The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia

“Ritz-Carlton” and “urban renewal” may not be phrases that often occur terribly close together. Here in Philadelphia, though, an abandoned neoclassical bank building and a neighboring Thirties marble office tower have been renovated, converted after a decade left vacant into what has to be one of the Ritz-Carlton chain’s most distinctive properties, located in the heart of the city’s downtown district.

Check-in takes place under the 140-foot domed ceiling of the original 1904 bank building, surrounded by marble columns and the original tellers’ desks. From there it’s over to the bank’s old offices next door, now home to the Ritz-Carlton’s 300 rooms, each one with an arresting city view and an ornately detailed marble bathroom — pure old-world elegance, as is the Ritz-Carlton house style.

Four of the top floors are given over to the Club rooms, the hotel equivalent of the first-class airline cabin, with extra-attentive service and access to the Ritz-Carlton Club. Pantheon is the fine-dining restaurant, aptly named in light of its neoclassical architecture, and the Grill is the more casual contemporary American restaurant. Under the bank lobby the vault has been converted into a cigar and cocktail bar, and the picturesque lobby lounge itself is the venue for the Ritz-Carlton signature afternoon tea.