Travel & Leisure

The XV Beacon: chic

This 1903 landmark Beaux Arts building with its black façade is the ideal place to spend a night in the utmost discretion and serenity in the very chic neighbourhood of Beacon Hill. 

This Boston boutique hotel that will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in September is a perfect mixture of modernism and tradition.  The rooms, designed by Celeste Cooper, are spacious and have the added bonus of each having their own fireplace.  Mohair plaids, four post mahogany beds, deep armchairs and plush carpets, here everything is designed to create a warm and cosy atmosphere, despite a modern and cutting-edge décor.  The rooms are also equipped with state-of-the-art technology. In the small lobby, made to look like a private estate, the tone is set with a roaring fire and plush armchairs to lounge in.  Amidst all this luxury, we have a preference for Studio 1006 with its beautiful corner windows and its astonishing view of the Charles River as well as the little TV in the bathroom.  The hotel also features a lovely terrace on the roof (only downside, the wind tunnel) as well as a small fitness room on the last floor with a gorgeous view of the rooftops.  The restaurant, Mooo (Steak House), has a very swanky décor, with furniture of light wood, light leather, great saffron, ceiling lights and a Wine Cellar with a vaulted ceiling and stone floors, all in keeping with the spirit of XV Beacon, chic and sober.

Beacon Hill Hotel: charm and intimacy

Peter and Cecilia Rait, owners of this intimate establishment featuring 13 rooms, made a name for themselves in Portugal, in a restaurant in Lisbon.  Reminders of this colourful past can be found in touches throughout the hotel, most notably in the hotel’s bistro.  The bistro, open 7 days a week, offers a very contemporary and European cuisine.  On the menu, fresh goat cheese with Normandy apples, french endives with walnuts, a country-style pâté or the more traditional steak and fries. A small and modest sign hanging from the red brick walls with white shutters of Charles Street points to the Beacon Hill Hotel.  Nestled in between two townhouses from the 19^th century, these 13 small but comfortable guest rooms offer a modern setting and feature very high-tech equipment.  Our favourite, the “Jacob Suite” is set in a warm and intimate atmosphere.  Icing on the cake, a nice little terrace on the roof, ideal for a late afternoon drink.

The Nine Zero: trendy and cutting-edge

A white entrance hall, pistachio mohair armchairs set the tone of this decidedly contemporary hotel.  As proof, the entrance living room, black and white, is equipped with pearly beige armchairs, silver fishnet draperies, pouffe-style coffee tables, black and white mother-of-pearl draughtboard.  The rooms follow along the same lines with modern black and sand-coloured furniture. Our favourite, the Cloud Nine suite, whose particularity is opening only after having scanned your iris through an electronic peephole. The view is exceptional and the décor is contemporary with a strict profile, no detail is overlooked.  Muted colours such as chocolate, taupe and greyish blue flood the room.  A private office is available for those who have business to attend to between two visits. The restaurant, Ko Prime, is also very state of the art and modern but stylish nonetheless: black and white cowhide covered armchairs, chocolate coloured seats, wood chandeliers, subdued lighting and floor to ceiling windows with a view of Boston Common Park. Ideally located at the corner of Beacon Hill and Financial Hall, The Beacon Hill Hotel is perfect for trendy hotel lovers.

Omni Park House (Omni Hotels): Traditional and Historical

Omni Parker House represents over a century of Boston history.  In fact, it is in this very hotel that J F Kennedy proposed to Jackie. This plush hotel belongs to Omni Hotels and continues to go down in history.  Many famous people including John F. Kennedy, Colin Powell, Charles Dickens and Emerson, Toreaunt have stayed there.  It is also here that Hawthorne and Longfellow, two great writers from the 19^th century, met for the first time. And let’s not forget celebrities such as Judy Garland, James Dean or Ben Affleck.  All that history!  Palatial lobby, gildings, crystal chandeliers, plush armchairs of ruby red velvet, oak box-beams on the ceiling, this hotel, which has no less than 551 rooms, remains a historical monument, and is a short walk away from Boston’s Theatre District and Beacon Hill.

Ideal for history lovers!

Fairmont Battery Wharf

Located just steps away from the Freedom Trail, the North End Neighbourhoods and Charlestown and near the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Fairmont Battery Wharf features 150 elegantly appointed guest rooms.  The hotel offers a variety of dining experiences, from the hotel’s lobby living room to its elegant restaurant and lounge featuring an open kitchen and chef’s table, harbour views and seasonal outdoor dining.  And let’s not forget Chef Guy Martin’s signature restaurant opened last year and run by his old chef de cuisine.  For 40$ you can enjoy a three course meal designed by this young and talented chef.

The Morgans Hotel Group Ames for Boston

The Morgans Hotel Group, well known for it’s contemporary hotels courtesy of two big names in the world of design (Starck, Putman), is now operating in Boston with a dozen different accommodations, from standard guest room (88 ft2) to studio (302 ft2).  Code name: Ames!  The architectural style combining Bostonian classicism and modernity is brilliant.  One is particularly pleased to stumble upon relics from the workshops of the family business (Ames family), who owned this building back in the 19^th century.  Ideally located right in the heart of Boston, this establishment can easily boast of having successfully drawn a bridge between time periods, revisited by lanky leather padded seats and white armchairs.  Definitely worth trying.