chol hamoed philly trip

[dylu87]

I am looking to go to the philly area for chol hamoed.  what neiborhood should I look for a hotel in that wont be very far to drive from a shul, sukkah and kosher food? TIA

[moko]

I think a great place to start would be the Philadelphia master thread and Philadelphia trip reports.

[aarony]

Cherry hill is not far and has a good restaurant with a sukka

[D93]

I live in philadelphia, let me help you out a little bit here... There are 2 frum areas in Philly, Northeast which is ugly and 30-35 min drive to downtown/center city. and Lower Merion (aka Bala Cynwyd) which is much nicer and only 10-15 min drive to downtown/center city.
Lower Merion has 2 main shuls and a kollel (all within a 5 minute walk from each other) that have minyanim 3 times a day, check out their websites for exact minyan times.
1. Lower Merion Synagogue (yes its a frum shul!) - 123 Old Lancaster Rd, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. http://lowermerionsynagogue.org/
2. Young Israel - 273 Montgomery Ave, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. www.yiml.org
3. Philadelphia Community Kollel - 364 Montgomery Ave, Merion Station, PA 19066. www.phillykollel.org
There a few restaurants.
1. Citron and Rose (really nice met place), and has a sukka. which is next door to the Kollel. www.citronandrose.com
2. Six Points Bakery (Bagels and Bakery), dunno about sukka, but call and ask, or you can always just use The Young Israel's sukka or The Kollel's . next door to the young israel. www.sixpointsbakery.com
3. Shalom Pizza - (a small pizza shop) 5-10 min drive from the community, dunno about sukka call and ask. 7598 Haverford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19151, United States. shalompizzeria.com

Northeast Philly has a 3 shuls.
1. Ahavas Torah - 1425 Rhawn St, Philadelphia, PA 19111. www.ahavas-torah.org
2. Bnei Israel Oheiv Tzedek - 8201 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19152. www.bnaiisrael.us
3. Beth Medrash Harav (aka Rabbi Yalis's shul) - 7926 Algon Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19111. www.baismedrashharav.org
Restaurants in NE Philly.
1. Holy Land Grill (fleishig) - 7630 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19152, United States (215) 783-2599
2. Espresso Cafe and sushi (Milchig) - www.espressocafekosher.com

There are also 2 restaurants in center city. Burger.org and Mama's vegetarian

Cherry Hill is a 25 min from philly and also has a nice fleishig restaurant - www.cherrygrill.com

My suggestion to you regarding your question is to look for a hotel near Lower Merion. It's nicer area, and closer to downtown. any questions, feel free to ask or PM me.