THE ONYX HOTEL IS NOT A GOOD STAY.
We stayed for 4 nights at the Onyx Hotel in Boston. We chose the hotel because it is in the Kimpton chain which has previously always delivered high quality rooms and service, until now. We also chose the Onyx because it is near the subway, Freedom Trail, and Little Italy.
The Problems
1. This hotel feels and looks like a tired Holiday Inn. The room was much smaller than we expected. It was stated to be 280 Square Feet and if you took out all of the walls, etc., it might be. The room appears to be only a couple of feet wider than a cruise ship room.
2. The carpet was stained in numerous places and does not appear to have been cleaned for quite a while. Parts of the carpet were not even vacuumed.
3. When we arrived and had seen the room we complained. This fell on death ears. The desk clerk said there was nothing he could do for us. During a later telephone call, the manager did give us a discount off the room. We told him my brother was coming in with his family later in the week. The manager said he would give their room the VIP treatment. When our family arrived,not only was there room a lousy, dark one but it also had a dirty carpet.
4. Two perks we have always enjoyed at Kimptons, until now, was the wine hour with good wine. We skipped the wine hour after the first two nights because the wine was terrible. Other Kimptons have served a variety of white wines. The Onyx had one cheap fruity wine that was awful. The other missing ingredient was free bottled water in the morning. Instead of giving you free bottled water there was an urn by the elevator with plastic cups. Better than nothing but not the nice cold water to take with you when you toured the city. In fact, this Kimpton had two sizes of bottled water in the room to select from. One was $6 and the other $4.
5. The lobby was tiny, dark and uninviting. The Rose room café was also dark and uninviting with high costs for breakfast items. We did not eat here so we cannot comment on the food.
6. My brother and family drove to Boston and had valet parking. He was charged $45 a night for the service. When we left in the a.m. we had to wait 30 minutes for the car to come.
Posistive Points
1. The location as mentioned above is pretty good.
2. Most of the staff were helpful with suggestions and directions, including
print outs for directions.
3. The manager did take $100 off the bill per night. This made the price about the same as a Holiday Inn.
4. There were ample supplies of complimentary coffee in the morning.
The prospects for the hotel becoming a real Kimpton appear quite limited. The lobby would have to be completely done over and made to feel more spacious and inviting. The rooms are so small that the possibilities for improvement are limited.
At least the carpet and house keeping could be improved.
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