it’s much quieter. There’s also some wear: a few small black scratches on the white walls, like something was slammed into them, and a little dirt on the sides of the bed. I don’t mind either much, but it’s the cleanliness slipping a bit. The Wi-Fi was also down the first night.

Sleep is one of the most important parts of a hotel stay, and being woken at 4:30 a.m. by trucks is something a good hotel should work on, even if some people wouldn’t mind. That’s why it’s a 7. It’s still a nice room.

The setting: 8 out of 10

This is why you stay here. The hotel sits inside a members’ club, and as a hotel guest you’re effectively a member for the day. No sign-up, no extra fee, you just get everything.

Start with the gym, which is one of the best I’ve seen at any hotel. Two stories, all the machines you’d want, plus a cycling studio, a yoga and boxing room, and even a golf simulator. When I lived in Philly I used it almost every day. I didn’t make it this trip, which I regret. It’s big enough that it never feels too crowded, but it’s busy. A nice touch: they usually have massage guns out.

The pool is large, good for laps and rarely busy, though I never used it much myself. The men’s locker room is well stocked, shaving kits, hair gel, mouthwash, but it gets crowded, the lockers run out, it’s sometimes a bit smelly, and sometimes they’re out of waters. It could be cleaned better.

Then there’s the co-working space, free and first come, first served: communal tables, a library wall, phone booths, and meeting rooms like The Study, which you can reserve. The windows look straight at 30th Street Station. There’s a little cafe, Flo’s, on the lower level, with smoothies, wraps and coffee. After I graduated, a whole day here was gym, sauna, work, eat.

The club holds lots of events, Penn holds events here too, and there’s a kids’ playroom.

The food: 7 out of 10

Technically there’s a Dining Room, a Lounge and Bar, and a Back Bar, but the food is the same, so think of it as one restaurant, open all day, which is nice and rare. In the warmer months you can eat out on the terrace. The food is pretty good. My favorites are the garganelli and the steak frites, which is what I had this time, $37 at the Lounge and Bar. I ordered it at 10:30 on a weekday morning, after breakfast had ended and before lunch started, and that was fine. That’s what open all day means here.

The problem is the service, and it’s not a small one. You can sit at the bar for over 30 minutes without being handed a menu. Twice they cleared my fries before I’d finished. The server apologized and offered to comp them, but they were still on the bill, so he had to take them off again. Once your order is in, the food comes out at a normal pace, but getting there takes work.

The hours matter, because it’s a club. The Dining Room does lunch on weekdays, dinner Tuesday to Saturday and brunch on weekends. The Lounge and Bar covers breakfast and the rest of the day, with a happy hour on weekdays from 4 to 6.

Service: 5.5 out of 10

At the hotel, helpful but more direct than friendly. Nobody was rude; it’s just not warm, at check-in or anywhere else.

The restaurant is what drags the score down. Thirty minutes at the bar without a menu and fries cleared twice, with a comp that didn’t make it onto the bill, is pretty bad for a hotel at any price. One theory: a 20% service charge goes on every food bill automatically, so the tip is the same whether the service is good or not. That’s most of why this is a 5.5 and not a 7.

What it cost

Just me, one night, a Fitler Bedroom with a queen bed, booked on super.com.

• Room: $409.17 for the night.
• Food: $47.36, the steak frites: $37, plus the automatic 20% service charge and tax.
• Valet: $60 a day, which I didn’t use.

So about $457 all in. Members get 15% off the room, but super.com was cheaper, which is worth checking before you book direct. Everything in the club, the gym, the pool, the sauna and steam, the co-working space, is included.

Value: 9 out of 10

Very good. For around $400 a night you get a nice room and the whole club. That’s a lot of amenities for the money anywhere, and especially in the United States, where this much usually costs far more. I can’t think of another hotel in Philly that gives you as much for the price.

Vs. the Four Seasons Philadelphia

The obvious comparison is the Four Seasons, where I stayed one night about a year or a year and a half ago, on a staycation when I was living in Philly. I didn’t take photos of the room, so I can’t review it properly, but I can compare.

The two hotels are almost mirror images of each other. On setting they score about the same, for different reasons. The Four Seasons is more luxurious, set up in the sky, with real awe to it, maybe a little better. Fitler is more unique, with far more to do. Then everything flips. The Four Seasons has great service and is a little overpriced. Fitler is great value with poor service.

