I had a two-night stay in October about seven months after the hotel opened. I had enjoyed staying at two Canopy properties in Europe (Reykjavik twice and Zagreb) and was interested to find what Canopy hotels would be like in the US.

Check-in

I arrived before 1:30pm having taken an unplanned detour from the Blue Line State station and was able to check in. The receptionist mentioned something about an upgrade but what I got seemed like a standard king room. I get the impression that status recognition is not the norm at Canopies. At the two European Canopies I had stayed at everybody got free breakfast regardless of their status and early evening drinks and canapés were available to all guests. The reception at Canopies in Reykjavik and Zagreb consisted of a table with a laptop but this one had a more traditional checkin counter.





Room

It was a standard award stay (80,000 points per night) and my second floor room had a view of a parking garage across the street. The room was reasonable in size and nicely decorated. I hadn’t realised the canopy above the bed was the signature feature of the brand. In Reykjavik and Zagreb the canopy was not obvious. The website linked in the first post describes the rooms in great detail.



If you look at the textile closely you can see George Washington running the Boston Marathon and Abigail Adams sitting on a couch, watching the Patriots play football on a flat-screen TV!



The bathroom reminded me of other Canopy properties I had stayed at.



Other common features were coat hangers with mottos, open storage space, “Do not disturb” signs and absence of plastic water bottles.







Location

Once I got my bearings I found the location of the hotel very convenient. It’s less than 5 minutes’ walk to Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market and the Old State House, and 15 minutes to Boston Common. There’s a weekend vegetable and fruit market right next to the hotel and Boston Public Market with casual eateries and takeaway food is 3 minutes’ walk away.





View from 2nd floor


Haymarket


Boston Public Market


Service and amenities

There’s a Nespresso machine and a small fridge drawer in the room. Although I didn’t use it, a Transfer Lounge is a feature of Canopy properties where you can store a bag in a locker after checkout, spend a day in town and return to have a shower before leaving. Instead of plastic water bottles, empty glass bottles are provided in the room for guests to fill water from a dispenser in the hallway. There are also orange-coloured bicycles guests can use. However, unlike Canopy properties I visited in Europe there were no early evening drinks/canapés.



Water dispenser.


Public area

Public area of the hotel has an eclectic selection of furniture and reminded me of other Canopiy properties I had visited.
















Dining

Only one of the two planned restaurants was open. I only had breakfast in the Rose Town Kitchen to make use of my $18 daily F&B credit. As you can see from the menu there’s not much one can have for $18. I had Eggs Benedict and Earl Grey tea on the first morning. Eggs Benedict was ok but a tea bag and hot water for $4? On the second morning I just had a smoked salmon sandwich which turned out to be a good choice because I could take half of it to eat on the train later.









Conclusion

I am not sure if this would be my hotel of choice in Boston. The location is great for tourists and had I stayed in a better room (it has a small number of suites and balcony rooms) I might have felt differently but I wouldn't pay $650 plus per night (in mid-October) to stay in a standard room.