Lonely Planet Review

If you feel up to the task - and the task in question is living up to Father and Mother Divine's code of conduct - then you can enjoy a room in 'placid dignity' near the Penn campus.

Occupying an unattractive, bland building, this hotel is unlike anything else in the city. Run by a Christian sect that once enjoyed some clout in Philadelphia (and whose tenets include strict celibacy for all and a universal American culture), this 100-room hotel attracts visiting students and convention underlings. The hotel has strict rules: no smoking, no alcohol, no swearing, separate floors for men and women, and a modest public dress code. Don't leave a tip for housekeeping - that's also a no-no. So why stay? There's no curfew and the rooms - usually clean, and with private bathrooms - are the cheapest in the city. Though they look forbidding, the cultists at the front desk generally won't try to talk to you unless you initiate the conversation.