We were here for three days on a convention. We stay in hotels appx 75-100 nights/yr all over the country and it has been a while since we've been to one like this. The downstairs looks nice, a bit rough around the edges if you look closely. Location is great (1 block from the T), nearby restaurants are great (Legal Seafood, Smith & Wollensky), elevators were generally prompt, ballroom looked nice (but had a rough area or two). Then you get upstairs.
The hallways had these odd concrete blocks jutting out (where room service dishes would stay for hours). The doors had these odd curved door-in-door openings (?) that looked 50 years old.
The room was rather small, and stayed somewhat clammy (the air conditioner never really cooled much). The furniture was economy and old. The bathroom was small and part old, part redone -- an old industrial toilet (loud) and new shower with plastic false tiles (like you might see at a Days Inn). Oh yes, and hair (not ours). No counter space, the hairdryer was stuck in the top drawer of the dresser in the room. The plastic Kleenex box cover had its bar-code sticker still on it. Classy.
The room was a religious experience -- the sheets and towels were holey (towels were threadbare). Even if a place is undergoing renovations, there's no excuse for that. At least the beds were moderately comfortable. Oh yeah, and twice I saw a gnat or somesuch flying thing in the room. No roaches (glad we didn't see *those* reviews beforehand). Small closet.
Internet was cabled-Ethernet (in downtown Boston, while we get free wireless in the boonies of Mississippi???) and $10/day. And while we're on the subject of downtown hotels with business clientele, no daily newspaper? Faxes aren't delivered to the room (first time we've had that happen at a convention). They advise 1/2 hr lead time to retrieve your car from valet parking ($36/day). And housekeeping wandered in once without knocking.
We asked others in the conference if their rooms were worse than ours and they said yes before we even related our stories.
We thought we were going to an upscale property, it wound up being a rather blah economy hotel at a upscale price. Don't judge this book by its cover.
Boston was great, though.
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