I

t’s been close to a century since Wm. Mulherin’s Sons transacted any business from their whiskey-bottling plant in Philadelphia’s Fishtown. For decades, all that remained was this 19th-century building, until it reopened as a fantastically successful wood-fired Italian restaurant, serving first-rate pizza, pasta, and cocktails to residents of this up-and-coming neighborhood. Except it didn’t stop with locals — Wm Mulherin’s Sons is a phenomenon that’s famous far beyond Fishtown, and before long it became clear that a few bedrooms, to accommodate far-flung travelers, wouldn’t go amiss.

And that’s the story of how Philly’s emerging creative district came to have one of the most celebrated new boutique hotels in the United States — and a pocket-sized four-room boutique hotel, at that. What’s the secret? Partly that the hotel rooms trade on the same blend of unfakeable historical atmosphere and even-better-than-the-real-thing retro-inspired contemporary design that you’ll find downstairs in the restaurant. It feels somehow both fresh and well-worn, consciously designed and spontaneously evolved. Custom furniture and wallpaper help avoid that off-the-rack feeling, and while plenty of rough edges intentionally remain, these rooms are subtly, inconspicuously luxurious. It’d be a great argument for a trip to Philly even if it weren’t right upstairs from one of the best restaurants in town.