The Royal Sonesta Boston

The good: Room was very clean. I liked how they included free bottles of water. Parking was included in the room. Hotels in the city don't always do this, and they should, because it's way more convenient for customers. Breakfast was good. It included continental breakfast which is usually toast and a piece of fruit at other hotels, but here it was yogurt and granola, or oatmeal and so much of it we couldn't finish! The kids' breakfasts were amazing. Staff is super helpful and friendly. Really, they were fantastic. I couldn't complain about the staff at all. They were better than most hotels, actually! We complained about noise (see below) and they sent someone up to deal with it within 10 minutes. We've had to wait hours at other hotels for people to help us out with stuff like this. The bad: The pool was cold. Not just chilly, but like winter cold. The atrium where it is didn't seem to have heat, or if it did, it was broken or something. It was probably about 50 degrees in there. I wish I'd brought more than a thin coverup to wear after swimming. The pool was apparently heated, but it probably couldn't keep up with the temperature of the atrium, so it was about 65 degrees. I had to call our kids out of the water after 30 minutes because their lips were blue. The beds themselves were okay but the sheets were pretty hard for me to sleep on. I don't know if it was because they weren't cotton or if I was allergic to their detergent, but my skin was on fire all night. I had to sleep in my clothes. I went down to ask about it at 5am and the night front desk attendant said in the many years he'd worked there, he never heard of people being allergic to the sheets, but he did say that they send the bedding off to a service to have them cleaned and couldn't verify if the detergent had perfumes or allergens. I finally asked the management about this in the morning, and she agreed to not charge us an early departure fee since I couldn't sleep there our second night. The front desk lady was very understanding. Another win for great staff. So if you have sensitive skin and stay here - bring your own sheets. The walls are so incredibly thin, we were able to hear every word of our neighbors' conversation. When the woman laughed, it was as if she was in the room with us. We complained and the staff told them to be quieter (and they were, thank you), but we could still hear them using the bathroom in the middle of the night. Not just toilet flushing, but doors opening/closing, sink running and various bodily noises. Our room had a neat feature whereby if you get up in the middle of the night, a nightlight between the two queen beds turns on so you can see. It's a great idea in theory, but every time I woke up to use the bathroom or my kid dropped his stuffed animal off the side of the bed, the light went on and woke us up. We couldn't figure out a way to turn it off. They should remove this feature, or give customers a way to disable it. After the 3rd time it went off, we just put a bag in front of it. All in all, I wouldn't stay here again because of the sheets or the noise - maybe if the hotel wasn't full up the noise wouldn't have been that bad, but you can't always predict that. They need to put in some insulation in the walls or something.

One of our favorite things about the Sonesta is the ambiance and personal attentiveness -- the staff couldn't be nicer! They go out of their way to make your stay memorable. This time the standout employee was Emiliana at the onsite Starbucks counter! I had laryngitis and she made sure I had a nice big Medicine Ball hot tea every day, and she was the sweetest ever, always inquiring if I was feeling better, and urging me to drink more hot tea - which really helped. The rooms are always immaculate. We loved our stay....once again!

Waited over an hour just to check in. Unacceptable. Staff was not attempting to rectify the situation. Two staff members were purporting to check people in, but chatted with certain patrons for over half a hour each while the lines stretched back through the lobby. Did not call in other staff for help.

The Royal Sonesta Hotel in Boston has some undeniable positives. The staff is genuinely welcoming and attentive, and the service throughout the property is excellent. A standout is the on-site restaurant, Monteverdi, which delivers an outstanding dining experience with flavorful dishes and impeccable presentation. However, for business travelers or those reliant on connectivity, this hotel poses significant challenges. The internet speed is frustratingly slow—so much so that even sending a simple email becomes a chore. Adding to the inconvenience, cell phone service in the hotel is spotty at best, making it nearly impossible to use your phone as a hotspot. It feels like guests are being digitally locked in, which is far from conducive to modern business needs. The hotel's elevators have a bizarre quirk: if you're heading to the third floor, you must press another floor first to get the elevator to stop at your destination. This isn't just inconvenient; it also irritates other guests who find their ride unexpectedly interrupted. They have a sign stating the elevators are being replaced, but why not just shut down the wing for 24-48 hours at once rather than spreading the work across months. Breakfast service is another major disappointment. The restaurant doesn’t open until 7 a.m., and even then, the wait time for food OR room service stretches until 8 a.m. For those who work for a living and need an early start, this is unacceptable. Finally, the rooms are dated and in desperate need of renovation. While the property may have been luxurious in the past, the tired décor and worn furnishings detract from the overall experience. Overall, the Royal Sonesta offers excellent service and dining, but these positives are overshadowed by critical issues with connectivity, outdated amenities, and operational inefficiencies. Business travelers especially would do well to look elsewhere unless these problems are addressed.

Very poor customer service. We booked the bed and breakfast package rate. Upon check in, there was no mention of it. I asked the front desk how the bed and breakfast package works and was advised to go to Art Bar and charge our room. We did as advised, and a few days after our trip ended, we were charged for the breakfast bill. I have called 3 times about obtaining a refund and get a different answer with every person I've spoken to. The lack of customer service is unexpected giving the price of one night. Very disappointed.