Gables Bed & Breakfast

This place is amazing! The owners are so nice and thoughtful. The rooms are very comfortable. The breakfast is delicious every morning. I almost don’t want to recommend this place because I want it to always be open! But I can’t hide this secret! Great find

Wife, grown son and I spent a night here on a two day visit to Philly about a month ago. We found TGB&B to be conveniently located to the usual tourist spots, in a very nice neighborhood, clean and attractive and well managed by a friendly staff. A bit on the pricey side, however.

September 25^th, 2014. I got the best night of sleep in my life!
My friends and I had driven from Williamsport to see a concert. I myself had already been awake for 26 hours. When we arrived in Upper Darby, we asked a bartender at Fibbers, «Where’s a good place to bunk?» Together we narrowed down the list and pretty much led to Gables. We called ahead of time and arranged a meeting.
As we drove through a destitute part of town we feared the B&B would not live up to our expectations.
Lo and behold, like an oasis in the desert this house sprung at us. Beautiful garden, wrap-​around porch, hammock, this place was magnificent! After our introductions, we got the key and left for our show.
We came back battered, bruised, but victorious of our evening. I crawled into bed and then I heard «you want some popcorn?» Before I fell dead asleep. I’ll say it again, It was the best night of sleep I ever had.
I woke up with a certain energy about me. I had to have breakfast. The table laid out in the common room was decorated with apple pancakes, a variety of muffins, cereal, etc. Other folk whom spent the night were in the dining area chatting. My friends awoke and we left with nothing but kind things to remember.
We will choose this place again when we return and recommend that you choose gables too!

Gables personifies the sort of experience one should have when staying in an historic, family-​run bed & breakfast. After arriving and being greeted by Warren and Oscar, we were offered a tour of the house to see which of the available rooms we might be most interested in. A wealth of amenities — night-​time snacks, movies, etc. — are made available in the remarkable restored mansion, which is situated on a quiet, safe block in West Philly. Don and Warren are warm, good-​humored hosts, and the experience they provide is exquisite and inviting. We were particularly struck that they invited me to join them for breakfast, even though only my mother and aunt were spending the night. And it was quite the breakfast — by far the best morning meal I’ve had in months. A great deal of care and love are put into this home and the guest experience, and I highly recommend the Gables to anyone interested in staying in the West Philly area.

I stayed here instead of the usual hotel option (s) so that I could walk to my friend’s house, just a few blocks away, and I’m so glad I did! The warmth of the innkeepers (Don & Warren) doesn’t really come through on the phone or by e-​mail, but once you arrive, it’s clear that they truly care and take pride in their home. The rooms are beautiful, and the breakfast is fantastic. I was expecting the usual generic cereal, sausage, eggs and toast, but they really go the extra mile for a delicious breakfast. (example: baked apples with cranberries, broccoli pie, gourmet sausages, slow-​cooked oatmeal with walnuts, raisins & cranberries, etc. — plus the option of the usual toast, cereal, etc if you want that) They also have a little room with snacks, drinks and a refrigerator in case you get hungry during the day or night. The location is very convenient, and there is plenty of street parking. The neighborhood is not too sketchy (by urban standards). Oh, and there is free WiFi throughout the house, which is important to a nerd like me.
I’m glad I didn’t read that first review before booking my stay. Sounds like maybe she and her friends were a bunch of annoying college kids or something? (And I think that only 2 out of the 10 rooms has a shared bathroom. If I were a guest sharing a bathroom with 4 other people and I expected to have to share it with 1 or 2, then I would be annoyed, too! Not that I would have booked that room… because I hate sharing a bathroom with anyone…) Anyway, one of the innkeepers actually told me that my friend (who lives in the neighborhood) is welcome to come and have breakfast with me here even though he’s not staying here, and I thought that was an unusually generous offer. (which I won’t take him up on, because my friend would never wake up in time. haha.) Anyway, I would thoroughly recommend this place, and I will definitely be a repeat customer!
(Oh yeah, and if that first reviewer had been a grown-​up, she might have recognized that the «shaking like a leaf» was actually a medical condition. It’s called a tremor!)

