After 117 years of existence, anyone would be in need of having a little work done, which is why we're excited to hear that Boston's Copley Square Hotel is finally being renovated.
While guests loved the historic hotel's location in the city's Back Bay, they also complained of peeling wallpaper, threadbare sheets, rough towels and erratic hot water. After the $14 million renovation, which should be complete later this spring, all 143 guest rooms at the hotel will have new interiors and baths, pillow top beds, new fabrics, fully stocked work stations with ergonomic chairs, iHomes and Wi-Fi--although no word on whether or not that Wi-Fi will be free.
The lobby and other guest areas also are getting revamped, as is guest services, which has been dubbed "just OK" in the past. The hotel is closed until further notice (though its Saint venue remains open) and if you're into architecture porn head to the hotel's web site for a renovation diary and a surprisingly candid blog maintained by the hotel's general manager.
The Colonnade Hotel in Boston loves its business customers, and has a new special that's bound to attract a few extra guests.
Luxist reports that until the end of June, anybody reserving a room on a weeknight can book the Bulls & Bears Package, and then your room rate will be calculated based on how the Dow Jones average pulls up at 4.30pm, stock market closing time. Unfortunately, there's no fancy formula which could get you a free room if the stock market went wild, but it is a win-win situation for guests whether things go up or down.
If the market average is up, you'll get 10% off the price of your room; and if it's down, you'll be able to drown your sorrows in a 20% discount off the room rate.
The room rates for the Bulls & Bears deals--before the discount--start at around $300. They include a double room and breakfast there, parking and internet access.
The Colonnade has recently finished a nearly $20 million renovation, so it might be a good time to check it out. Just try to check in on a day when the stock market is headed downwards and you'll be getting better value for money.
Let's say it loud and clear first of all: we don't think that the Jurys Boston Hotel has bed bugs. And they don't either, but they're using something special to make sure that it remains that way and they never have a case of ex-guests feeling itchy and bad-mouthing them to the world.
It's not a high-tech solution at all, but a cute one instead: Jurys Boston has a kind of a contract with a bed bug sniffer dog. Every three months, the dog takes a walk through all 225 rooms at the hotel and barks if he finds the vaguest scent of a bed bug or its eggs.
Late last year the sniffer dog barked in two rooms: as a result, Jurys fumigated both the rooms and burned the mattresses, even though they'd had no guest complaints. We kind of like this low-technology approach to make sure we have a good night's sleep without any bites or other nasty surprises.
Another tip from the Peter Greenberg list of "they're really green" hotels has come our way in the form of the Lenox Hotel in Boston.
We've mentioned the Lenox before and complained about the slow elevators but now we've got a reasonable excuse for them. You see, the Lenox Hotel, says Peter Greenberg, was one of the first places to offset the air pollution and carbon emissions of 100 percent of its electricity. We figure that it might be trying to use a little less electricity to reduce the emissions and they've set the elevators to the slowest setting. It's still faster than using the stairs, but they're an alternative.
The Lenox is also green for another reason: "Waterless urinals annually save 180,000 gallons of water." We're not keen on thinking too hard about how the waterless urinals operate but hey, it's only the guys who have to worry about that really. Gals, you can do your bit by remembering to turn off any lights you're not using.
More green news: Starting September 1, Jurys Boston Hotel will offset all the 225-room property's electricity consumption with a Renewable Energy Credit initiative. It sounds admirable, even though we still haven't quite gotten our minds around the actual impact of these offset programs beyond the favorable public relations they can generate when story-hungry writers like us bite.
If you're headed to Boston for this St. Patrick's Day weekend, you may want to stay overnight at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. But if you need to iChat with your friend in Dublin, just remember this place has wickedly slow WiFi.
However, this is a place to stay if you want to get in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day--which is drink your face off, wear ridiculous green clothing, stuff your face, sing some songs and then pass out/urinate in public.
That's because next to the hotel is M.J. O'Connor's Irish Pub, supposedly one of Boston's finest hidden Irish pubs.
On the menu, the bar serves "authentic Irish specialities" like Irish Stout Onion Soup, Guinness Beef Stew and of course, Shepherd's Pie. Luckily, you can get a regular old cheeseburger and fries if you wish, as well as a California Wrap.
However, keep in mind the place is upscale with actual table seating--not just bar stools--and finished mahogany wood furniture. There's no billiards table in the middle of the restaurant and instead of dartboards on the wall, M.J. O'Connors has hand-painted murals. So make this your pre-game stop and try to score one of the stone built hearths for some cozy seating.
Guesthouses can be tricky, not to mention a little scary. It's also hard to take a risk on a small independent when you can just run back to the safety of a points-earning chain.
Yet taking a detour of the main path can sometimes bring pleasant surprises. Or, you can take Budget Travel's word for it and try one they've already checked out.
Boston's Newbury Guesthouse comes highly recommended by the magazine and is listed as a "secret hotel" of the city. Well sure, it's not a Hilton. But this place doesn't seem so "secret" when considering the fact that it can be hard to find vacancy. So what is it about this secretive place that everyone apparently knows about?
Converted from three nineteenth-century brick town houses, it's in a prime location on the most happening street in fashionable Back Bay. All 32 rooms have classic Victorian furnishings, hardwood floors, and queen-size beds. What's more, they're drastically underpriced for Boston. Private parking is available around back for $15 to $30 a day, but with the trendy neighborhood out your door and several T stops nearby, you won't need it. Smaller rooms start at $99 in winter, $125 during peak times, others run $114 to $185. Rates include continental breakfast with bacon and eggs
Helas voila, $99 bucks for a charming room, breakfast, and hot property in Boston. This is one hotel chain bypass that makes sense.
RTP as it's called, is a go-to scene in town in the summer with prime cityscape views and of course, a bar.
For those of you simultaneously concerned about noise and fresh air when staying over, the joint just underwent a big renovation of its guestroom windows so that each room has floor to ceiling sound-proof windows that open.
On the flip side the hotel has a bit of a wireless access problem:
You get the picture, not anywhere near a 4-star hotel. Guestroom WiFi is contracted out to Guestlinx and is quite expensive - $39.95 for 3-days. It worked the first night, then the entire system went down; I spent a long time dealing with the outsourced automated system before getting to a human being in India or somewhere on a connection so bad he could not hear me and hung up. I had to start over. again, not 4-star service.
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by jennm
