This Stylish Boutique Hotel Is An Unlikely Oasis In Philly’s Fishtown
Hotel Anna & Bel was formerly an 18th-century mansion and an asylum for widowed women.
Fishtown—the once-scruffy Philadelphia neighborhood that now bustles with trendy restaurants, bars and shops—has somehow spawned a chic new boutique hotel from the musty remains of a former nursing home. The 50-room Hotel Anna & Bel is housed in an 18th-century mansion and connected townhouse with a transportive pool courtyard distinguished by flowering myrtle trees, faded black-and-white tiles and umbrella-shaded loungers.
Wander past the front desk and the mansion’s original staircase, and you’ll find interiors that reflect the artistic ethos of the surrounding area with 250-plus paintings and artworks curated by Philly’s Paradigm Gallery + Studio. The eclectic vibe is further expressed with retro-style custom furnishings in velvet and linen sourced by local interior designer Sigita Stravinskaite in a warm palette of earthy hues. Here’s what else you need to know before checking into Hotel Anna & Bel:
Location & History
The 1769-built property is situated next to a funeral home amid Fishtown row houses playfully adorned with aquatic address plaques and related underwater ephemera. The residential location is just a short walk to Frankford Avenue’s lively strip of bars, hoagie spots and secondhand shops, as well as indie music venues Johnny Brenda’s and The Fillmore.
Once known as The Mansion House, the hotel was converted in 1858 into the women-run Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women and went co-ed in the 1900s as an elder care facility called Penn Home. The “Anna & Bel” name is a nod to both the property’s feminine legacy and its location at the cross streets of Susquehanna and Belgrade.
Real estate developers The Foyer Project, in partnership with design firm B March, carefully renovated the antiquated space before reopening it in August 2024 as Fishtown’s first full-service hotel. “We felt that there was a need for something like this,” says Galli Arbel, Foyer Project’s Director of Brand. “For people who don’t necessarily want to stay in Center City at the W or the Four Seasons, who want a very curated, elevated, amenity-driven experience, and would prefer a location like Fishtown.”
Guest Rooms
Ranging from studios to two-bedroom suites, no two Anna & Bel guest rooms are exactly alike. On a recent visit, a third-floor suite had high ceilings with exposed beams, hardwood floors, a rattan bed frame and hanging pendant lights. The vintage-inspired furnishings included an orange velvet couch and a circular marble table stacked with Taschen’s Living in Bali and Warhol photo books, along with potted plants in the windows and art on the walls. A Tivoli Audio Model Three BT alarm clock sat on a nightstand next to a comfy Talalay latex Natural Dreams mattress with Bellino linens and a NorviGroup Norsk duvet and pillows.
The bathrooms all feature imported Turkish tiles and marble vanities, as well as organic cotton robes from Printfresh—a women-owned local loungewear brand—Frette towels and Le Labo bath products. Every guest room has either a hidden kitchenette behind a locally built wooden pantry or a minibar with Nespresso machines and Fellow electric tea kettles.
Many second-floor rooms have balconies overlooking the secluded courtyard, a visual focal point of the property. Perhaps the most coveted hideaway is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom 950-square-foot Master Suite featuring four skylights and 360-degree windows with sweeping Center City views.
Food & Drink
Just steps from the staircase near the front desk is the hotel’s flagship eatery, Bastia. Built on the site of a former chapel, Chef Tyler Akin’s coastal Mediterranean menu may indeed bolster your faith in a good hotel meal. The dishes are inspired by the flavors of Sardinia and Corsica and accompanied by a selection of small vineyard wines along with the requisite negronis, spritzes and aperitifs, as well as non-alcoholic cocktail options.
During a recent dinner service, standouts included ricotta dumplings jazzed up with guanciale and arrabbiata that could have masqueraded as meatballs, skate cheeks with polenta and brown butter, braised veal osso buco with olives and lentils, and a refreshingly crunchy salad of shaved artichokes, celery, sunchokes and parmesan. Caletta, Bastia’s newly-opened sister property near the tiled pool patio, is a 24-seat cocktail lounge and piano bar offering bougie bar snacks like Italian sturgeon caviar and cured egg yolk in a fine herb salad and saffron arancini stuffed with smashed chickpeas and mint on black truffle fonduta.
Off-site, the hotel’s proximity to Fishtown eateries offers an appealing high-low smorgasbord that spans tomato pies at Pizzeria Beddia, epic Italian hoagies at Liberty Kitchen, Lebanese mezza and pastries at Suraya, smoked brisket at Fette Sau and a $125 omakase feast at Dawa Sushi & Ramen Bar, among many worthy options.
Signature Amenities
The “Amenity Closets” on every floor are stocked with extra toiletries and essentials that you may have forgotten to pack in your dopp kit—a nifty idea that the founders nicked from Manhattan’s Public Hotel. There’s a small lower-level gym with an infrared sauna and a “yoga and meditation deck” on the second floor. An extended, living room-style lobby has a fireplace, curated art and cozy seating lined with more coffee table books.
Checking Out
If you’re looking for a unique boutique experience in the heart of a vibrant Philly neighborhood, Hotel Anna & Bel is an excellent option, both for its artsy vintage vibe and its location in an enduringly cool area. Rooms from $300 per night.
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