acker

Wound up staying at Hilton Back Bay Friday night and Ames Boston Saturday night. It's been 2 yrs since I stayed at BB and was surprised how dated the room room was, especially the bathroom. They've updated the Diamond lounge off the lobby but it still strikes me as a penalty box - a room with no windows and not inviting. It's directly across from the restaurant that at least has windows facing the street. We paid the extra $10 each to eat breakfast in the restaurant - a buffet, nothing special. So, Hilton Back Bay is not high on my list. It does have nice views though, we were on 19th floor overlooking Fenway.
Having said that, unless the rate at Ames was considerably lower than other Boston Hilton properties I wouldn't book Ames again. Lobby is almost non-existent, elevator lighting is such that it was hard to read the buttons, the room was tiny, bed was low, didn't care for the location of the desk at all - attached to the wall and next to the closet. The breakfast was straight out of a Hampton Inn. Boston is chock full of great bakeries (the awesome French-based Paul Bakery is 30 seconds away) but the baked goods looked like they had been taken out of their cellophane packaging earlier in the morning. Eggs overcooked, bacon underdone and limp. Yes, coffee is good. Yes, they had greek Yogurt -Okios, I think. Waitress was great. I ran to Paul, bought an almond croissant and ate it in the small breakfast spot off the lobby.
I like large hotels with big lobbies. If I had family visiting Boston I'd choose Back Bay or Financial District. Back Bay is close to lots of shops, stores, restaurants, museums, transportation options. It's showing it's age but I'd still choose it over Ames.
SPG blows Hilton out of the water when it comes to Boston properties, but if price is the biggest factor, I'd still book a stay at either Back Bay, Financial District (or distant 3rd) Ames.

Simon Schus

Thanks for your review, acker I just wanted to clarify: is the Hilton Financial District the Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall? (i.e. 89 Broad St).

I'm trying to decide on the Ames vs. the Faneuil Hall for my parents in early June. I've already decided against the Hilton Boston Back Bay as it seems too run down for me, plus I want them to be close to touristy things. I thought about the SPG and even the Marriott (i.e. the Customs House property) but decided against as the price is significantly higher than the Hilton equivalents.

Eujeanie

I stayed at Faneuil Hall (although it really isn't that close, I guess they figured "what's in a name" )...I liked the hotel, it's old, some rooms have been redone (we got an old one)...it was not bad, but even though the location if close to a lot it's not really "close" to a lot, if that makes sense. Aquarium was the closest T which goes nowhere, and we made the mistake of walking to the T's we needed (green, red, orange) when it might have been faster to walk to Aquarium and connect. I know this sounds negative but you're talking about your "parents" who I assume are our age (60s) or maybe even older. We did a LOT of walking along uneven sidewalks, etc. What makes Boston seem like things are farther apart is how crooked the streets are - it's not a straight shot a couple of blocks, you meander along that way (part of its charm). It is quite close to the waterfront.

But if you're interested in, say, walking the Freedom Trail (not sure what you want to take your parents to do) then the Faneuil Hall location is in the heart of it all. Of the 3 Hiltons, it does seem like the best choice, and I chose it, too, because the Starwoods and Marriotts were so much more expensive for our dates (we actually used Hilton points).

acker

Oops, I always think of Hilton Faneiul Hall as Hilton Financial District. Didn't is used to be called that? With the new Ames boutique hotel on Court Street in the Financial District, I guess Hilton tweaked things so the hotel on Broad St is called now called Hilton Faneuil Hall.

When it comes to location, all 3 Hilton properties have good locations: Back Bay/Ames/Faneuil Hall. Boston has tourist sites/restaurants in every direction.


If you're staying at Hilton Faneuil Hall you've got Faneuil Hall, Downtown Crossing shopping area, Chinatown, theater district, Aquarium, waterfront, Freedom Trail, access to the North End all nearby. (Plus you're close to Long Wharf where you hop on the MBTA ferry to reach Old Ironsides/USS Constitution in Charlestown. Highly recommended. For the cost of a MBTA ticket you get transportation to Charlestown Navy Yard, Old Ironsides/USS Constitution and views of Boston from the water). Chinatown is chock full of restaurants, Panera is 1 minute walk, Nebo Restaurant on Atlantic Ave is an easy walk along the waterfront and is happening and reasonable.

Maybe your parents can squeeze in a ride on the MBTA bus #1 from from Boston/Boylston St over to Cambridge/Harvard- or vice versa. The bus travels over Mass Ave with it's views of the Charles River, MIT, etc.

Hilton Faneuil Hall has a good breakfast, too. I would have stayed at Faneuil Hall last week but Back Bay was a bit cheaper and I tend to focus and price (and breakfast).

