retirement consultant

I stayed at the W Boston this past weekend and will definitely be back. The staff worked very hard to create a good first impression. It was great to stay in a room that was brand new without a long punch list. I felt like the team at the W took steps to make sure that everything was in good working order, at least in the room I stayed in. The view from my room on the 14th floor wasn't as nice as what I've typically found at the Westin Copley and Boston Sheraton, but the W decor and restaurant/bar more than made up for it.

The Bliss spa and the nite club haven't been opened yet but the lobby bar, Market restaurant and health club are fully operational. If you do plan on dining at Market, make sure to book your reservation well in advance. The restaurant was fully booked a week in advance of my stay. Dinner was excellent and I'd love to dine there again -- the service is still a little bit of a work in progress one week from opening but I'm sure it will get better with time.

DFWFlier

Any upgrade experiences yet at this hotel? Staying there later this week.

Spent_All_My_Miles

I stayed for one night two weeks ago. At check-in I asked about upgrades, and if I'm remembering correctly, part of the hotel is still under construction.

ImprovGal

I stayed there Saturday night. My "upgrade" was just placement on an upper floor.

Has anyone stayed here and had problems with dining charges not receiving points? At all of my stays at other (US) places, if the dining charges went to the room charge, they posted at the same time as the room rate points the day after the folio closed. I checked this morning and plat amenity points posted with the room rate points, but none from dining charges. I called the hotel and was assured they post separately within 2-3 days. Is this a standard practice?

CaptainG

First impression:
I first toured the property in June, as a potential resident. The second time I visited "The Living Room" (08 November, '09)and it was packed with a typical, well-dressed upscale crowd at 8 PM. The next time I found a hard working team that is trying to win over customers. I booked my long term stay with Charles, and he was cordial and told me to call and introduce myself when I'm on property.

Hotel: (235 rooms) Floors 4 through 15
Room types
Wonderful: 360 Sq Ft, CD/DVD stereo, Lg work area
Studio room(now named Cool Corner): 480 Sq Ft, (front facing corners... except for the floors with the Wow/E-Wow suites)
Mega room: 510 Sq Ft, Oversized corner room with Cocoon Sofa, Floor to Ceiling windows, 37 inch LCD TV (all rooms ending in 01, face the SouthWest corner, does not include floor to ceiling windows)
Wow suite: 890 Sq Ft (floors 11, 12, 14) 1.5 bath
Extreme Wow suite:1600+- Sq Ft (floor 15) 1 king bed, can be attached to another 1 King bed room for additional space
Residences: Room types (123 condos):
(opening 12 December, 2009)
Floors 16 through 17 9 units: 5 x 2 BR, 3 x 1 BR, 1 Studio
Floors 18 through 27 10 units: 4 x 2BR, 4 x 1 BR, 2 Studios
Floor 28 5 Penthouse units

Amenities:
Bliss Spa (opening Feb 2010)
Market by Jean Jaques (the same restaurant as the W Doha)
Sweat

Upgrades:
Upgrades are rare at this hotel and there are only two upgrade "Paths" based on which type of beds you request:
Upgrade selection path 0:
Book a wonderful 1 King (360 sq ft) and the only room type you can get an upgrade to is a Studio room (480 sq ft), which is simply a corner room (1 K) with a larger bathroom. These rooms have the king bed in the middle of the room.
Upgrade selection path 1:
Book a wonderful 2 Queen (360 sq ft) and the only room type you can get an upgrade to is a Mega room xx01 (510 sq ft). These rooms have two beds against the wall and quite a bit of floor space.
Personal experience:
First upgrade: from Wonderful room to Mega room (note, this pre-upgrade confirmed prior to arrival due to first Starwood stay post deployment to Iraq)
Second, third and fourth upgrade: To Studio room


Transportation to the airport:
Quickest:
Taxi to HOV lane to Logan (Make sure you tell the taxi you want the HOV lane or they may try to run you around the city... costing you time and money)
Cheapest:
Boylston Green line MBTA to Park Street (or just walk to Park street) to red Line MBTA to South Station to Silver Line (SL1 bus) to airport. Takes 25 minutes depending on connection time

Good local restaurants (in MajorG's preferential order)
Pigalle (invigorating cuisine, attentive service) Dinner only, 75 Charles Street SOUTH, (617) 423-4944
Rustic Kitchen (cozy, quaint atmosphere, 1/2 block away), 210 Stuart Street, (617) 423-5700
Avila (wonderful, great tastings, airy, light atmosphere), 1 Charles St S, (617) 267-4810
Ivy (Cozy Italian, welcoming, with a warm ambieance) 49 Temple Place, (617) 451-1416‎
Teatro (pricey, a bit loud)

Great local value:
Monday night pizza at Sorriso, 107 South Street, (617) 259-1560
(Full pizza for $7)

Local bars:
The Tam (great dive bar)
Gypsy http://gypsybarboston.com/ (night club on Boylston street)
Mantra http://www.mantrarestaurant.com/ (Good Indian food with high style, turns into a great dance club in the evening)

