This hotel is extremely central, rooms were decent plus we found a great rate on Expedia. I had read the other reviews and they were mixed, but we decided to take a chance because of the price and we were happy we did!
Location - The Good (actually The Great): This hotel is pretty much central to everything, but handiest for Newbury Street, Boston Common, the Trolley Tours office, Chinatown and Charles Street. If you like walking, you can actually walk everywhere without needing to pay for the expensive Trolley Tour or taking the metro... go for the Duck Tour if you must, but it looks kinda goofy and again, you can definitely walk it all: Boston Common = 1 min, Newbury Street = 5 mins, Chinatown = 10 minutes, Charles Street, 10 minutes, Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market = 25 mins, Aquarium and waterfront = 25 minutes, Boston South End's trendy new restaurants and bars on Washington = 15 minutes, Copley Square and the Prudential Building = 20 minutes. Fenway and Cambridge would be the only sites I would have taken a cab or the metro to get to.
Location - The Bad: Parking is difficult wherever you are in Boston, there is no on-site parking but there are a couple of lots nearby. It's also quite touristy (on account of being so central), so staying in a smaller B&B or executive apartment rental right in the Newbury area is another option.
Accommodations - The Good: The Deluxe Room (we paid $179 CDN plus tax per night) was perfect for us (2 adults, 1 toddler). The king bed was super comfortable and had a duvet (I hate scratchy army wool blankets), more than enough pillows and an extra blanket. There was a pull-out couch but we didn't use it. It had plenty of room to hang out and for our daughter to play. Decent sized closet with ironing board and iron. The room was clean, and quiet aside from some rowdy guests coming in after a night out (it was Labour Day Long Weekend tho). Also, there is a gym and there is a night club attached to the hotel, in fact, it is quite astounding, the number of restaurants attached to the hotel.
Accommodations - The Bad: It's obviously a grand old hotel that has seen more glamourous days, the lobby really sets you up to think you've lucked out, but it's the nicest part of the hotel. It's a little cheese with the player piano in the bar. The carpets in the room were a bit worn and stained in some places. My only real complaint about the room was that near the window, it smelled mildewy or something but our view was of the roof so I didn't stand by the window very much anyways. The furniture is clearly not high-end since it's already been scratched even though it looks quite new. The bathroom is very very small and badly in need of a facelift, the radiator in the bathroom was really old and looked like it had been painted over 200 times, making it hard to clean well. The tiles on the floor and wall are at least 40 years old. However the tub and shower have been updated with those one-piece jobs you see in newer hotels. No marble or jacuzzi but functional. I felt the bathroom was decently clean, it just doesn't have that shiney new look. Also, be sure to make sure your room as an actual tub, and that it's not just a stand-up shower, the 360 virtual tour on their website shows a Standard Room that looks to only have a stand-up shower. There are no safes nor fridges in the rooms which we thought was weird. Another weird thing was that you call and leave a voicemail for the quick-check-out vs. using the tv.
Service - The Good: The front-desk people were extremely nice and happy to be helpful. We wanted to make sure we got a renovated room (given the mixed reviews on TripAdvisor and some scarey pictures), and as it turns out, they say all rooms have been renovated. We left notes at the front desk for our friends, they gave my daughter an apple while we were waiting, they were polite and professional. Our room was cleaned well and on time.
Service - The Bad: Nothing negative to say about their service.
If location is your top priority but you still want a decent room, this is a great option. If you are still concerned about the bathrooms, ask about the Tower Rooms, they look much nicer and advertise beautiful bathrooms, the concierge said those were the rooms that were completely renovated.
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