You won't go wrong with Hilton Faneiul Hall. Some might say it's old, but it's more historic than old. The rooms aren't small. And the staff is great.

Simon Schus

Excellent. Yes, my parents are around 65-70 years. They've been to Boston a fair few times before, and they're most just here for a celebration we're having in a small town near the Hilton Woburn. Just want to reacquaint them with a few things, not too sure what yet though as they're not here for long. I was thinking the Boston Faneuil Hall as it is only a few minutes away from the Blue line towards the airport (sure, we'd have to take the blue bus around the airport but it is hopefully less crowded that the Silver line can be). Plus I got a pretty good BRG rate there!

I think we're encouraging some of my friends to stay over in Cambridge (one of the Doubletrees). The cost saving compared to the Hilton's in Boston will more than justify an Uber to from the red line T stops to get between Boston and Cambridge!

We'll see how it goes Thank you for your suggestions and help

ptownca

I can heartily second the Faneuil Hall location. I'm originally from Boston/Cape Cod and love the location and the hotel.

I've done 3 stays there as a Diamond and always had excellent treatment.

The location is in one of the older parts of Boston and 18th century buildings are all around.

The building is old, but a nice Art Deco example, which is rare in Boston, unlike say New York City.

Travelz

Were you upgraded as Diamond to a larger room at Faneuil Hall? 4 of us will be staying there in Oct and we are hoping to get a larger room. What do they offer for free breakfast? Thanks

Barnaby100

Just checked in as a diamond-no upgrade at all from what was booked on rewards. room opposite the lift- great.

Eujeanie

Did you pick a room yesterday at OLCI?

DJ_Iceman

Well, to be fair, each floor is so small that all rooms are relatively near the lift.

And I can guarantee you that noise from the lift will be the LEAST of your concerns. This is the noisiest hotel I have ever stayed in, in terms of street noise intruding into the rooms. I had a chat with the front desk associate when I checked out and told him I loved the decor and service but wouldn't be back due to the noise. He nodded and said they get that a lot.

Barnaby100

No we didnt do OLCI- we were flying in from europe. As it was a twin then I don't imagine there was much option to upgrade.

We are on high floor. There was a lot of street noise- people, cleaning vehicles during the night but it wasn't too bad.

People coming out of the lift screaming/shouting/screeching was another matter- woke me up 3 times.

Room is lovely. Bath is great. I have an enormous free standing copper bath at home and so hotel bathrooms are always a letdown but this is amazing- enormous bath tub. Better than most luxury hotels in Asia/middle east (which tend to have etc best baths) Baths in the USA are usually shallow like bird baths.

JetSet05

Last week I completed a 3 night stay here. Overall, I would stay here again, however I would be very picky on my room choice.

ROOMS:
My first room was on the 12th floor, a corner queen room. It was very creepy. The ceilings were taller than the rooms width. The TV was not the advertised 55 inch (maybe 20 inch). The room was just very weird (the hotel staff agreed that the room was weird). And dark. I requested them to bring two lamps to the room, they did. I also asked for a blanket to be brought to my room, and the girl at the front desk seemed very confused. Asked if I wanted another comforter. I said no, I wanted a blanket. She asked if I meant fresh sheets. And I again said a blanket. It took an hour to get this blanket to the room. I then noticed that the moisturizer had already been opened and used (half gone and seal broken). It was late, so I figured I would just deal with that the next day. I will note-this room was very quiet at night.

Day 2, I told the front desk about the moisturizer. And I also told them I was not really happy in my room, and that it was creepy. I asked if there were another rooms open. They then upgraded me to a King Corner room. To my surprise, she also gave me 10k bonus points for my troubles. It was fantastic. However, it was on the 4th floor. I heard every car outside. I also heard and felt every train go under the hotel. Every 10 minutes. The only time this stopped was between 1-5 when the train service stops. This was the only time I was able to get good sleep.

So for future stays, I would avoid the queen rooms and avoid lower floors.

FOOD:
Breakfast was survived in the mini dining room by check in. Free for diamonds. Nothing to brag home to about. Pretty standard breakfast. Room service is available from 5-10PM. I ate at Cultivar once, and really enjoyed it. Very yummy!

GYM:
Nice gym with newer equipment. Not as great as some of them I have seen, but for the size of the hotel, it worked perfect.

ptownca

Yes, always upgraded from a basic room booking.

October is peak season in Boston, so set expectations accordingly.

rrrrrich

MS02113

As a local resident, I've never had the occasion to stay at Ames Hotel. But the on-site restaurant, Cultivar, is excellent and I recommend it highly.