My husband and I had a wonderful stay at the Pier 5 Hotel. We booked through Priceline for $90 a night and felt it was well worth the price. The location was excellent - right on the Inner Harbor and close to the Baltimore Aquarium, Camden Yards, and the local areas of interest (Little Italy, Fells Point). The room was nice and quiet.

They even had a complimentary 'crabby hour' each night where a snack was made and wine/beer was provided.

My only complaint was the $9.95 activity fee that was charged for each night stayed. I wasn't aware of the fee before we checked in.

Overall great stay.

Technically, we didn't 'Stay' at the hotel as we left shortly after checking in. For a property to bill themselves as a boutique hotel and charge boutique hotel prices, we expected much more. The lobby itself at first glance is nice but closer inspection reveals obvious neglect. Noticeable chips in the walls and woodwork, dirt on the floor, etc. were the first things we noticed. After checking into our $300/night basic room, we noticed a huge scuff mark on the armoire, paint peeling off the bathroom doors, and other obvious signs of a lack of quality control and regular room visits by the hotel staff and management. Thankfully, the management was understanding and we left with a full credit. It was the nicest part of the visit.

Nice small hotel conveniently located right next to the National Aquarium and Inner Harbor. Booked a Harbor Magical Package that included Hotel Room, Breakfast and Tickets to the Aquarium.

Package price was actually MORE EXPENSIVE than if we booked through Travelocity or Expedia, and purchased our Aquarium tickets directly online. Aquarium tickets also did not include the Immersion 4D movie which had to be purchased separately.

The experience specialist only works 10am-5pm and was not working during the day of our visit. Hotel front desk and concierge provides the same services.

Breakfast was ok, comfortable bed, clean room, nice decor. Seems like Harbor Magical Package reserves the smallest rooms in the hotel.

Non smoking room was directly above smoking rooms with balcony, making the nice view and sliding glass door useless.

Will stay at the Marriott or Intercontinental (also right on the Inner Harbor) next trip for less!

My husband, two small children, and I stayed at the Pier V recently as part of the Harbor Magic, Spring Break Getaway package. The package included 2-3 night stay, 8 breakfast passes to the hotel restaurant, and 3 tickets to the Port Discovery Childrens Museum. Here are my thoughts....
Hotel--
First, the hotel was clean and comfortable and has a evry interesting look, and the staff was very helpful and accomodating. They had a nice crabby hour where you can sample a nice crab dip and have wine, beer or soda. My complaints were 1) that our tv remote didnt work,and we called 3 times to ask that someone fix it, but it was not addressed until the last night of our stay. 2) the cleaning service was not good, ie we would see wrappers/debris still scattered on the floor after the room was "cleaned"., 3) the room we were given only had one bed, EVEN THOUGH WE TOLD THEM WE WERE A FAMILY OF FOUR AND WANTED TWO DOUBLES. (After complaining at the front desk, they bought in an air mattress but I was still kind of irritated by this. The kids were fine with it though). BE FOREWARNED: there are big $$$ tax and occumpacy fees. We payed nearly $60 on tax and fees PER NIGHT..Ask about the costs of these to avoid any unpleasnt surprises...Plus PARKING IS $21 PER DAY. No free parking options available. Factor this into your budget.

Hotel Breakfast passes --
The food was good, the service, not so good. On day one, there was s a long wait because the place seems understaffed. The next day, it was better, no doubt because of complaints. BE FOREWARNED: Go early (before 9) or expect a good wait.

Activities--
The package came with 3 museum tickets. Ypu can buy extra tix in advance. The kids had a nice time (they are 8 and 5), but they were only entertained for about 2 hours. They loved the jungle gym - that's the main attraction.The rest was not that interesting too them....

We also purchased (in advance) tickets to the Acquarium. This was a bit of a disappointment. BE FOREWARNED: The 3D showed scared my children. If you have small children, SIT NEAR THE AISLE SO YOU CAN LEAVE EARLY IF NEEDED. The dolphin show was nice but over so fast you hardly felt you saw any tricks. GET THERE AT LEAST 15 minutes early if you want a good seat. Also, if you go to the acquarium on a Saturday, there is a long line, so if you are sure you want to go, buy tix in advance to avoid the line.).

Lastly, we also purchased (in advance) ESPN zone tickets. This was okay as well, but really the games are geared to older kids than mine so we didnt get much benefit out of it. BE FOREWARNED: DONT buy tix in advance because they are pretty easy to get once you are there, and if you dont use them they are NOT refundable.

Overall, nice trip, but much more pricey than the benefits we received. I can say Ive been to the Harbor, but not likely to go back anytime soon.