Allentown Service Plaza

I am seldom in Pennsylvania anymore but in the last few years I’ve made three stops here. Mostly it’s a bathroom and Starbucks break for me. Although the plaza is situated on the west side of the Northeastern Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, there’s access ramps to and from either direction you’re traveling.
I stopped here the first time on this trip in the late afternoon. Bathrooms were clean as usual. The line for Starbucks was very long but it moved along. There are signs inside to indicate northbound/​southbound over the two entrances just to assure you of where you may have parked unless you’re direction challenged.

Easy access that is similar to the Hickory Run plaza a few miles up the way. Long deceleration ramp but several turns to get to the plaza if you’re on the «other» side of the highway. Getting back to the highway is also easy and there is a nice long acceleration ramp too.
Inside the plaza are a couple of fast food options, ice cream and coffee, and of course, bathrooms. They seemed to be pretty well attended.
Lots of space to find something quiet if you need to catch some z’s or just stretch your legs. I also spotted a pet walk area.

Rather clean and well stocked.
Crowded. Confusing parking lot design and rather dangerous. It’s the same design used at many rest stops. Pedestrians beware.
Farmer’s Market is a nice touch. Otherwise the food selection is the same processed food served up at your mall food court. People, this is no way to treat your body.

I really have nothing bad to say about this place. The bathrooms are always kept clean or at least I can find a clean stall. Plenty of food and drink options as well as a convenient store located inside.
Parking is easy, and this is a routine stop for me on my travels on the PA Extension.
I do have to say I feel the service plaza at exit 85 is kept slightly cleaner and better. However, the Allentown rest stop does it job.

Please note upfront that this is off I-​476, not necessarily where the map is showing it.
I thought this was the perfect stop off of the turnpike. It had gas, nice bathrooms, and multiple food options.
For food, they had Bassets Turkey (salad, sandwiches), Famiglia pizza, Roy Rogers, Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, Hershey Ice Cream, Starbucks, and a convenience store. For soda, each just had standard drink sizes and then shared Coke machines — the kind where you can choose your combo of soda and flavoring (so 100 – 200 possibilities).
There was ample seating inside, probably for 200 – 300 guests, and also ample restrooms, which were really clean when we were there.

I don’t know why, but I just can’t get into this place. I give you that it is a lot nicer and more accessible than the place that was there in the 80’s and 90’s, but for some reason a relatively clean, well lit place just seems dingy. I think part of it has to do with the crowds that are so uncontrolled that they are more of a writhing sea of humanity and a group of fellow travelers. I also think that part of it is that other than the signs of the restaurants, the main area is pretty dull. On top of that, the food is expensive even for a travel plaza. In all, it’s not bad, but if I-​476 was not a toll road, I’d never stop here.

Strolling up to the double door entrance we were greeted with the aroma of onions wafting through the parking lot. While purchasing nearly a 5 gallon bucket of soda from Burger King we learned that the smell was due to the employee just finishing chopping onions for the day. We were also informed that she wept like crazy while doing so.

I agree with Kathleen. Rest stops tend to be the arm pit of bathroom stops. I have traveled across country over 8 times… west to east & north to south. This is definitely one of the nicer ones for sure.
They have a family bathroom inside and outside of rest area. Never have I not had soap, paper towels, toilet paper, seat covers… always have been clean.
Shelves stocked in convenient store… lots of choices to eat. And the same with the restaurants.

I have been coming to this rest area way before they remodeled it, which its now a more inviting place to be in. Overall, It’s a nice place to sit around, grab a bite to eat (especially in the middle of the night). Not to mention, a gas station is also attached to this rest area as well.
No need to wait to use the bathrooms. They are plenty of automated stalls and sinks.

A good place to stop to and from a phillies game i stop by here every game i go to when i need food or a drink. Large bathrooms also

Rest stops tend to be gross, but this one was not. It appeared to have gone through a pretty recent renovation and was stocked with a good variety of food service choices, generally clean bathrooms (though watch out for those automatic flushing toilets!), and a mini-​mart.
I mostly stopped here for the Roy Rogers — having realized on the drive up 476 that I had never in my life tried Roy Rogers. Verdict: It’s like any other fast food chain. But still. Item off the bucket list now!
This service plaza is convenient on 476 and I’d stop again if in the area. Also noticed a pet area, and there was, of course, a gas station. But I’m from New Jersey so I had made sure to fill up before my trip!

