Le Méridien Philadelphia, which opened on 6 May, is located in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, housed in the former YMCA building designed by prominent American architect Horace Trumbauer, who also designed Philadelphia’s Union League and Museum of Art, among other well known projects of the Gilded Age. Le Méridien, the Paris-born brand with an international presence of 105 hotels and resorts, will increase its North American footprint to nine properties with the opening of this newest hotel. Le Méridien Philadelphia will serve as a U.S. flagship for the hotel group, joining Le Méridien Chambers Minneapolis, which recently joined the brand’s portfolio in February 2010. Le Méridien Philadelphia provides an integrated contemporary lifestyle experience, including 202 guestrooms and suites; a signature restaurant, the French brasserie Amuse; stylish lobby bar, serving coffee by day; and 5,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including a 200-seat Ballroom and the Abele Library, a 1,300 square foot reception space overlooking City Hall. The hotel is adjacent to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and just one block from the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Love Park’s gardens and fountains, the Avenue of the Arts, and the boutiques and restaurants that line Benjamin Franklin Parkway - Philadelphia’s Champs Elysees - are all located within walking distance of the hotel. www.lemeridien.com/philadelphia.