wizzy

Checked in tonight for a two-night stay. I typically stay at the Westin Copley, but found a good rate ($199), and with the short week, thought I'd check it out.

At check-in, two staffers at the desk, a couple of people in line. The Gold/Plat sign was on the desk, but off to the side where no one was working. Plat status was acknowledged about halfway through the check-in process. "You are already set up for points", with no mention of any other options. My rate is supposed to include free tickets to the MIT museum; no mention made of that. I'll follow up tomorrow.

Was upgraded from a standard king to superior 2-queens. No mention made of the ugprade; I would have been surprised at the queens if I hadn't checked my reservation on-line. Suites were showing available last night, but none today. Superior seems to be nothing more than top floor (8th), and better toiletries. Two of the toiletries are orange blossom, one grapefruit; I found this discrepancy odd.

Room feels very Sheraton-ish. The renovation planned for later this year will be a good thing. The tub seems very short. I'm not a bath person, but there wouldn't be much room for me to spread out. 25" tube TV, analog thermostat. Two bottles of water in the bathroom. Both glasses and plastic cups available. View of the Boston skyline, but in the foreground are a bunch of parking garages. AC/heating is rather noisy.

The fitness center seems to be a converted guest-room (larger than my room, so may be 2+ rooms). It now has four treadmills, up from three in the OP. There was heavy rain this afternoon, and it appears that the roof may leak a bit (bucket in the hallway on the 8th floor, along with a yellow "wet floor" tripod).

The hotel definitely has a non-standard feel, particularly in the decorations (previously described by other posters), but not as polished as the LM Munich (my only other LM experience). I hope that the renovation will carry that uniqueness over to the room decor and amenities. In the mean-time, I won't be in a hurry to return, as I feel that it's a definite step down from the Westin.

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Adding some additional details:
- Star Market (grocer) is open from 7a-12a. This is a full-size grocer, not a mini-mart.
- The TV channel selection is weak (PBS, HBO, CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, ESPN, CNN, Headline News, Disney, CNBC, MSNBC, Weather). No ESPN2 (no Cubs game for me tonight) or NESN, which the other Boston Starwoods seem to carry.
- My issue with the museum tickets was resolved. Clerk was a bit confused, but said they'd send them up. They were in my room when I got back tonight.
- Nice selection of complimentary papers in the lobby. WSJ, Boston Globe, NY Times.
- I second the Burnt Caramel at Tuscani's. Just had it for the first time. Tasty!

DFWFlier

Does anyone know if this hotel is nonsmoking? I just booked a room and it indicates smoking, but thought Starwood was smoke free.

Starwood Lurker II

Hi DFWFlier,

Not all our brands in the US are completely smoke free at the moment. LM is one example and for this property(even though it is in the States), there are non smoking rooms available(and smoking rooms as well).

[email protected]

nuggets

I'm currently staying here. I'm a Plat. I booked a King room and got upgraded to a suite. Room 702 to be exact. Positives are that I got upgraded without asking, the staff is very friendly, the restaraunt/lounge is nice, bed and linens are very comfortable, and I love that it's attached to a supermarket (Star Market) for the quick snack, etc... Negatives for me are the decor. It's a very bland looking hotel in my opinion. The color scheme is very muted. Mostly beiges and tan colored wood. The bathroom is pretty tiny and the fixtures aren't that great (design wise, not functionality wise). The furniture in the room looks a bit worn and is very Ikea-ish. The lobby and hallways seem a bit cold IMO and the technology theme is kinda weak (note that I'm from Silicon Valley so perhaps I'm a bit fussy when it comes to tech. influences). Overall a good experience, but I'm going to try a different SPG property when I come back to Boston. Perhaps the Westin Copley.

thepointsguy

Agree that this hotel is a bit frumpy...the gym is tiny too- its basically a converted guest room. I'm still amazed at the chunky old TVs.. IMO a hotel that charges $300 a night in 2008 should have nice flat screens/ plasmas. Anyway, you can't beat the location if you are visiting MIT, but otherwise I'd stay at the Commander if you are visiting Harvard or the Westin Copley if in downtown Boston.

awc4

Had a decent stay at the Le Meridien Cambridge, which I recall with fondness when it was the Hotel@MIT. It hasn't really changed much from what I can recall.

I really liked the physics equation blanket that they have in the rooms, not sure if this is something that I would be able to buy, as it's the perfect gift for a friend. I know that you can get the Westin@Home stuff through the catalog that I keep seeing at various Westins, does anyone know if this is something that I can buy somewhere?

cliff_rock

I stayed in a recently remodeled room this week. The new work features a flat screen TV and new decor. More in line with my understanding of the Le Meridien brand. Same desk, dresser, etc. and bathroom as previous. Though shower head was updated to Speakman after switch from Doubletree.

The math/science art prints have been replaced by black/white abstract art. The physics bedspread replaced by plain white comforter on a bed with white fabric headboard (nice now but eeewwww in a few months?). My King room had a red fabric chaise lounge. New modern-appearing lamps and light fixtures.

The gym is the same, thought the website said it was closed in Feb for remodel. Per the manager, new equipment and entertainment (I assume on the equipment) will arrive mid-March.

Final aside, the last two times I've visited, they tried to put me in a 2DB room when I had a King reserved. They positioned it as an upgrade, as the 2DB was on top (aka SPG) floor. However, only stated benefit of SPG floor (other than elevation) was bottled water.

cliff_rock

They have all new equipment in the gym ^. 3 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, 1 upright bike, 1 recumbent bike. They all have a TV integrated. Also a universal gym setup, and free weight rack.

