I'm at the end of a five-day stay at the Courtyard Marriott Phila. Airport. Hotels in Philly commonly have lots of problems -- high prices, poor service, bad maintenance, lousy management -- so this hotel was a BIG surprise.
There was a lot of thought put into the refurbishment that was done a year or so ago, and it was implemented well. And as a previous poster noted, the building is very solid. I never heard a sound from another room. The carpeting, linens, furniture and toiletries are a cut above what one would expect, as is the free breakfast: Not only is there an ample buffet, but they'll cook to order an omelet or other hot dishes at no cost! And unusual for Philly (the "City of Brotherly Shove"), I found all the employees to be pleasant and relatively competent; no "attitude" here.
Other small but nice touches include an excellent desk/work area (with free high-speed Internet); excellent lighting throughout the room; and a curved rod for the shower curtain, which gives the feeling of much more space in the shower. There are a small, unimpressive "fitness center" and a small swimming pool; both are clean and offer nice thick towels.
Minor minuses: I'd have liked a "central" heating/cooling system; my room had one that was built into the wall. It worked fine but created a draft when I was working at the desk. Also, a refrigerator would have been welcome.
Some might disagree, but I found the location and layout to be an advantage: It's in an industrial area very close to the airport, there's free parking, and easy access to both of Philly's major freeways. (I-76 and I-95). It's a 15-minute drive to the sports stadiums and to a wide selection of excellent restaurants in South Philly or in suburban communities like Media.
This hotel deserves to be solidly in the three-star category. I gave it a five rating both because of the factors I described above and because of the weak competition.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.