LGBT:
Jacques, bar around the corner behind the Radisson

Theatre:
Citi (Wang) theatre www.wang-theater.com
Boston Opera House http://www.bostonoperahouse.com/
Emerson Majestic www.maj.org/

Late Night Munchies:
New York City Pizzeria on Tremont between the W and the Common. $3.25 for a slice
Chinese: Chau Chau City 83 Essex Street Boston, MA 02111-2126 (617) 338-8158

Architect: William Rawn and TRO Jung|Brannen, Boston, MA
Finishes & Furnishings: Bentel & Bentel, New York, NY

Links:
W brings transparency:
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_art...ridge_library/
W Boston Developer files for Bankruptcyhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63S3H420100429

-- CaptainG
(Note: I will try to maintain this as a wiki style thread and update as appropriate)

lifeisanapple

Stayed in the Extreme Wow Suite two weekends again and finally got around to uploading the pics. The suite is gorgeous and is probably the most impressive E-Wow I've stayed in at any W. The staff was fantastic as well and they seem to have everything together, and Whatever/Whenever didn't fail with any requests I had! Pics are below:

Bedroom


Dining table in the Bedroom:


Hallway between Bedroom and Bathroom:


Bathroom:


Living Room:


Dining Table:


Bar:


Sound System:


Surround Sound Control (one for each room):


Overall this property is one of my new favorites. I know some people have complained about the design factor of the regular rooms, but I have to say the suites are impressive (saw a wow suite as well and it is equally as awesome).

The staff really made the property shine though. One night we ordered room service and it came about 30 minutes later. There was no bill to sign and when I asked I was told it "took too long so it was complimentary"! I was shocked, never had anything like that happen before. Everyone I met was super friendly and they all remembered me and said hi whenever they saw me, a nice little touch that makes you feel at home. Definitely would recommend this to anyone who's curious about trying out this new W!

sbtinme

Excellent early property recap and review. Exceptionally helpful information -- thanks!!

I do, however, find this tiny piece (below) of your information to be puzzling. I think I'm reading this incorrectly, but as written, it seems to suggest that a recent military deployment is a solid reason for a hotel suite upgrade. Is that what you meant to convey?

bigguyinpasadena

For the reviews and the pix^
I had a friend stay here the second day they were open and they were not ready for primetime-good to see that things are now up and running and they have a great staff in a city not known for great hospitality in hotels.

mindgame

Stayed here this past weekend. Received a nice trio of caramel/chocolate dipped apples in room, welcoming us. Same problem with receiving SPG pts for dining -- they were confused with the whole thing as well. Excellent experience at Market (walk-in; but horrendous time trying to get a reservation and weren't successful with the reservation, even with help of plat concierge. Walk-in at early dinnertime turned out fine). Room 'upgrade' was not available, so we received a 'higher floor' room. Nice treats/refreshments next to check-in. Overall, a pretty good stay. Received a very nice platinum amenity / "W Branded item".

mikey2007

was looking into booking a stay here, seems like the plat upgrade is a bit of nonexistant... will report after my stay tho.

mikey2007

Okay stayed at the property recently for one night. It is a nice looking property, but did not get a plat upgrade (got a 'high' floor 10), even though the website clearly showed multiple suites available, they blatantly claimed no availability.

Interesting story, the valet locked they keys of my car in them upon retrieval, then it took them 15 minutes to try get the keys out of the car. they tried using coat hangers to unlock the door from the window that was ajar. Quite the scene...

drjhwang

Still waiting for Cash & Points availability...

Keyser

might be making a quick trip to boston later this month....would love to try this hotel out....what is the situation with suite upgrades????what luck have people had in this regard????if they are really nonexistant like mikey2007 said then i may as well book a suite to begin with....

CaptainG

The only suites that are available are the 3 Wow, and 1 Extreme Wow suite. I'm surprised they were showing on the web site since only one suite is bookable via Starwood, but even if they are, the 4 suites are specialty suites and thus not available for upgrade.

I listed the room types in my first post. Here is the summary:

Based on the room types, the upgrade situation is binary:

Upgrade choice 0:
Book a wonderful 1 King (360 sq ft) and the only room type you can get an upgrade to is a Studio room (480 sq ft), which is simply a corner room (1 K) with a larger bathroom. These rooms have the king bed in the middle of the room.

Upgrade choice 1:
Book a wonderful 2 Queen (360 sq ft) and the only room type you can get an upgrade to is a Mega room xx01 (510 sq ft). These rooms have two beds against the wall and quite a bit of floor space.

The only other available room for booking through Starwood is the Handicap Accesible Wow Suite on the 11th floor. This is considered a specialty suite, but due to listing in Starbase it was appearing online (expect this to change when Starbase is replaced).
The other (3) suites are all specialty suites and must be booked directly through the hotel.

I have been in the Wow suite and it is worth the price they are asking. I will pay it when I need to entertain 6 or 8 people and we have something to celebrate. The suties are not bookable by points, and so they must be paid for.

-- MajorG

CaptainG

Correct. Prior to my return, I communicated to the staff of the W Boston that this would be my first leisure Starwood stay after 4 months in Iraq, and my upgrade was reflected on spg.com five days prior to arrival.

-- MajorG