STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I would recommend if the price is reasonable to try the rittenhouse area. Sofitel is a little further away from rittenhouse park (like 4 blocks, so not far). And the Rittenhouse Hotel is on  the park. I can't remember where the Radisson is down there. I can't say which hotels would be better (I live in philly and have never stayed in any hotels here), but location wise that would be an ideal area for shopping and access to other attractions like the art museum and old city (liberty bell etc..).

I always use www.tripadvisor.com when I need non-biased info on hotels. We scored a great B&B in Amsterdam based on advise from there.

I can also offer assistance on other suggestions, if you need :)

if not have a good time...

There are so many restaurants in Philly, it's hard to choose. I'll break it down by category...

French-Pif, La Boehme (both BYOB), Rouge (on Rittenhouse, can be hit or miss since Neil Stein went bankrupt, but if you like to people watch, it's either here, Devon or Bleu), Caribou Cafe (mmmm Onion soup)

Meditteranean/Greek- Dmitris (the one on 3rd and bainbridge is my favorite) and if you can't get in the New Wave Cafe is excellent across the street), Ava, Little Fish (again all BYOB, except New Wave),

Italian- there are so many excellent ones, especially as you travel to South Philly (unfortunately when I want Italian it's usually spare of the moment)- so my two favs are in Old City- Raddichio and La Laconda Del Ghiottone , oh and Mellagrano in Fitler Square and Bronzino and La Viola in Center City (all BYOBs)

Asian Fusion- Buddakhan (honestly, while the food is excellent, good luck getting reservations , I would recommend just going for dessert and sitting at the upstairs bar- you get the experience w/o the price tag), Continental (the original one on 2nd and market, although the Continental Midtown is really neat decor, I'm more of a fan of the original)

Latin Fusion- Lolita (BYOB- but if you bring Tequilla you can buy margartia mix from them), Alma de Cuba (personally, I don't really care for the food- but the decor and the downstairs bar is a neat place to have a drink) , Passion (pronounced Pash-Si (as in yes in spanish)- own)

Other- (cause they feature a mix of different cuisines)- Friday/Saturday/Sunday, Django, Audrey Claire (all BYOBs), Rose Tattoo Cafe, Monk's

So I realized after I just typed all this that most of my listings are BYOB (I hate the markup in this city). So if you want to go BYOB, there is a state store at 1913 Chestnut that is close to your hotel, and for PA has a decent selection (yes our liquor is only found in state stores). And you have to buy beer in a different store...I can't think of any in Center City...maybe ask the concierge.

I mentioned places all over the city, but easily accessable by cab. And in neighborhoods that are established. While Northern liberties has some excellent food, unless you have a car, even I feel unsafe after dark there. But that's changing slowly...Check out Philly.com and phillybyob.com (although, i think sometimes the reviews can be pretentious). Also if at any time you are near a Marathon Grill, they are all excellent.....and inexpensive.

On to shopping... basically between the streets of Locust and Chestnut from Broad (14th) to 22nd you will find many stores and boutiques with most being on Walnut and Chestnut (Daffys, H&M, Kenneth Cole, Anthropologie, Arden B, VS, JCrew, UO, etc),The boutiques are more off shoots of Walnut and Chestnut and some cute shoe/clothing stores between Walnut and Chestnut on Samson (above 16th)...also if you like antiques and some cute home stores stroll down Pine street between 6th and 13th. Also some cute home/clothing stores up 13th near Samson (just a small cluster). And my favorite street is 3rd street between Chestnut and Race- several cute boutiques- but make sure you walk up to Scarlett Alley on Race (between 2nd and 3rd). While I'm thinking of it Race Street Cafe is really good...smoky bar with surprisingly good food...Also while you're there, hit market street between 2nd and 4th. As for South Street, I don't like it, but there are some cute boutiques that are just off it on different streets between 2nd and 6th if you can stand the smell and the "interesting" people....sorry for all the rambling.

So I hope this helps and enjoy the Dali exhibit, I still have to get tickets myself.

My favorite restaurants are:

el vez (kinda mexican fusion, amazing guac, fish tacos, GREAT drinks...so maybe wait till your next trip when you can drink!)  this is my favorite restaurant.

striped bass (a little pricey, but amazing seafood).

washington square

continental

Shopping:

walnut street shopping is geat.  but if you want to venture outside of the city, i would recommend hitting up manayunk (it's eight miles from the city right off of 76.)  there's a lot of restaurants, shops, etc...

also, i'm partial to the mainline area (bryn mawr, wayne, ardmore, villanova).  there's a lot of cute boutiques.  especially if you go to wayne there's a lot of baby boutiques.  you can park and walk around wayne.  there's an anthropologie and a south moon under there, a lot of boutiques on wayne ave. and a lot of nice restaurants (take 76 west to 476 south, get off at the st. david's exit and make a left onto lancaster ave.  all the shops are about 4-5 stoplights in).  to go to bryn mawr same directions, but make a right onto lancaster.  i love skirt!  it's my absolute favorite boutique.  in bryn mawr there are also a lot of boutiques, a lot of baby boutiques, kids shopping, etc...finally, if you go about a mile further on lancaster (past bryn mawr) is an outdoor shopping center called suburban square located in ardmore.  there's great food there, a lot of shops (chain and boutiques).  check out felini's for italian.  it has amazing food (i always get the fish though) and it is also a byob.

if you want the mother of all shopping malls (it beats the mall of america in my opinion because it has amazing quality of shops) is King of Prussia.  it's worth visiting the website, because it is so big.  i usually park by nordstrom, but if you want bloomingdales you'll have to park there.  there are two malls in one.  the plaza and the court (like i said, check out the website).  there's a ton of restaurants (i love california cafe) and a movie theater.  it is something that a lot of people make a day/weekend of. 

i hope those ideas help.  enjoy! i'm excited to go in may.