PHOTOS BY LAURA PETRILLA

The North Side’s Priory Hotel, built in 1888, is comfortable in the most home-away-from-home sort of way. Staying at the former monastery-turned-42-room hotel, which retains many of its original features, feels like staying in a small European inn — or even the stately home of a distant relative.

Aside from Monk’s Bar, a three-table bar off the lobby, and the fitness center, you’ll spend most of your in-house time relaxing in the Priory’s charming rooms. A handful of dining options are within blocks of the hotel; the Priory’s complimentary shuttle service, which brings guests to points throughout the North Side, Downtown and the Strip District, stops at many of them. The Andy Warhol Museum, Children’s Museum, PNC Park and Cultural District are all less than a mile away; Heinz Field, Stage AE and the Carnegie Science Center sit just a short distance farther down the North Shore.

The Priory’s daily complimentary breakfast is as quaint as its rooms. Guests are welcomed in the refectory, which overlooks the courtyard, for bagels, pastries, fruit and coffee. As is the case at a bed and breakfast, guests can often be found chatting amongst themselves or chumming it up with the staff.

Inside the original rooms, the wrought-iron headboard, maple side tables and classic white robes in the armoire will make even ordering delivery and watching a movie feel like a memorable (and classy) affair.

Comfort:
Each room contains the typical hotel accoutrements — ice bucket, coffee maker, etc. — but the style of the rooms themselves is more than charming. Staff are helpful and available to answer questions but never pushy or intrusive.

Activities:
The Priory’s location is within walking distance of three amazing Pittsburgh neighborhoods: the North Side, the Strip District and Downtown.

Hidden Features:
The Priory gets its name from its former life as St. Mary’s Priory. Benedictine monks lived here and served in St. Mary’s Church, which is now Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall at the Priory, a popular venue for weddings and events.

History:
The three-story skylight, door and window hardware and other features are original to the building, as is the walk-in safe inside Monk’s Bar, which served as a place to store important parish documents such as baptism certificates and records.

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