I read Chaviva’s review and I have to say, i had a completely different experience. Maybe it’s because I reserved a room with a private bath, knowing that I am a bathroom hog, but I had a great time here!
The house is a quiet beautiful oasis in the busy streets of Philadelphia. Plenty of off-​street parking. A delicious breakfast that features fresh fruit and cream, sausages, egg casseroles, fresh muffins, cereals, juice, milk, and all the coffee you can guzzle down.
My room was beautifully furnished. A bit toasty even with the air on, but then, I only spent nights there. All staff was very courteous, if not overly chatty, but then, I’m from California. Perhaps this was the East Coast reserve I’ve heard so much about.
Several local restaurants deliver and I had some wonderful take-​out dinners.
I also spent some fun time in the comfy hammock in the garden. I would caution, however, that the neighborhood is a tad iffy. I sat on the front porch for no more than 10 minutes before a ruffian on a bicycle asked if he could talk to me (and when I say ruffian, I mean someone who looked like he was going to ask for money or sell me drugs). A bit creepy.
I was visiting University City and so this is the perfect location if you’d rather not stay at the Inn at Penn or the Sheraton (I’ve stayed at both and they are adequate, but pricey and generic).
There’s a trolley that stops right outside the front door for those who don’t have a car or prefer to leave the car in the lot.
I thought the price was more affordable than chain hotels, especially given that breakfast and parking were included in the rate. I would stay here again!

I’ve given myself several days to cool down after returning from a trip where I spent two nights here with some friends. I had the highest of hopes for this cute, quaint little place, especially since it’s right across the street from where one of my best friends lives. And up to a point it was a dream come true. And then, well, things quickly fell apart and I have to say that I’ve never — ever — had an experience at any hotel, motel, inn or otherwise like I had here. So turn around and walk away after your read this review, or proceed at your own caution.
The house is beautiful. I have no qualms with the house in all its knick-​knacky glory. There’s also a beautiful dog named Oscar who resides here, and he’s as friendly as the day is long. My initial reaction upon arriving was excitement. The innkeeper was incredibly friendly, showed me to my room and went on his merry way. I dropped my things and went across the street. Hop forward to about 11 p.m. that evening when the rest of my crew arrived — with one extra person.
In any hotel situation, this would not have been a problem. They sprawl out on the floor and call it a day. So one person slept on the floor, one on the rollaway, and two of us on the set of twin beds. It was a comfy set-​up, and we didn’t think it would be a problem. After all, we were already paying an exorbitant amount for the room as was. We got up in the morning, three of us showered, and three of us ate — we weren’t about to taken advantage of the situation because of the extra body. We probably spent about an hour — with breaks in between — occupying the shared bathroom in the hallway. I knew there was one guy down the hall, but no one ever knocked or notified us that we were using up too much time in the bathroom.
We went about our day, enjoyed the city, and came back early that evening and collapsed in our room, cozy as it was, to rest before dinner. And then came the knock at the room door.
I have never in my life been treated so poorly by a hotel/inn/motel/b&b owner in my life. The scene that followed was absolutely shocking, and to this day I’m not really sure how exactly something like this could have happened.
The innkeeper proceeded to chastise us for taking advantage of them, telling us that they were very upset that we had four people staying in the room («we would never, ever have four people in this room,» he said shaking intensely). He got after us for leaving their blankets on the floor («now I have to wash these,» he said, making me wonder — don’t they have to wash them anyway?), not to mention chastising us for spending all morning in the bathroom leaving the other patrons to not be able to use the facilities (no one ever knocked on the door, and really, it wasn’t even a full hour of usage, and there were plenty of breaks in between our usage). He also got after us for eating breakfast (only three of us – the paying people — ate their breakfast). He wouldn’t let us get a word in edgewise, we couldn’t explain that the last-​minute addition was just that — last minute. Would he have preferred we woke him up at 11 p.m. to say «Hey, do you have a spare room for our friend?» After all, there are limits to the check-​in time.
The extra girl tried to explain herself, but this innkeep was not having it. He was shaking like a leaf, upset that we’d taken advantage of them in «their home.» I was absolutely blown away. Just completely shocked. He said he wasn’t «kicking» her out, but that it would probably be best for her to find someplace else to stay (so she did). It ruined our night — literally. We went out to dinner and our moods were just filled with shock and anger, so we came right back home and didn’t enjoy our last night out in Philly. Two of the girls had stress dreams about the situation and I lost sleep over figuring out how the interaction would be when I was paying upon our departure the next day. We didn’t bother to get up and eat breakfast (shame?) and we spent as little time as possible in the bathroom that morning as to not upset the other guests and/​or our «hosts.»
I will note a few things. This place has ants. The bathroom on the second floor was crawling with them near the toilet. The first night the girl sleeping in the roll-​away woke up with bug bites on her neck, as well. I just can’t express enough how worth it it would be for you to stay at a Motel 6 or some other hotel/​motel/​inn in Philly. These innkeepers obviously didn’t truly weigh the whole «we’re opening our home to other people so we can’t get all stuffy when G-​d forbid they accidentally leave a blanket on the floor» thing.
So walk away. Just walk away. Quaint and cute are not worth dealing with overzealous innkeepers who watch your every move, listen for you to come in so that they can chastise you and float around you at all hours of the day.