The room is no larger, so there's not much space if you want to stretch. However, the equipment is positioned better, giving the room a less cluttered appearance. There is new flooring that feels kind of rubbery to the step.

wck4

I stayed here a few times when it was a Hilton, and just came back again for another stay.
First off, what is with the TERRIBLE smell in the lobby and hallways? It reeks! Very moldy, swampy smell that's just overpowering. I was there for 3 days and the smell never dissipated. Ugh. Thankfully it didn't smell much in the room, but I made a run for a scented candle the first day to try to ward off the stench.

Besides the smell, the hotel is still pretty decent. I miss the nerd cartoons. Love the location- I used to live nearby so Central Sq always feels like coming home in a way. As a gold was put on the 7th floor (floor had plaque saying SPG floor or something), with free bottled water in the rooms.

But still. I can't imagine what's causing the horrible smell in the lobby area, or why I didn't see any attempt to remediate it after 3 days. Baffling.

Quasiconvexity

Just got back from a stay at the LM Cambridge. No amenities for being Gold - was put into a room on the 6th floor right next to the Elevator. That being said, the rooms are nice and free wi-fi is a plus ^. The location is great - right next to a bunch of restaurants and bars. Had to go to MIT for a conference and managed to hitch a complimentary ride on the Hotel shuttle (Lexus SUV), which was sweet!

Oh, and the prev poster was spot on about the smell in the lobby - it reeked!

wck4

Free wifi was very nice, but sloooow! I ended up back on my EVDO connection.

Anyone have any idea what that smell is? It sort of smelled like mold from water damage, but much stronger & more overpowering.

JCinNYC

I stayed there this weekend and it was a nice hotel, not up to LM standards but decent. Good location, easy access to public transportation and good restaurants around. I thought Central Sq wasn't that nice, lots of crazy people asking for money!

As a gold I got a room on the SPG floor (7th) and like everyone said, got bottles of water everynight. Free wi-fi was good, didn't use it much so I can't comment on slowness of it. It was a good deal overall for the rate that I paid, $150/night for a room with two queen beds.

Quasiconvexity

Stayed here for 4 nights over last weekend. Second stay this year. Check-in process was average - no staff at the Gold/Platinum desk; the front-desk staff acknowledged that I am a Gold guest but no upgrades as hotel was supposedly fully booked (none were expected, in any case). Was initially assigned an ADA-compliant room but went back to request a change and was assigned a room on the top floor. The staff were efficient but had a brisk manner (no smiles or friendly welcomes here!)

Room itself was fine, although the walls are really paper-thin...could hear everything in the adjoining room. The corridor smelled strongly of cigarette smoke one evening (it is a smoke-free hotel) so I called the front desk and complained...wonder if they caught the perpetrator.

Used Fitness room a couple of times...nice enough but definitely on the small side. The location is quite nice and you can walk it to Harvard Square and to the MIT campus on the other side. Lots of bars and restaurants nearby - the irish pub next to the hotel has mostly bleh food. The free internet connection had slightly better speed this time (compared to my last stay). Also made use of the business center on the ground floor to print out BPs when leaving. The hotel is right next to the Star Market which is actually very convenient - went in and brought an umbrella as protection from unexpected showers.

Decent stay - had a birth year rate so it was extremely reasonable overall.

Tinkerer

I was a bit nervous about my stay at the LM Cambridge a couple weeks ago after reading the reviews on the lobby stench and am happy to report it's gone.

Overall, this is a good hotel if you want to stay within walking distance to the MIT/Harvard area. Rooms are comfy. Central Square gives lots of things to do and a walk by the river is moments away. Having Star Market next door is very convenient. Just don't expect much in the way of decor or staff.

For those of you who remember the property from it's Hotel@MIT days, that decor is all gone. The library (which was comfy to chat in or read it and would have made a wonderful lounge) is now a generic conference room.

As kingsubbu puts it above, the staff "had a brisk manner (no smiles or friendly welcomes here!)."

In our experience,
1) Once we got to our room (SPG floor), the lights were not working, other than in the bathroom. Our room was changed -- thanks to the hotel engineer who insisted to the front desk that it was necessary (the front desk sent someone up to "show [me] how to work the lights" and then repeatedly asked the hotel engineer if he couldn't fix it instead of having to change our room when he confirmed the issue). Given that it was very late when we arrived to Boston, would have expected this to be a smoother process.
2) We requested slippers and were told that they didn't have slippers ("waiting for a shipment"). Later in the morning, we found that the housekeepers did have access to them...

Two tips on parking and exercise facilities:
* For those of you who use parking, if you aren't going to be going in and out, it is significantly cheaper to pay the garage fees directly. Also, you can pay for parking at Star Market if you make any purchases and they will grant you a $3.50 discount on the $22 24-hour parking fee.
* For those of you who decide to use the pool and exercise facilities they advertise in the hotel info binder (at the MIT Zeiger Center), you'll be best off getting a weekly (and if relevant family membership) directly at the Athletic Center.

mahasamatman

I forgot to post when we stayed there, but over Memorial Day weekend, we stayed there twice as SPG Gold (with a Sheraton Commander stay in between). First night - upgraded to Presidential Suite. Second night - upgraded to a smaller two-room suite. The only problem with our stays was that they didn't credit the help desk booking bonus - I had to call for that. Other than that, we loved it!