If you go to the Four Seasons, go up to Jean-Georges, the restaurant at the top. The food isn’t incredible and it’s a bit expensive, but it’s a great place to take people who are new to Philly.

On price, the Four Seasons is usually over $1,000 a night, and at Fitler you actually get more. A bigger gym, a bigger pool, a boxing room, a golf simulator, a cycling studio, yoga classes, a kids’ playroom and a co-working space. Personally, I’d much rather stay at Fitler.

What to do nearby

You’re right on the Schuylkill, with the river trail outside, and close to Penn, so it works well if you’re visiting someone there. 30th Street Station being a 5-minute walk makes it easy if you’re coming in from New York or Washington by train.

For dinner, go to Wilder. It was one of my favorites when I lived in Philly; I’d bike there sometimes in the summer. Get the mafaldine. It’s a popular spot with the Wharton food club crowd.

Who it’s for

If you want a hotel that doubles as a gym and an office, this is the one in Philly. If you want to be looked after, go to the Four Seasons.

That makes it good for couples, solo travelers, business travelers, a staycation, and anyone who wants a hotel that doesn’t feel like one. It’s also the natural choice for anyone visiting Penn, students or parents, since the university holds events here. It can feel a little romantic too, with the open glass shower and the river right there.

It also works for families with kids, because of the playroom, with one catch. The rooms are small, a queen bed and a sofa, so you’d want two rooms or a room with a bigger bed. It’s less good for very old people.

Tips if you go

• Enter through 24th Street for the hotel. Check-in is on the second floor at Member Services.
• Ask for a room that isn’t on the 24th Street side, where the delivery trucks come in early. The other side faces the train tracks, though, so it may not be much quieter. Bring earplugs.
• Check super.com before booking direct. It was cheaper than the member rate.
• Use the gym. It’s the reason to stay here, and they usually have massage guns out.
• The co-working space is free and first come, first served. Reserve The Study if you need a meeting room.
• At the restaurant, ask for a menu as soon as you sit down, and check the bill. A 20% service charge is already on it, so you don’t need to tip much on top.
• Dinner at Wilder, mafaldine.
• Skip the $60 valet if you can. The train station is a 5-minute walk.

Verdict: 7.5/10

I’d rather stay here than at the Four Seasons, and it’s less than half the price. That’s the review. For just over $400 you get a nice loft-style room and a whole club with it. I can’t think of another hotel in the US where that much comes with the room at this price. The room has some rough edges and one early-morning wake-up I’d rather not have had, but you’re not really paying for the room. You’re paying for the club.

The only real area to improve is the service, and mostly at the restaurant, where it was pretty bad: no menu for 30 minutes, fries cleared twice, a comp that didn’t stick. At check-in it could just be a little warmer. And I’d get rid of the 20% service charge. This is a private club; in theory, the member dues are already subsidizing it.

Would I stay again? Yes, with earplugs.

FAQ

Is Fitler Club worth it?

Yes, for around $400 a night, mostly for the amenities: a huge two-story gym, a lap pool, sauna and steam, and free co-working. The room itself is a 7.

Can hotel guests use the Fitler Club gym and pool?

Yes. Hotel guests get the club, including the gym, pool, sauna, steam room and co-working space.

How far is Fitler Club from 30th Street Station?

About a 5-minute walk.

Is Fitler Club near UPenn?

Yes, it’s close, and the university holds events here. Good for visiting parents.

Is it quiet?

Mostly, but I was woken at 4:30 a.m. by delivery trucks on the 24th Street side, and the other side faces the train tracks. Bring earplugs.

Is it good for kids?

The club is, with a kids’ playroom. The rooms are small, a queen and a sofa, so a family would want two, or a room with a bigger bed.

Are there other private clubs you’ve reviewed?

Yes: the Rockwell Club in Manila and Pacific City Club in Bangkok, where I went as a member’s guest.

Fitler Club or the Four Seasons?

They’re flipped. Similar settings, but the Four Seasons has great service and is a little overpriced at over $1,000 a night; Fitler is great value with poor service and more amenities. I’d rather stay at Fitler.

Do hotel guests get full club access?

Yes. As a hotel guest you’re effectively a member for the day, with no extra fee.

Does Fitler Club have a Michelin Key?

No, as far as I can tell.

Would you stay again?

Yes, with earplugs.