South Somerset Service Plaza

We arrived here at 10:30 pm so it wasn’t busy at all, however it was SO nice inside! There is a Starbucks, Burger King, Popeyes, Pizza Hut and Auntie Anne’s. Starbucks and Burger King are 24 hrs.
The bathrooms were clean and there was even a small gift shop. It was a welcome sight after being on the road so long.

Service plazas are really stepping up their game these days. I was ready and excited to stop here! The bathroom was clean, the people working there were welcoming, and I got some tasty food from Burger King that didn’t make me sick an hour later. There were other restaurants, but BK was the least busy and I was the sole driver of a 12-​hour drive. Yeah. I just needed to refuel and be on my way. It’s a pretty attractive-​looking place, too.
If you want gas, you have to pay inside if you have cash. I was confused at first. «I have to go back in? The gas station isn’t its own standalone place? But yeah, definitely worth the stop!

Driving across the State of Pennsylvania has never been anything I’ve ever gotten excited about and although I’ve made the trip many times its never been something that I considered a bucket list item and honestly is something that I have tried to avoid each and every time, but my multiple stops for business in remote locations across the state usually prevents me from flying. I consider the interstate drive boring and the tolls expensive I’m not saying it’s not a beautiful state it’s just a lot of the same hours on end. There are three things consistent about this drive, you will stop for gas, you will need to find a restroom and you will need a refreshment of some kind. You can accomplish all three here so I’ve always considered this an oasis, not just a travel plaza, the fact that the main watering hole here happens to be a Starbucks, add in clean restrooms and plenty of fuel pumps it all adds up to a four star review I rarely past this place without stopping.

a vacation would be perfect right now… sighhh
this is actually a pretty decent pit stop!
Most of the ones on the interstate seem clean enough… though I know they are some shity ones… this ones great! When the visitor center is closed is when I get the most worried… Lets face it… Rest stops on the interstate can be a dangerous place! lots of shady people…

The better twin of the Somerset Service Plaza direction East towards Philly on the turnpike. This station has the name brand fast-​food shops. Clean and friendly and quick service.

These new rest stops are great — the only thing that they are missing is a little park-​like area to get some fresh air. I guess with our weather being either really, really hot or really, really cold, not many people are going to spend a lot of time outdoors while stopping at a rest stop, but it would sure be nice to be able to relax a bit, feel the sun on my face, and enjoy a little breeze during the long trips to and from Philly… This particular stop is great, and is usually where I choose to pull in about ¹⁄₃ of the way to Philly.

Composite review.
This has become another travel stop for our Pittsburgh to MD trips. Restrooms are maintained well, food courts are adequate but clean, generally reasonable prices for a travel/​service plaza. Good separation of cars from trucks and thus safe for everyone.
f8 and be there.

Great place to stop if youre like me and driving from ohio to new york. The place was packed because of holiday travel, but food service lines went along quickly… with the exception of starbucks.
There is a convenience store, starbucks, pizza hut, popeyes, and burger king here. Note: the fountain drink machines dont have a water tab, but you can still get a cup and get water from drinking fountains by the bathrooms.
Oh yeah and womens restrooms are pretty clean. I didnt have to wait that lomg and there were a lot of people.
Tl;dr clean bathrooms, fast food literally. Starbucks line is long though.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has done a good job modernizing the service areas along the turnpike. They are all more or less the same.
Most important, the bathrooms are clean and functional. The flushless urinals in the men’s room are quite amazing. The food courts are uninspired, but the consistency is useful. Starbucks is ubiquitous.
Even the gasoline prices seem to be reasonable compared to the gouging that was the norm in the past.
It is no longer a chore to make a pit stop, although it is still a long way from home.

I’m from the west, and we don’t have toll roads or service plazas. The whole idea was new to me. I have to admit that I liked the service plazas because there was a big selection of food in one place, clean restrooms, and fuel. All of this was available in one easy to find spot. I am not a fan of the toll roads though. What is gas tax, tire tax, and new car tax for if not to build and maintain roads?

This is a brand new service plaza and it shows. Bright and airy with a lot of hot food vendors to go with the pantry-​style items from the convenience store.

To clear up some confusion, both the North (westbound) and South (eastbound) plazas are brand new, as the old plazas were old and pretty outdated.
North (westbound) plaza has a Roy Rogers and South (eastbound) plaza has a Burger King.
The plazas are laid out well, although you tend to end up with a large traffic jam of people in the quick mart, which could have been made larger to accommodate a larger volume of people. The no-​flush urinals in the bathrooms smell bad all the time, but the plaza is otherwise pretty clean.

Clean Rest stop, I think the place is fairly new and they have nice and clean bathrooms. The food costs a bit much though, may be worth it to get off the highway somewhere else if you want a meal.

I guess it’s hard for me to pass this one up. Seems like its always time to take a break when this one comes up. But it does seem to be getting better. On my most recent trip the bathrooms were a lot cleaner. However it did take me 30 mins to get food and a drink because of all the people! I guess it’s inevitable to stop here, but with clean bathrooms and edible food I can’t complain. Much

This little «plaza» appeared surprisingly updated and had a decent assortment of food offerings, all situated as you would expect of a mall food court. There’s a Starbucks, a mini convenience type store, a Roy Rogers (cluck cluck, moo moo), a pizza place, a Burger King… and some other food offerings that I can’t recall.
Good place to stop for some grub and gas.

One of the older Service Plaza locations along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Still, like all the others, it was remodeled and is very, very nice. Spacious inside with plenty of restaurants to choose from.
There was a little line waiting to get fuel, but my wait wasn’t all that long.

PA service plazas are all about getting you to buy unhealthy food or souvenirs. they should plant some trees and try to create an actual «rest area» environment where one can forget one is on a highway. but since getting on and off the highway is something that involves going through toll booths and often a bit of a pain they have a captive audience in concrete barrier lined Penna Turnpike hell

This is the one on the eastbound side of the Turnpike:
Best ever. Clean. Great layout. Starbucks. Stop here. Done and «dunner».
North Somerset is great too.

This was a bigger than average service plaza with Popeyes and Starbucks and Burger King.
I tried the rest room. There was a sign that it was closed but then, they have two sides, and the other side was available. It wasn’t exceptional but it wasn’t dirty and the stall door locked. When I went to wash my hands, the first soap dispenser was empty, but the second ejected some soap and I was able to wash and later, dry my hands.
I didn’t try the food, but there were many selections.
The filling station was busy, as usual, but they removed the little booth they used to have and the attendant is inside the building. You can however, use your card at the pump. (Hope they check regularly for card skimmers – they’re getting smaller and more difficult to detect.) Since it was Sunoco, gasoline was available in 5 grades, and they didn’t supply 86 octane, thankfully, in order to make it seem less expensive. $ 3.549 wasn’t bad for today and it was cheaper further east on the Turnpike.

Not dirty, not clean. The male urinal rule is NOT followed. Too close, too much pee splatter. I do not want 400lb, hairy Joe that likes to pull his pants down to his knees while he makes rings in the bowl standing next to me again.
I had to touch people while I was leaving…
shudder…