Omni William Penn Hotel
Historic downtown grandeur a drive from the slides
About this hotel
Sandcastle Waterpark sits a short drive from downtown, so the Omni William Penn works best for a family pairing a slides day with real Pittsburgh sightseeing: Point State Park is under a kilometre away and the Andy Warhol Museum is a twelve-minute walk. Rooms come with city views, bathrobes and a work desk, comfortable for a multi-night stay. The on-site restaurant covers breakfast through dinner with vegetarian and gluten-free options, useful after a tiring day at the park when nobody wants to search for a table. A fitness centre and concierge service round out a stay built around both the water park and the city around it, and the hotel's century-old lobby is itself a small piece of Pittsburgh history worth a look.
- City views
- Bathrobes and free toiletries
- 24-hour front desk
Our take
This suits a family treating Sandcastle as one day of a wider downtown Pittsburgh trip, with real character and a genuinely central location. It is not the shortest drive to the park, so a family wanting to be near the gates above all else should look toward West Homestead instead.
- ✓Book well ahead for weekend stays during Pittsburgh's busier convention season, since rooms here fill quickly downtown.
- ✓Use the fitness centre before a Sandcastle day rather than after; legs will be tired enough by evening.
- ✓Pair a Sandcastle morning with an afternoon walk to Point State Park, under a kilometre from the lobby.
Why we love it
- Historic downtown hotel with real character
- Family-friendly restaurant with vegetarian options
- Fitness centre and concierge service on site
- Walk to Point State Park and the convention center
Why guests love itA stay here works best split between a Sandcastle day and real Pittsburgh sightseeing. The rooms feel properly grand for a downtown hotel, and being a short walk from Point State Park makes the non-waterpark half of a trip easy to fill. The restaurant covers dinner without a search after a tiring day of slides, though the drive out to West Homestead each morning is worth planning for.