02108 Travel Guide
Tags: Hotel Parking / Boston Hotels / Morgans Group Hotels / → All Tags
It's $42 a Night to Pahk Your Cah at The Ames Yahd
Outrageous hotel fees make our blood boil, and if WiFi is the king of offenders, hotel parking is a close second. And you know what really grinds our gears? The way hotels try to hide this info from you by not posting it on their websites, or by posting a note in fine print fit for a mouse that says “additional fees apply.”
This is the problem HotelChatter reader renaudl had recently, when looking for info on where to park for a stay this week at the Ames Hotel in Boston.
The Ames has directions to the hotel on its website but nothing about parking. No one answered renaudl’s email inquiry so we called the hotel this morning to find out that it offers valet parking for $42 a night.
Tags: New Year's Eve 2009 / Boston Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel Parties / → All Tags
XV Beacon Turns X and The Guests Get all the Gifts, Starting on New Year's Eve
Anyone with a birthday around the holidays knows it sucks. You get combo gifts (if any at all) and everyone’s too busy with holiday parties and shopping to celebrate with you. But in the case of Boston’s XV Beacon Hotel, the festive-season birthday means gifts for all. The hotel turns 10 on January 1st, and is marking the occasion with a 10th Anniversary Package.
The deal is available throughout 2010 and includes an automatic upgrade on your room and a XV Beacon “remembrance” gift. Then there is a menu of other “enhancements” for your package—you can pick one from a list of 10 add-ons, which include a bottle of Champagne, a 10-year Tawny, a full American Breakfast, or parking. The package starts at $410 a night.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Boston Hotels / Morgans Group Hotels / → All Tags
What We Ate at Woodward in the Ames Hotel
When we checked into the Ames Hotel last week, one of the things we were most looking forward to was the food. The lobster sandwich we ordered from the room service menu (almost identical to the menu in the restaurant) was generous and tasty, served with thin, salty fries, just the way we like them. (Although, as we mentioned yesterday, our beer arrived 20 minutes after the food.)
Breakfast
Woodward was fairly quiet at 9 a.m. on Saturday, so we snagged a prime spot in one of the chesterfield booths along the front window. Aside from the booths, there was a mix of small tables with white Windsor chairs, and bar-height tables with stools. The dark colors of the bar and booths was offset by the brightly lit curio-cabinets that wrap around the staircase up to the restaurant’s second level. (Upstairs there’s more tables, another bar, a fireplace and a private dining room.)
Tags: HotelChatter Reviews / Boston Hotels / Morgan Group Hotels / → All Tags
Inside The Ames Hotel in Boston
When we think of Boston hotels, we tend to think of stately properties like the Taj and the Fairmont Copley Plaza—places befitting the city’s preppy-Yankee vibe. But with the Morgans Hotel Group now in town, that image is getting a shake up. The new Ames Hotel brings some serious sexiness to Boston’s financial district, and you know what? We kinda like it.
Location
The Ames is just around the corner from Faneuil Hall, amid banks and legal firms in the financial district. And since this is Boston, where blocks are small, it’s also a short walk to Boston Common. The New England Center for Homeless Veterans is next door, and South Station is less than 10 minutes away on foot. During our stay at least, there was some noisy construction going on just down the block. The kind that wakes you up before 8 a.m. on a Saturday.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Boston Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / → All Tags
Watch Out W: The Ames Hotel Boston Is Now Open
UPDATE:Boston.com has some new interior pics of The Ames Hotel.
What a long way in such a short time The Ames Hotel in Boston has come. When we checked in on the hotel at the beginning of October, we were quite skeptical based on the construction work we saw going on.
But lo and behold, The Ames has gone ahead and opened itself up. Boston.com has the scoop on the hotel execs that made it out last night to the hotel's opening party:
The opening party for the Ames drew a long list of VIP guests including the project’s celebrated architect and designer David Rockwell, hotel partner Seth Greenberg, former “Top Chef’’ contestant Sam Talbot, who’ll be at the Ames restaurant, Woodward, until he moves on to another job in SoHo.
Congratulations, Ames! We're happy to see you made the opening date. And we're happy that Boston is getting some Morgans Hotel cool. No reason why NYC and Miami should have all the fun. But we bet the W Boston can't be too happy about this. Room rates at The Ames start at $225 a night for a 350-sq.ft. minimalist-designed superior room. If you use the special opening code we told you about--Spgrat--the rates come down to $180 a night. Meanwhile, the W Boston starts at $242 a night.
Tell us where you would rather stay--The W Boston or The Ames Hotel? Put your thoughts in comments below.
Tags: Hotel Opening Rate / Hotel Openings / Boston Hotels / Morgan Group Hotels / → All Tags
The Ames Hotel in Boston Will Open November 19 for $165 a Night
If you saw our HotelChatter gallery of the construction still going on at Boston’s almost-ready Ames Hotel recently, you’ll know that we were skeptical about the announcement of the November 19 opening date. But looky here, we now have details on a special introductory rate—and the opening is still set for the 19th. Promo deals and a date that’s holding steady. Can it really be true? Will we see the Ames throw open its doors just in time for Thanksgiving?