I am rating this as compared to other gas/​service plazas. This is probably one of the best. I would always stop here when going to or coming back from Philly.
Why is this place awesome?
Clean restrooms
Ample stalls for those who need to lay a brick
Multiple food options during the day
Starbucks
Ample space to sit and chill, eat, etc
Gas station with very reasonable prices
Brightly lit
Appears fairly safe and well maintained
I cannot find any immediate or outstanding flaws with this service station. I could nitpick and say I hate that it’s located on 476 but come on now. Having traveled by car a lot in the past few years, I’ve experienced many different rest stops and this is by far my favorite.
Yeah I’m giving this a solid 5 stars. No shame.

Food: Bassets original turkey, Philly steak and gyro, famiglia pizza, Roy Rogers, auntie Anne’s, Hershey’s ice cream, Cinnabon, and Starbucks (Starbucks barista T*ylor, Unemotional, uninviting. And no eye contacting. Ask her a question and she will shrug. Poor customer service. Tsk tsk)

Much needed bathrooms and Starbucks on our trips both up and back to A-​town.

Rest stops always ick me out a bit but I’ve been to Allentown’s stop at least twice and it’s not so bad. There’s a Starbucks for your caffeine needs, plus a couple fast food restaurants if you are desperate for sustenance.
Overall, the areas around the building and inside are pretty clean; it’s the individual restaurants that need some help. The counter at the Auntie Anne’s was littered with receipts which tells me that they don’t really clean that counter super often which tells me that I don’t want anything to do with the place other than the purchase of a soda.

Easy-​on, easy-​off plaza along the interstate. With a decent selection of quick eats and a small convenience store, you really can’t go wrong.

There’s this eternal conundrum when it comes to service plazas. On one hand, they sometimes provide the only available restroom, food, and gas for literally miles and miles. But on the other hand, I think I’d rather drive a half a mile off the highway just to not have to deal with these clusterfucks.
The bathrooms are magnificent. The stalls go on for days and you don’t have to worry about waiting. You DO, however, have to worry about waiting for food. If at all possible, avoid the Cheesesteak place. I waited for about 20 minutes for a sandwich. I actually had to text my husband (who had already gone to the bathroom, gotten sodas, gotten gas, and changed our baby in the time it took for me to order it) and say, «This better be a good fucking cheesesteak.»
It was.
See, the conundrum prevails! Randomly good food with horrific lines. Reliable chains like Starbucks are present (none of this Gloria Jean’s Coffee BS). People want to see that at a rest stop, I think. I know I do. 8 hours in the car and a Caramel Macchiatto makes it a little bit better.
So, what to do? I don’t know. It sure is convenient to get everything in one place. But waiting on long lines with pushy travelers isn’t fun either.

Bathrooms nice and clean.
Interior totally renovated and looks good!
I don’t really know about the other food places, but I usually go to Rob Roy for a cheeseburger. The chicken fingers are good too.

This is a must stop when you are driving from Philadelphia to the Poconos. Tons of people stop here for a quick break to gas, eat, or stretch out a bit. Food selection is better than NJ turnpike and looks nicer here.
FARMER’S MARKET
Best part of this would have to be the farmer’s market. Tons of fresh produce here. You will not be disappointed. I got some zucchini, sugar plums, and apricots here. Prices range from reasonable to expensive depending on fruit or vegetable. Support your local farmers:)

While the rest stop itself was cosmetically nice, they need another rest stop in the area. Everywhere you look there are people since it’s the only stop for a very long time if you’re driving on the turn pike.
I waited in line at Starbucks for 10 minutes and the line didn’t even move, so I went over to the convenience store side for a drink. I was still unable to reach the drink cases since every aisle had at least 3 people blocking it. (And surprisingly there were no buses in the lot!)
The only thing equipped to handle the crowds were the huge bathrooms; funnily enough, that’s the only thing I didn’t have to wait in line for.