Le Meridien Cambridge, MA [Master Thread]
 

Hotel joined Starwood 05 DEC 07
http://www.boston.com/business/artic...be_a_meridien/
Stayed one night. Booked queen, 2 adults, for $119.

Platinum upgrade to suite reflected at 11 pm the night prior. :p Welcoming staff, who was very fastidious about following Starwood check-in. The check in agent (Jessica) apologized for not having the "You've been upgraded sticker." Check-in was smooth and done in less than 5 minutes. Took a second or three to enter platinum amenity. It was the first one she'd done.

Whimsical lobby. Trendy, yet welcoming. Not as hip as the Le Meridien Vienna, but with the same upscale technology vibe. Open lobby with easy flow from parking garage to elevators and restaurant. Outstanding lobby lounge that would make a good club lounge, named for Norbert Weiner. Contains entire library of Technology Review http://www.technologyreview.com and Tech Talk (MIT alumni magazine and daily paper).

Three suites per floor. Hotel is in L shape, two corner suites, one in the "angle" of the L facing Mass. Ave. Upgraded to 8th floor corner suite facing the river. Superb views of the city. Two rooms, one with pull out sofa and standard 21" TV, sofa and chair, working desk and refrigerator. One with 18" Plasma mounted on wall, spectacular linens and Bose alarm clock radio. Spacious bathroom, built in a curve around column that supports structure. Modern basin style sink. Same amennites as I received at Le Meridien Budapest and Le Meridien Beverly Hills. Don't remember the brand. Sofa bed was worn and needs to be refurnished. Wolfgang Puck coffee.

Occupancy on the night I stayed, possibly 12 people. I walked 4 floors at 7 am and saw only 10 copies of USA Today in front of doors. The night before, I saw only 6 or 8 lights in rooms.

Valet parking, attendant always on duty. Helpful and friendly. Parking is available on the street perpendicular to Sidney Street. 30 minutes per 25 cents. There is a municipal garage down this street with affordable overnight rates.

Wonderful urban garden on the third floor. Great, green outdoor space in urban Cambridge.

Gym is lacking. 3 treadmills, one stepper, one cross training machine, one weight machine. Weight machine had frayed cables. No free weights. For $8 you can use the city gym across the street. For $12 you can use the MIT gym facilities. This $12 option may go away as the hotel reduces its association with the Hotel@MIT.

Local amenities:
On site:One block:Two blocks:Specific area of town: Central Square
Three blocks to MIT
Four blocks to MBTA (Mass Transit system) $2 with fare card, $1.70 with Charlie Card
Five blocks to Vassar Street (Electrical Engineering offices)
8 or 9 blocks to MIT Media Lab

Excellent and informative first review. I strongly considered staying here this past weekend, but chose Sheraton BOS instead and ended up in the best suite I've ever had there, so I guess I made the right choice.

I remember when this Cambridge Hotel first opened years ago it was with great fanfare and media coverage. I recall seeing photo spreads of the hotel's public spaces and the rooms. It all looked unlike any other hotel I'd seen at the time with the exception of the short-lived concept that the "old" Le Meridien concept folks were trying (Art + Tech). In any event, I find it interesting that this hotel has now joined the Le Meridien team.

I look forward to checking it out myself. Thanks, again, CaptainG for a great review.

For your info, this is the old Hotel @ MIT (which was run by Hilton). It's a very cool and funky property. Good fit for LM. Although, I much prefer to across the Charles in the Back Bay.

Double Points at the LM Cambridge. Registration required.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...ml?promoID=MDD

Thanks for the review
 

I am staying there at the beginning of March, and was glad to see the review. Any one know how much a cab to the convention centre area would cost?

Darren

Depends on traffic, and which convention center you're going to. The Hynes convention center is walkable when the weather is nice - maybe a mile and a half across the bridge to Boston. Cab fare can run as little as $7 or 8, and as much as $12-15 if you get stuck in traffic.

The new convention center is near the waterfront, and the same traffic caveat applies. My guess is it's at least $15 and could get up to $25 pretty easily with downtown traffic. Or you could take the subway, which is a couple bucks and reasonably easy to get to in Central Square.

Or, you could stay at the Westin property attached to this convention centre.

Cheers,

Not at $2500 a night when I am in town. ;-)

Didn't think of the subway option.... Will have to look further into that option. But yes I am heading to the Convention Centre attached to the Westin, or vice versa.

I was just there this last weekend.

Second all of the OP's impressions except the valet was tardy for me on Sunday afternoon. Took about 25 minutes for the lone valet to get to my car.

Wish I would have known about the double points ahead of time!

Printed News on Le Meridien Cambridge
 

-- "Checking Inn" Travel New England, January 2008, pp. 4

Stayed overnight on the "Break Free" promotional rate of $119, my first stay at this hotel since it was rebadged. It's still basically the Hotel at MIT, and frankly I hope Starwood doesn't change that completely: I like the quirky hallway lamps with acid etchings of circuit board designs lightly frosting the glass, and the geeky cartoons in the bathroom.

In spite of the low rate and a fairly full house, we were pre-assigned Suite 602, a 2 room suite with a single large and well-equipped bathroom. As noted by the OP, the staff is making an effort to learn and comply with the SPG rules. I also noted an improvement in the restaurant staff attitude, they were exceptionally attentive at breakfast. Two somewhat critical comments: a slight odor of mold in the bathroom, and no free internet (which is ridiculous considering that University Park is right next door, with free wi-fi leaking into the hotel).

Valet parking at $28 is a bit steep; if you don't need immediate or frequent access to your car, you could choose to park it on Vassar Street adjacent to MIT (and about a 7-8 minute walk from the hotel). All in all, a fine stay, and I'll be back more often now that it's an SPG property.

Note that parking on most residential streets is by permit only. The Boston tow-truck business is very good here, so beware. Vassar street is under construction and when finished will use metered parking.

A couple of additional notes on this area, as it's in my back yard...

Parking: there's a City of Cambridge garage two blocks away, at the corner of Green St. and Pearl St. Details here; current rates are $1/hr, $13 daily max, $5 night rate.

Food: Tons of good options in the area. A few highlights:

• Toscanini's Ice Cream, about a block away where Main St. intersects Mass Ave. Some of the best ice cream in Boston; People Magazine says it's the best vanilla in America. Don't miss the Burnt Caramel.
• Central Kitchen for good, somewhat upscale American fare. Opposite side of Mass Ave about two blocks down.
• The Enormous Room, a loungey bar with persian carpets and surprisingly good mezze-style middle eastern-ish food and cocktails. Loud and hip. If going to dine, go early. Directly above Central Kitchen; the door is unmarked save for an elephant.
• Mary Chung, an absolute hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant with some of the best Chinese in Cambridge. Any of the dishes on the cover of the menu are great. Known particularly for their "Suan La Chow Show," stuffed wontons in a very spicy sauce over bean sprouts.

This is just scratching the surface -- very good area. Avoid the nearby Asgard pub -- terrible food. Good Indian in the area as well, but I'm not terribly familiar with the choices.

Mary Chung's and Toscanini's alone make it worth staying there!
 

Any more recent experiences at this property? Specifically, how is the location, staff, and Platinum benefits? I see that they have lots of King + sofa bed suites - how are these in relation to a standard room?

Thanks,
Troy