Very Nice Hotel, Friendly Staff, Good Location

• September 2, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by baileybird from Dover, UK, United Kingdom

My family and I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Waterfront in Boston at the end of April this year.

We had a corner room facing towards the city and the fire station. The room was very luxurious, with a large kingsize bed and seating area.

The bathroom had a large shower, which was extremely powerful and huge bath tub that was very comfortable to relax in. The sink area had plenty of space for toiletries as well as a large pull out backlit mirror, very handy for applying makeup and putting in contact lenses!

Strangely the bathroom had a sliding door hatch above the bath tub that opened above the bed. This was great for chatting to my husband whilst in the tub, however it also meant that you could hear everything someone was doing in the bathroom. In the middle of the night, the light in the bathroom also illuminated the bedroom waking the other person up.

The pillows in the room, although very plump, when laid on flattened to nothing, making them very uncomfortable.
Apart from this the bed was very comfortable.

Rooms that face the fire station can experience some noise as from the activity of fire engines.

The bar in the hotel was really good place to relax in the afternoon or early evening, however at night was extremely noisy with loud music and became very busy. The beer nuts were really tasty! Prices are a little expensive, but no more so than a normal hotel bar.

The hotel has a court yard that looks out onto the waterfront. Again a very nice place to relax.

The staff were very friendly and helpful.

The hotel is about a 5 minute walk from the South Station, which is on the red line. The hotel is easily within walking distance Faneuil Hall, Chinatown, Downtown Boston, Boston Common and many other attractions.

From journal 3 weeks in Boston & Cape Cod

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Well, at Least I Got a Good Deal...

• July 22, 2009
• Rated 2 of 5 by bledpub from Waco, Kentucky

So we were pretty excited about staying at the Boston Intercontinental Hotel over the week of July 4th. Most hotels were outrageous that time of the year and by using Hotwire I got us a rate of $125 a night. I did some extensive research on the place and while I wasn’t completely happy with its location in the Financial District, I did like the fact that it was on the water and within walking distance to Faneuil Hall.

I should add, at this point, that I have a 2 year old and was traveling with my mother and my husband, as well as my child.
Upon checking in at the hotel, we were greeted cheerfully by the doorman and later by the bellman. No problems there. At the front desk, however, it was a different story.

First, there was the problem of the deposit. The hotel wanted to secure $100 per night as a deposit. Since we were staying 6 nights, that was $600. Now, most hotels want to do this. They also tell you that it’s for "incidentals" like using the mini-bar, ordering room service, and buying movies off of the television. I usually decline it. I stay in 4 and 5 star hotels all the time and as long as they turn off the pay per view movies and disconnect the phone so that you can’t call out there is generally not a problem.
The hotel also tells you that they are not really "holding" the money, just "securing" it. Well, my bank doesn’t know the difference. The minute the hotel runs it through, my bank thinks I made a purchase and that money is as good as gone until the hotel releases it upon checkout. (It should be noted here that I have banked at several different banks and almost everyone I have banked at has done this.)

So the woman here refuses to work with us. She tells us that it is "only" $100 per night and manages to embarrass us in front of everyone in line. Well, to me, $600 is a lot of money. That was my shopping money for the trip!

After several minutes of continuous embarrassment, she finally says that she can do the things that we requested but that we won’t be allowed to eat in any of the restaurants. I retort that yes we can, we’ll just pay cash like normal people and not charge it to the room. We end up leaving a $100 cash deposit, as requested by the manager.

The room itself was large but we looked onto a roof. I loved the huge bathroom and separate soaking tub. It was roomy enough for the four of us.

More complaints, however. My mom was upset that it didn’t have a coffee maker. My husband was upset that the "business center" consisted of 2 computers in the gift shop that charged $6 per 15 minutes. Even the Holiday Inn at the Cincinnati airport had free internet and computer access in their business center.

The pool was large and had a great view of downtown Boston, but it was awkward to get to. You had to walk all the way through the fitness center and go past a security desk to reach it. We didn’t use it.

The concierge, however, was wonderful. He was very informative and helpful and we utilized him a lot. One night a repair man came to our room to fix our tub and he even ended up fixing my son’s toy plane as well.

On our last night, around 10:00 pm, we remembered that we had left our $100 deposit at the desk. So we decided to order room service. It came to $75. After receiving our meal, we got a phone call from the front desk. Same woman. Said that we didn’t have enough on our account to cover it. My husband asked how much we had and she said $100. He asked her how much the meal was and she said $75. She then went on to say that we couldn’t use those services, however, without having all $600 on our account. My husband got angry and she said that she would talk to her manager. We never heard from her again. By then, our supper was ruined because we were stressed. So what were they doing, holding our money hostage?

The location was pretty good and it had easy access to the T. I would probably not stay there again, but maybe I am expecting too much out of my hotel stays these days.

On another note, the manager told my mom that the reason we were in a poor room was because we had booked through Hotwire and that they have those rooms put aside. You know, the bad ones.

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Exceptional New Hotel

• October 14, 2008
• Rated 5 of 5 by W. D. Perez-Leston from New York, New York

I have stayed at the InterContinental Boston a couple of times both on business and on leisure trips and I will keep visiting it.

The hotel is new and you can tell. The outside is pretty impressive, with its massive glass structure overlooking the bay (and therefore, providing quite good views of both the city and the bay from the rooms).
The lobby is big, nice and comfortable, with some chairs and sofas spread around to have a drink or wait for someone who's arriving late.

Staff is courteous, professional and fast, although the front desk might need another agent at specific times.

The rooms are as new as the rest of the hotel. Beautifully decorated in a modern-wood style with ochers and light tones mixed to create a soothing atmosphere.
Flat screens, full minibar, huge bathrooms that have both bathtub and shower, king-size beds, couch and a huge desk with a very comfortable chair.
Bathroom amenities are, so far, the most complete I have seen in the States.
Bathroom and bedroom can be connected through a wide sliding window if desired (at least in rooms with king-size beds).

Guest rooms usually fall between 300 and 550 USD.

Some of the hotel's other features are:
24 hour room service
Extraordinary bars and restaurants in the hotel (Miel French Brasserie, Sushi-teq and Rumba)
Wi-fi & cable internet connection
Extraordinary Spa with full treatments and body massages
Parking with a fee
Business centre and business services
Complementary newspaper if advised at check-in
Limo and car rental and Water-taxi service
DVD rental library
ATM
Check-in time: 2.00pm
Check-out time: 12.00pm

Hotel is member of IHG
Points program: Priority Club

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