Last year for Christmas we decided to use the time off to do something a bit different. We ended up booking a holiday to the USA with two stops in New York and Boston. This review is of the hotel we stayed at in Boston, The Boston Park Plaza.
++++++++++Booking++++++++++ I booked our stay through Expedia www.expedia.co.uk and was paid upfront, I managed to get the hotel for an average rate of £50.10 per night for the three nights, on top of the room rate there is also the dreaded tax which was £7.87 per night. The hotel has it's own web site where you can make a booking and have a look at the facilities etc www.bostonparkplaza.com, although I would recommend going through a broker site as the rates will be a lot cheaper, due to them buying rooms in bulk.
++++++++++Location++++++++++ The park Plaza is located in the Back Bay area of Boston. The hotel is located on the junction of Arlington and St James Ave, there is a very large multi-storey car park or garage as the Americans like to call them across the street. There is also Arlington station a MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) station within 100 metres, this is on the
green line a very handy line as it stops at most of the tourist areas such as the science museum, art gallery, prudential tower, and the government centre, and at $1.25 it is a bargain.
The Hotel is very near the Boston Public Garden which is very picturesque and has a beautiful pond which is the summer you can take a Swan paddle boat, unfortunately for us the pond was frozen so no paddle boats this time. Copley Square is about a ten minute walk from the hotel, or available on the MBTA
++++++++++Formalities++++++++++ Standard check in time is 3pm which is later than some hotels but is reasonable and was fine for our trip as we didn't arrive till around then. The reception counter is very large and there were three people working when we arrived so we were seen to very promptly. Our reservation was found with no problems, and was prepaid as expected, a swipe of my credit card was taken for any incidentals we might choose to have such as the bar, restaurant or an in room movie. The hotel has the modern credit card door entry system so two door keys were given to us, to allow us both access the room.
The standard check out time is 1200, and checking out was a painless as checking in, I elected not to use the express check out as we needed to check our luggage as we weren't leaving until later that evening, after checking the bill and authorising a charge to my credit card we were done. The express check out where you can either check out using your in room TV or by signing the bill that is slipped through your door during your final night, if you do express checkout the credit card you presented at check in is charged.
++++++++++Room++++++++++ The room we had was quite large with a double bed, desk area in the corner for working at and plenty of hanging space and draws to put your clothes in. We had an external view which overlooked the garage and some restaurants' across the road, there are rooms with internal views which would not be as good. During the day there could be a fair bit of noise from the traffic and police cars etc but over night this was not noticeable to me. The décor of the room and bath room was very tidy and look clean, it looked as if the hotel had recently undergone a refurbishment.
Other facilities in the room included complementary coffee making, an internet connection, TV, Iron and the normal smellies in the bathroom, on thing that was missing was a in room safe, although there were complimentary safety deposit boxes at reception. The internet connection was charged at $9 per 24hrs and was a pure Ethernet connection, so not much use if you didn't have your laptop with you, I would have expected to see this connectivity free in this day and age. The TV had a vast selection of the rubbish cable TV channels that you get in America, so most of the time was spent flicking as there was never anything on, but you could order a movie on demand for $12.99, the selection was pretty recent, although we never tried this as we were out most of the time. You could also get internet through the TV at a cost of $12.99 which I did try, It was pretty poor as a number of websites didn't work very well and the resolution was abysmal, so I wont be using that kind of service again. There was also a cordless phone as well as a normal phone in the room, quite why you would need a cordless phone in a hotel room that is not very large is beyond me but there was one there for you.
The room was serviced everyday as you would expect, the coffee making equipment was replenished as were the smellies. The selection of towels available to dry yourself with was vast with at least six for each of us, of course of varying sizes. The hotel had the these days standard policy of having to request your towels to be changed by placing them in the bath, they also had a similar policy with the bed clothes where a card had to be placed on the bed if you wished them to be changed.
++++++++++Facilities++++++++++ The hotel was built in 1927 has 941 rooms and as with most American hotels has a very grand lobby, which at the time of our visit was decorated with A huge tree and other Christmas decorations. There are the standard service you would expect from a hotel, complementary luggage check, free safety deposit boxes and a full concierge service. There are also additional services that I would not expect valet parking, shoe shine, beauty salon, business centre and a gift shop.
There is a main bar in the hotel which was quite pleasant and not too expensive for drinks, this was quite an informal area just off the main lobby. It had complementary news papers and TV's showing the local news channel. As for eating the hotel has a number of restaurants' that occupy space around the ground floor level of the hotel these are as below.
• Todd English's Bonfire Steakhouse • Whiskey Park - Bar and Night-club • McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant • M.J. O'Connor's Authentic Irish Pub • Finale - All Desserts restaurant • Swans Cafe Lobby Bar & Restaurant
We never actually ate in any of these, but we did spend some time in the Authentic Irish Bar, which was not that authentic, but there we go.
++++++++++Opinion++++++++++ For the money we paid this hotel was in my opinion exceptional! The location is very good for the tourist as most tourist traps can be walked from it or there is a MBTA station on the doorstep. If you also choose to drive there is a valet parking service, which is chargeable or a car park across the road. The rooms were of high quality and a decent size with a good number of facilities.
If I have a reason to revisit Boston I would look to stay at this hotel again as it was very good value for money and had everything I wanted whilst I was away.
Pictures of Park Plaza Boston Hotel and Towers, Boston
The Lobby with Christmas Tree
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Sounds like good value for central Boston. Good review. Duncan
tekin21 19.01.2006 15:12
I took myself off to Boston for the weekend while I was working in NY at the end of 2004, unfortunately I picked a weekend when the NY Yankies were playing the Boston Red Sox at home, I ended up in some remote comfort Inn a train ride outside of Boston. Shame I couldn’t get into this hotel sounds great and the Back Bay area is a great location. Jane x
fabulous_girl 16.01.2006 16:39
sounds nice, will visit when i win the lottery and am able to travel!
This historic hotel, built in 1927 and located in the heart of Boston’s famous Back Bay, ... more
is a combination of old-world charm and contemporary sophistication offering exceptional customer service in an unrivaled location. Surrounded by numerous attracti...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Location. The Boston Park Plaza Hotel stands along Park Square east of the Back Bay area ... more
of Boston, Mass. The Arlington ''T'' stop is located less than two blocks away. This property is positioned two blocks from Newbury Street and three blocks from t...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Location. The Boston Park Plaza Hotel stands along Park Square east of the Back Bay area ... more
of Boston, Mass. The Arlington ''T'' stop is located less than two blocks away. This property is positioned two blocks from Newbury Street and three blocks from t...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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