In the heart of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, historic Chamounix Mansion has welcomed overnight guests and groups for nearly fifty years. Originally built in 1802 as a country home, this charming and unpretentious mansion rests on a scenic bluff above the Schuylkill River, making it convenient to Philadelphia's cultural and historic attractions, sporting events, and restaurants.
Experience the wonder of Philadelphia while at this much-loved mansion that offers clean, comfortable and timeless accommodations, without compromising the integrity of Chamounix’s Federal/Georgian style. Enjoy our two period rooms, the Harp Room and the Portrait Room, just as the original owners would have; certainly Benjamin Franklin, were he a guest, would have been curious enough to strike up a conversation about your IPhone, your laptop, or your Kindle. You can almost see him sitting across from you in that wing chair by the fireplace.
Located in the heart the largest urban park in the world, in the center of Philadelphia, just as William Penn conceived it, Fairmount Park is home to Philadelphia’s greatest treasures. The Philadelphia Museum of Art (yep, you can run the steps and take your photo with Rocky), The Fairmount Waterworks, The Please Touch Museum (makes its home in the 1876 National Centennial celebration’s Memorial Hall), many of the public sculptures, and the new Paine’s Skateboard Park are just a few of Chamounix’s neighbors in the park.
This is a hostel where you can learn and play, meeting fellow travelers from the world-over while breaking down the walls of international communication playing the universal equalizer: foosball. Our vintage bikes are free to use, and we give props to whoever takes out the yellow Schwinn Stingray. Only a fifteen minute walk to the bus stop via the sidewalk, or less than ten on the trail, the #38 bus pops you into Center City in about 40 minutes (after winding through a few neighborhoods to pick up people who use Septa to commute). At the end of the day, you can share your experience with your friends and family back home on Skype with our free Wi-Fi, or with our free guest computer. Share a meal, share a day, share an adventure, and share a smile at the five star hostel in the park.
Nestled in a wooded setting, the hostel offers a welcoming front porch with comfy Adirondack chairs and park benches, where you might become best friends with one of the abandoned cats we’ve ‘adopted’: in order of appearance, so to speak, we have Bacon, Canadian Bacon, Tommy, Aurora, and Poe. There have been others along the way, many have been adopted by a guest. They are outside cats, so allergy-sufferers and cat-dislikers: it’s all good.
Chamounix (CHAM'-ah-nee) Mansion provides clean, inexpensive accommodations for:
- Individual Travelers: meet like-minded friends from all over the world! Our front porch is the place to make new friends. We even have a wedding story from two people (one American, one French) who met at Chamounix and eventually married!

-Families: (the only hostel in Philly with a crib and family-friendly atmosphere; kids under the age of 16 are WELCOME with parent or guardian, and have a super low rate of $8! WE NEVER PUT YOUR KIDS WITH OTHER GUESTS!
-Groups: For group gatherings, we also offer meeting rooms with kitchen/dining areas for workshops, retreats, and events. Think of Chamounix when planning alternative Spring Break, corporate retreats, The Dad Vail Regatta, anniversary parties, alumni gatherings, and weddings.

We are happy to offer, for our guests’ enjoyment and travel needs:

-Free pancake breakfast everyday
-Free wireless internet
-Free bed linens and towel
-Free Parking!
-$3 discount per night for ISIC cardholders
-NO extra fees for using your credit card
-FREE high-speed internet guest computer
-FREE vintage bicycles to lend
-An extensive and quirky video library with FREE movies to loan
-Vintage board games
-A take one, leave one book exchange, as well as a permanent library
-Vending machines
-FREE maps and guides of the area, including bike trails and hiking in Fairmount Park
-FREE foosball table
-Central air-conditioning throughout our building
-On-site laundry facilities, washer & dryer as well as drying racks and clothesline/iron & ironing board
-FREE ear plugs for those who need them
-Fully-equipped guest kitchen: three refrigerators, three ovens, three stoves, microwave, cookware
-Security lockers
-Large lounge for game nights and socializing!
-FREE use of two gas grills
-Building has security system and live-in staff
-Great knowledgeable staff to answer all your questions and give insider tips to the area, and share from our collection of handmade neighborhood maps
-International standards for comfort, cleanliness and security
-FREE volleyball, horseshoes, Frisbee, soccer balls, tennis rackets, and more!
-Wheelchair accessible
-NO age restriction - all ages welcome; under 18 must be accompanied by an adult
-Groups welcome

Chamounix Mansion is committed to being as environmentally-friendly as possible. Our goals are to conserve energy and protect the environment with sound choice of the products we use and recycling. We encourage guests not to waste food or soaps and shampoos by offering a space to leave these items. Our General Manager and one of the Assistant Managers are the role models, here, as their stewardship of the earth and its resources is part of their moral code.
You can use to explore Fairmount Park, stroll or borrow our bicycles and ride to Belmont Plateau to see one of the best views of Philadelphia's skyline, play tennis nearby, BBQ in our picnic area or just relax on Chamounix's historic grounds.
Hostelling International is a non-profit membership based organization whose mission is to help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling. We have been promoting peace through hostelling since 1909. Non-members will be asked to pay a $3 daily membership fee per night upon check-in.