The Mandarin Oriental Boston has 148 rooms. I have only ever stayed at one Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur, but it is considered to be one of the world's best luxury hotels.
Since we got a decent deal, I was curious to see what the brand could offer. There are properties in Boston, Miami, New York, and Washington DC.
What am I supposed to say? The hotel has a great location, large guest rooms, good service, and a great spa. The hotel was disappointing and soulless. There is only one dining outlet at the hotel, and it seems like it is just coasting on the name of the hotel.
We stayed at the Four Seasons Boston, which was in a completely different league. The hotel put a lot of effort into it. Let's start with the review.
We had to go to Boston in August. The hotel prices in town were crazy. The Liberty was charging $878 per night, the Residence Inn Boston was charging $652 per night, and the Le Meridien Boston Cambridge was charging $600 per night. Hotels were sold out of base rooms and there was no award availability.
The Mandarin Oriental Boston was close to being a good deal. We were paying $663 per night for the hotel's premium room, which was the only one that we could find. I was able to save $100 by taking advantage of the Amex offers.
The best way to book a stay at the Mandarin Oriental is through Ford. A room upgrade subject to availability is one of the perks this offers. Booking directly through the Mandarin Oriental Fans of M.O. program is usually a better deal.
The stay was a decent deal, even though it was not cheap.
The Back Bay neighborhood is home to the Mandarin Oriental Boston. Right next to the center is it.
This was my first visit to Boston in the summer and I loved it. There are so many great restaurants and cafes in Back Bay that it's hard to choose. There is a Capital One Cafe located across the street. I think the location of the hotel is very good.
The hotel was about 15 minutes away from the airport. The airport is close to Boston and it reminds me of Miami in that way.
The bellmen helped us get to the hotel at 1PM. The reception was located inside the lobby. The check-in process was easy and friendly.
We were checked in by an associate who went over everything we could expect. As the hotel was sold out, there was no upgrade available for the premier king city view room. She said we would get a daily $120 breakfast credit and a $100 credit at some point during our stay.
The front office manager of the hotel was very professional and friendly and greeted us each time we entered the hotel.
There is a lot of seating in the lobby. This is the only public space in the hotel that is open to the public. The hotel doesn't have a lobby bar or other outlets. One thing I like about a luxury city hotel is the bar where I can have a drink before I go out for dinner, but this hotel doesn't have that.
Coffee is free in the lobby each morning.
The room was ready within 30 minutes of us arriving. We sat in the lobby and worked on some things. Four people are having a conference call on the phone in the lobby. I thought they were senior hotel employees because they were discussing final preparations for winter events at the hotel.
We went to the elevators down the hall from reception after our room was ready.
There is a premier king city view room on the fourth floor. There was a room on the left.
Base rooms here are 409 square feet and the room was generously sized at 538 square feet. The guest rooms at the Mandarin Oriental are nicely appointed and have been renovated.
The bathroom was to the right in our room.
I found the bed comfort to be on par with Four Seasons and the room had a king size bed.
There was a wall-mounted TV and a drawer under it.
There was a couch at the end of the room. The variety of seating options made it possible for the table to be used as a desk or a dining table.
Even though the street gets busy, the sound insulation in our room is good, so we didn't hear any noise in our room.
There was a variety of food and drinks for sale at the minibar back near the entrance. Most luxury hotels put bottles of water in rooms, but there was no free bottled water in the room.
The bathroom was large. There was a single sink, a soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet with a door in this house.
The containers for the toiletries were wall mounted.
There was a variety of amenities in the box, from shower caps to dental kits. I appreciated the fact that this was available in the room.
We were given a few pieces of fruit after we checked in.
There was free and fast wi-fi in the room.
The only food and beverage outlet at the hotel is Ramsay's Kitchen. There is a door in the hotel that leads to the restaurant. The restaurant opened in early 2022.
It seems like a strange fit for a Mandarin Oriental to have a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Even if it is just a bar with some great drinks, I want the hotel to have an Asian-inspired food and beverage outlet.
This has nothing to do with anything, but I can't remember the number of times I've seen Gordon Ramsay at an airport lounge. He is able to get around.
The restaurant was large. The main dining room was located on the other side of the restaurant.
You can find the breakfast menu at Ramsay's Kitchen.
I thought the prices were reasonable. I think that luxury hotels are trying to price breakfast so that locals will eat there as well. The price of breakfast options made the $120 daily breakfast credit seem high. We could have had omelettes and toasts every morning.
There was no menu for coffee or drinks. The hotel doesn't have fresh squeezed juices or smoothies, but there is cold pressed orange and grapefruit juice. The coffee was good.
We tried a lot of things over the course of our stay, including the fruit bowl, greek yogurt bowl, three-egg omelet, and smoked salmon bagel.
The service in the restaurant was pleasant.
We decided to eat lunch at Ramsay's Kitchen since we had a $100 food and beverage credit. The lunch menu can be found below.
We had the tuna tartare and roasted baby beets to start our meal.
We had the burger and salmon for our main course.
All of the dishes were enjoyable. At least the menu was well executed.
Guests can access the gym with their key cards. The fourth floor is where this is located. There was a variety of equipment at the gym. When you consider that this isn't a big hotel, it's impressive.
Our room was on the fourth floor of the hotel. One of the best spas in the city is located at the Boston property of the Mandarin Oriental.
There are 11 treatment rooms in the spa at the Mandarin Oriental Boston. You can find the full menu here.
A nice spa in a city hotel doesn't do anything for me. I love an amazing spa at a resort with all sorts of cool features, but I don't think I've ever been interested in spas in a city. I don't have the time, I don't think it's worth the money, and I'm not usually in a tranquil mindset when in cities.
If you are into spas, I am sure you will enjoy the one at the Mandarin Oriental, but that is something that is lost on me.
The service at the Mandarin Oriental was good but not perfect.
The lack of outlets at the hotel made it difficult for us to interact with staff.
The robot butler in the lobby was cute and we didn't have any use for it. You can have stuff delivered to your room. I didn't need anything, but I was tempted to ask for something just so he would show up.
There are large and nicely appointed guest rooms at the Mandarin Oriental Boston. I didn't use it, but the hotel has a good gym and spa. There is only one food and beverage outlet at the hotel, which is Ramsay's Kitchen.
I feel like there's something missing in this hotel. You don't have to be a hotel guest to enjoy a meal at Ramsay's Kitchen. There was nothing about the experience that reminded me of the one I had at Mandarin Oriental.
I think that there is something missing here, and that it is at the margins.
Next, I will review the Four Seasons Boston. There is a complimentary hotel car that will take you anywhere in the area, a complimentary all-day coffee shop with barista-made drinks, and a complimentary happy hour. The Mandarin Oriental didn't have those.
Do you think the Mandarin Oriental Boston is a good place to stay?
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