Hotel AKA Back Bay

This moderately upscale contemporary hotel is clean, comfortable, and well located if you want to hit Boston's tourist attractions. Our room was large and well-furnished. Bed was great (best sleep in ages). No real complaints--and if you read my reviews you know I'm not shy about complaining when there's really something to complain about--but there were a few nits to point out. After a long flight, we arrived at the hotel late and by the time we got to our room it was after 2 am. The room was clean, pleasant, and we were ready to collapse. But the window blinds were up and the exterior lights from the buildings around the hotel glared into our room. Pull the blinds down, we thought. Easy enough. No, not easy enough. You needed a phone app to do it. To get the app, you need a QR code, then a visit to a blinds website, then read the instructions, decipher them, and carry out the steps needed to lower the blinds. Just what you want to do at 2 am. Why not allow guests to simply pull down the blinds? Sometimes high-tech is useless. And our Nespresso machine didn't work. No big deal, but when we told the desk clerk, he got a little snarky (lose the attitude, pal) implying we weren't tech-savvy and didn't how to work it. The tune changed when two of the hotel's techs also couldn't get the machine to work. I still don't understand why they spent 45 minutes fiddling with it when they could've just brought a second one that did work. Oh, I forgot, they did bring a second one. They couldn't get that one to work either.

This hotel was great from the minute I walked in and smelled the wonderful scent of the lobby. The staff was very attentive, rooms clean and good size. The location was close to so much that we could walk to. Looking forward to the next time I can book another stay at this hotel.

Excellent hotel with very comfortable bed and great location. My amex platinum lists this hotel in their portal in their Fine Hotel collection and they did not disappoint us. Though they don't have a spa in the hotel the food from The Berkley was excellent and portion sizes were good. We got early checkin too which was a great bonus.

Our first stay at Hotel AKA Back Bay in Boston.It definitely will not be our last. We have family in Boston with whom we spend the holidays. When we got to the hotel, Troy was at the front desk. He explained the goings-on at the hotel to us. He was very professional and personable. We shared a couple of laughs, which started our stay wonderfully. All the other hotel employees we met were very pleasant and willing to help and answer any questions we had. Ala in all? At least five stars!

We stayed here with our 4 year old for a family weekend getaway because it was close to the Titanic Exhibition at the Saunders Castle. It didn't disappoint. My son loved that we stayed in a building that was once headquarters of the Boston Police Department. We booked through Hotels.com which is what I usually use. The prices seemed the same on that site vs the hotel site. Check in and check out was easy and the staff were very friendly. Parking is valet at $68 per night, charged to the room with the ability to have the car whenever needed (for the most part) for no extra charge. Our car was out front in 10 mins this morning when we checked out. We used the T to get around and the nearest station is less than 10 minutes walk away (Arlington). The hotel was very clean, beds were comfortable, and the staff were very accommodating when our son had a bed wetting accident. I felt really bad because we used a pad on top of the sheets to protect the bed in addition to whatever they used on the mattress. The housekeeper was super nice about it and just changed out the bedding that morning and even got us all new towels and made the other bed too even though I told her she didn't have to. I thought it was a bigger deal than the staff. Any questions about the area and transportation I asked were answered accurately, which is super important to someone not familiar with the area. I was really impressed with how friendly and accommodating the staff were, to the point where my husband and I just aren't used to someone wanting to help with our bags (yes, I know they want a tip but it wasn't coming across that obvious). The hotel is within walking distance to all the shopping/stores on Newbury Street and is in a nice location. All the staff were excellent ambassadors of the hotel and the city. If we come back to the area, we would absolutely stay here again. They do have an on site restaurant. We didn't use the restaurant, mainly because of our 4 year old. Their website lacks a menu and says it's French inspired fare. We weren't going to take the risk of going without looking over a menu first. They serve breakfast but we decided to try a local bakery instead, again mostly because there was no menu available.