Hotel Commonwealth: An Elegant Hotel in a Great Location
Written: Sep 22 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comfortable accommodations, good food, nice staff, plenty of amenities, excellent location
Cons: A little expensive, hotel didn’t consider surrounding guests when planning construction project
The Bottom Line: Though a little pricey, Hotel Commonwealth provides a comfortable place to stay at an easily accessible location. It’s a great hotel for romantic getaways, business trips, or family vacations.
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| noangels's Full Review: Hotel Commonwealth |
Autumn is my favorite season of the year. Every September, as the weather cools and the leaves start changing, I begin planning fall outings. I look forward to apple and pumpkin-picking trips, hot chocolate by the fireplace, and baking pies. My husband and I always found it to be the most romantic time of year, which is why we now have a wedding anniversary to celebrate during the season!
This year, we decided to plan a long weekend trip and couldn't think of a better place to visit in the fall than New England. We just returned from our stay at Hotel Commonwealth and we enjoyed it!
Location
Hotel Commonwealth is located at 500 Commonwealth Avenue, in the center of Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. We chose Boston for its many historical and cultural sites. There are so many places to see including the New England Aquarium, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the Prudential Center, the Museum of Science Boston, and Paul Revere's House. This hotel is nestled within the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood of Boston and is within walking distance of Back Bay, which is rich with culture, shops, and sidewalk cafes. The hotel provides a walking map for guests who want to explore the beautiful area on foot.
Fenway Park is right around the corner from Hotel Commonwealth. Boston University stretches down Commonwealth with their Barnes and Noble positioned directly across the street from the hotel. The green line Kenmore T-station is located a few steps away from the entrance of the hotel and provides transportation to all of the aforementioned points of interest. My husband and I found this to be very convenient and used the T to get around during our stay in Boston. The T system is very easy to navigate and it provides thorough coverage of the city. We even took the T to and from the Amtrak station.
Though we didn't travel with a car to Boston, we did note that valet service is available for guests. There is a fee for parking at the hotel.
Hotel and Amenities
Hotel Commonwealth has a grand, 1920's style. Decorated in bold red and gold tones, the lobby provides cozy seating and a view of Kenmore Square. The hotel has a straightforward layout. Upon entering the hotel, a staircase leads you to the main lobby and front desk. The elevators are just a few steps further. I was very happy that the hotel had four elevators, which was more than enough to accommodate all of the guests, even at peak times. An elevator was always available immediately upon pushing the button. We never waited.
This hotel offers a number of amenities. A business center is available, providing computer and printer access, the latter of which can be used for remote printing from guests' computers by following instructions provided in the guest rooms. A fitness center is located on the third floor. There is a small art gallery as well as a corridor of luxury shops. The hotel also offers in-room spa service by appointment.
I can't imagine any guest at Hotel Commonwealth going hungry. The food at the hotel is excellent! The hotel's restaurant, Eastern Standard, provides al fresco dining in Kenmore Square. The menu offers a wide selection of French-inspired dishes at reasonable prices. Dinner for two ranges from $50-$100. My husband and I paid $88 plus tip for dinner with appetizers and desserts. I highly recommend the herb roasted chicken, the mixed greens salad, and the angel food cake. My husband very much enjoyed the lobster bisque, but was not that crazy about the salmon which was undercooked (apparently it's a French preparation which he doesn't prefer). The restaurant staff was very polite and our server was very helpful. My request to leave out an ingredient was happily accommodated. It was a very nice dining experience.
The hotel restaurant provides the dishes for room service as well, which is available 24 hours. The menus vary by meal or time of day, but all include classic favorites. The prices were reasonable for room service. Breakfast items ranged from $3-$15. Lunch and dinner were priced from $10-$30 per dish. An 18% service charge or $3, whichever is more, is added to each room service order.
We took advantage of room service three times; once for breakfast and twice for lunch. Each time, the room service staff was polite and helpful. Our food arrived very quickly (15-20 minutes each time) and was well presented. The grilled cheese on rye was incredibly tasty. The mixed greens salad was refreshing. My husband said the cheddar omelet was perfect - just enough cheese to give it a delicious flavor.