We sure hope so. And we hope to take advantage of that opening special—rates from $165 a night ($188.84 with tax), including complimentary upgrades to the next available room type at check-in (based on availability). Being accustomed to the steep rates at Morgans’ properties in New York City and Miami, this sounds like a pretty good deal. Assuming the hammers have stopped and the dust has cleared in the hotel’s hallways ...
Tags: Hotel Openings / Morgans Hotel Group / Boston Hotels / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
The Ames Hotel Boston is Almost There
The Ames Hotel from the Morgans Hotel Group was initially expected to open this month but according to the website's reservations system, guests cannot book a room until November 19th. Rooms will start at $299 for a standard room but HotelChatter got a glimpse at some of the construction last night and we wouldn't be surprised if this opening date got pushed back a little further.
The hotel is going up inside the historic Ames building which is rather stately and grand in its appearance but working within old buildings tends to delay hotel opening dates quite a bit. And we just can't imagine how they will finish everything up in time.
Tags: Kid-Friendly Hotels / Boston Hotels / Historic Hotels / → All Tags
Embarrass Your Kids With Costumes at Boston's Omni Parker House
Since we assume one of the main joys of parenthood involves dressing your children in embarrassing outfits, the new suite at Boston’s Omni Parker House Hotel is particularly intriguing.
The country’s longest continuously operating hotel, the Omni Parker House just unveiled a suite called the Freedom Trail, which invites kid travelers—and their parent escorts—to learn a little about Boston’s role in American history while also bunking in style.
Tags: VIP Hotel Reviewer Series / Boston Hotels / Boutique Hotels / Kimberly Murgatroyd / → All Tags
Boston's XV Beacon Hotel Still Passes The Jet Set Test
Once again, Jet Set Life's Kimberly Murgatroyd returns with another VIP Hotel Review. You may recall her last visit to the exotic Belvedere Hotel in Mykonos, Greece. This time she's landed stateside to revisit the XV Beacon Hotel. Enjoy.
Maybe I keep returning to Boston's XV Beacon Hotel because I'm a true New England girl at heart, or maybe it's that XV Beacon just gets what operating a luxury boutique hotel is all about. When you first walk into this, turn-of-the-century federalist meets modern hotel, there is an immediate feeling of warmth and a definite welcoming vibe.
Without a doubt, what makes this hotel so welcoming is the extraordinary staff that has turned anticipating a guests needs into an art form. From the front desk to the chauffeur, the staff could not have made us feel more at home. It's an obvious reflection of outstanding kindness and leadership from the general manager and the hotel's owner. The staff at XV Beacon are the heart and soul of this operation.
Tags: Hotel Hype / Hotel Openings / Boston Hotels / Morgans Hotels / → All Tags
Ben Franklin + Supermodel = Ames Boston, Opening This Fall
So if Ben Franklin had a child with a supermodel and then that child grew up to be a sorta-effeminate, chic-looking playboy with a Boston accent, we imagine it would turn out to be the human version of what Morgans Hotel Group's latest addition, Ames Boston, is hoping to be.
The hotel, opening in October or November of this year, will be located at 1 Court Street in a "Romanesque-Byzantine inspired structure" that was once the corporate headquarters for the Ames families' agricultural tool company, which the hotel's design team is incorporating into the theme and decor.
The lobby will have a mosaic, barrel-vaulted ceiling, a marble and brass staircase, and something called the “Mirror Chandelier” or “Mirror Cloud” installation — there will also be a two-story restaurant called Woodward.
The Ames will have 113 rooms that "are simple, serene, and quiet." Think light oak flooring (so no coffin-esque darkness), 10-foot high ceilings, and a bed upholstered with white cream-colored leather.
We'll keep our eyes peeling for opening date and rates — and as for that Ben Franklin/supermodel thing...we'll let you know how that turns out; but first we'll let you know that the partnership is actually how the Morgans people are marketing this thing. We didn't come up with that on our own.
Tags: Hotel Hype / Morgans Hotel Group / Boston Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
The Ames Boston Will Debut in October
Is Boston the new hot tourism market (or as much as a city can be "hot" in this economy?) On the heels of new airline routes starting out of Beantown by Virgin America and Southwest, we learn that Morgans Hotel Group--the folks behind the Mondrians and The Delano--will open The Ames this October.
According to the MHG website, the Ames will:
Inspire modern style and sophistication in the beautiful and historic Ames building. An experience rich with intelligent interpretations, completed by innovative new design, the Ames will give Boston and its visitors the dynamic experience for which Morgans is known.
The hotel, located near the Faneuil Hall shopping center, will have 120 rooms and the suites will have original fireplaces. Also on site will be a fitness center and a "vibrant" restaurant and bar.
We had some scoop on the hotel back in June which you can read here. Summer hasn't even arrived and already we're excited for Fall.
Tags: James Bond Hotels / Boston Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags
Nine Zero Hotel Zeros in on Bond Mania
Boston’s Nine Zero hotel may well have conquered the unthinkable--rolling every James Bond cliché we’ve ever heard into one hotel package. That said, this is Bond, James Bond we’re talking, so we’re gonna go ahead and swoon anyways. (Sorry, we’re simply pawns in his plan!)
On the heels of the U.S. release of the new Bond flick, “Quantum of Solace,” the Kimpton hotel wants you to “Strengthen Your ‘Bond’” while enjoying a “quantum of solace” in the hotel’s plush lodgings.
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