Boston: Hilton Boston Back Bay (May 2017)




My spouse and I stayed at the Hilton Boston Back Bay for three nights in late May 2017. We booked our stay online months prior using the Hilton website. As our stay approached, we received an email promotion for a reduced rate on one of the nights of our stay, so we edited our reservation online; however, when we checked out, our booking had not been updated to reflect that promotion, so the manager refunded the difference with a manual credit.

As its name implies, the Hilton is located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, near Boylston and Newbury Streets, and close to Hynes Convention Center, Prudential Center, Coplay Place Mall, Berklee College of Music, and the Boston Public Library. We chose to stay at this hotel because we planned to walk from the Hilton to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of the city so that we could visit Fenway Park, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM). (It was less than 1.5 miles [about a 25-minute walk] to the farthest point.) The Sheraton, located directly across the street from the Hilton, provides indoor sky bridge access to the Copley Place Mall and the Prudential Center. The nearby Marriott and Westin hotels also provide access to the mall.
The Hilton Back Bay offers approximately 390 rooms (including 5 suites) in various categories, including Deluxe Corner. Hotel amenities include a Starbucks counter and lounge in the lobby (open from 6:30 am until 3:00 pm daily). The Forty Dalton restaurant is located on the lobby level and offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks from 6:30 am until 10:00 pm, with room service until 12:00 midnight. Certain floors offer ice machines, or you can request ice from the Starbucks in the lobby. A business center occupies a section of the Starbucks lounge area in the lobby, offering four computers and three (!) printers, but no fax machine or copier. Two 24-hour pantry areas flank the front desk; one sells strictly food items (including fresh deli sandwiches; we bought a tasty brie and turkey on ciabatta and a roast beef wrap for about $10 each), and the other offers toiletries and small forgotten items. (A Walgreens pharmacy was within walking distance if you need larger items.) A fitness center (including a locker room with showers) on the seventh floor is accessible 24 hours-per-day, and the indoor pool (open 5:00 am until 10:00 pm) located on 7th floor offers an outdoor sundeck. Self-parking costs approximately $43 per day, which is added directly to your hotel bill/folio. Check-in time is 3:00 pm, whereas checkout time is 12:00 noon. 

This hotel offers a Diamond Executive Lounge for HHonors members that offers breakfast (from 6:30 am until 10:00 am on weekdays, and from 7:00 am until 11:00 am on weekends and holidays; you can upgrade to a full buffet breakfast across the hall at Forty Dalton for $10 per person), evening snacks and non-alcoholic beverages (from 5:00 pm until 9:00 pm), and light refreshments all day. Although we find international Hilton lounges to be good, we are generally disappointed with domestic ones; however, the Diamond Lounge at the Hilton Boston Back Bay was a pleasant surprise! Although the lounge was not large, it maximized its space. It was necessary to use our electronic keycard to enter, because a dedicated staff member did not man the door as we have seen elsewhere. Although not expansive in square footage, the space offered many different types of settings to lounge and dine, including a high communal table that sat about six people, a two-sided shared padded banquette with small cocktail tables in front, a large regular-height traditional dining table and chairs, a living room area with four comfortable chairs and some side tables, and a café area with a high shared padded banquet on one side with round high-top tables and high bar stools on the other side (with coffee machines and necessities along one wall). Several televisions hang around the various spaces, and the décor, furnishings, and lighting are attractive and modern. A small room operated as a buffet area for the breakfast, evening reception, and snacks, with a permanent under-counter glass-fronted refrigerators offering non-alcoholic beverages. 

We occupied Room 2317, which we had chosen during the online check-in process. (Usually, when we check in electronically, we are given a choice of rooms, but on this visit, only one room available to select.) Because the hotel building is oddly shaped (sort of triangular), the rooms are pie-shaped, they are narrowest at the point of entry and widest at the back window wall. Disappointingly, we could see that our room once included a tiny outdoor covered balcony, but the previous sliding door was disabled to prevent access. Although floor 23 was recently renovated, when we descended on the elevator and it opened onto the lobbies on other floors, we noticed that the floors below the 15th displayed older décor. The bathroom for our room was a bit small, with a combination bathtub/shower, toilet, and vanity with one sink. The hotel provides toiletries by Peter Thomas Roth (including shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and body wash), a (movable) hairdryer, and sufficient towels. A nearby closet held bathrobes (but no slippers), an electronic safe, luggage stand, iron and ironing board, and plenty of hangers. Our room contained a king-size bed with a nightstand on each side. Across from the bed was a 4-foot high dresser-type piece of furniture that contained an empty mini-refrigerator and held the flat-screen television on top. A large desk with a chair on each side provided space for working or dining, while a sofa provided a place to relax. A padded bench at the foot of the bed held luggage (in addition to a metal folding luggage rack in the closet). Furnishings are contemporary, and lighting is modern and sufficient. As Diamond HHonors members, our maid provided us with two bottles of water per day.

We enjoyed our stay at the Hilton Back Bay- the location suited our needs perfectly, our room was well-outfitted and attractive, and we liked the executive lounge privileges.













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