For quick snacks and drinks, a refreshment center is provided in the room. The items are overpriced, as most in-room refreshment options usually are, but they're not appallingly so. We took a number of items from the bar which had a pretty large selection. Our refrigerator was stocked with several varieties of soda, bottled and sparkling water, beers, wine, and hard alcohol. We drank some sodas, which were priced at $4 each, and a bottle of spring water which cost $6. There was also a drawer with a number of snacks such as Famous Amos cookies and nuts.
Reservations may be made by telephone (617-933-5000) or online. We made our reservation through Orbitz and everything went smoothly. Check-in begins at 3pm, with checkout occurring at noon. Late check-in/out is available upon request. We requested a late check-in through Orbitz. We also inquired about late checkout upon arrival, which was granted without a problem.
The hotel staff was polite and helpful during every interaction. Check-in and checkout were quick and painless. Hotel employees who saw us in the hallway greeted us with a smile. The door was always held for us when entering or exiting the hotel. All of our questions were answered fully and our requests met.
Accommodations
We reserved a Fenway Room for three nights, which provided a king-size bed, a sitting area, and a desk. As the name suggests, the room had a direct view of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. The room had a more modern feel than the rest of the hotel, but it was still elegant. Our bed was very comfortable. I was almost sad that we didn't get to spend more time napping. The seating area and desk were perfect for reading or working on my laptop. The hotel provides complimentary Wi-Fi in every guest room.
The room featured a flat panel television with cable and HBO. Pay-per-view movies were not available (bummer!), but the hotel has a complimentary DVD lending library with over two hundred movie titles available. PlayStation 2 is also available, though we were plenty entertained with HBO, so we didn't take advantage of it. There is an iPod player/alarm clock located next to the bed. There were two telephones in the room, one of which was a wireless phone which ranged throughout the hotel.
The bathroom features a large bath/shower, with an adjustable height shower head. The hot water came up very fast and hot for a hotel. I burned myself a few times because I put the heat too high expecting it to come up too slowly. The water pressure was sufficient. The soaps provided in the hotel smelled amazing. We were raving about them all weekend. Bathrobes were provided in the closet. They were very nice quality and comfortable to wear. A hair dryer was stored on the top shelf of the closet. An iron and ironing board was provided as well.
There were plenty of outlets in our room, which was necessary for our laptop, cell phone chargers, and camera chargers. The room had ample lighting. It was more than sufficient for reading. The room was also immaculately clean upon arrival. We refused turndown service since we were only staying for four days so I can't comment on the daily housekeeping.
Overall, we were very comfortable in our room. We slept well with the exception of the last night. At 8am, I awakened to a loud banging which sounded like a picture being hung. I dismissed it and went back to sleep. At 9am, when I woke up to run to the restroom, there was a deafening drilling sound that seemed to be occurring in the room directly beneath ours. It only lasted 15-20 seconds but it scared us to death. My husband jumped up from a dead sleep. We didn't bother to call the front desk because it was so sporadic (the work seemed to continue for the next two hours, but only once did the noise become a disturbance again). We were incredibly angry that they didn't bother to check the surrounding rooms to ensure no guests would be affected. I would have expected to be warned about any ongoing work, though it shouldn't be occurring so early in the day. We had been planning to sleep late to prepare for a long day of travel, but ended up getting less than 8 hours!
The room averaged $259 per night before taxes. Our entire bill totaled a little over $1,000, which included three nights of accommodations, three room service orders, and a few items from the refreshment center. I felt this was a little on the expensive side, though not terrible for a city location. It definitely wasn't the best value but we would stay at this hotel again. We plan to make sure we request that we be placed far from any in-hotel construction.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
noangels
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Member: Jamilynn
Location: Staten Island, NY USA
Reviews written: 219
Trusted by: 41 members
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So glad to almost be done with Christmas shopping!
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