Review – Eliot Hotel Boston – A Family Friendly Hotel
When I finally decided that Boston was going to be the city for our white Christmas my focus turned to finding the best place to stay in Boston for families. I had expected hotel accommodation over Christmas would be costly and I wasn’t wrong. I had my heart set on staying somewhere central and after trawling through various third party aggregator sites I decided on the Eliot Hotel Boston and it was a great choice.
I knew it was a gamble to go to Boston to get snow, the odds were a 60% chance. On arrival I was told Boston hadn’t had a white Christmas since 2006! Now for me the glass is always half full so this was a sign that it was about time for a white Christmas and I was confident that my 4 years of prayers would not go unheard! I had considered many different places along the East Coast to ensure the rest of our itinerary flowed and after much consideration I decided Boston would be perfect.
While searching for the best hotel in Boston, I had some very clear parameters that had to be met, it was Christmas so it had to be reasonably nice. I wanted the hotel to be very close, walking distance anyway, to the main tourist attractions in Boston. I wanted there to be shopping opportunities because my sister and her husband would be meeting us there on the evening of the 23rd December and my sister loves to shop and last but not least I wanted to find somewhere that we could have a nice Christmas lunch. The Eliot Hotel Boston ticked all these boxes except the Christmas lunch but that was easy fixed with a short Uber ride to another hotel.
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Arrival at the Eliot Hotel Boston
Craig and I arrived with the kids from Washington DC at about 6pm. We really enjoyed our visit to Washington DC with the kids. On arrival at the Eliot Hotel Boston we were very happy to be informed that we had been upgraded to suites for both of my bookings (us 5 and my sister’s room). This was music to our ears as we had been on the road for 3 weeks already and the 5 of us had been sharing one room. We were so excited to get up to our suite and spread out!
The red carpet at the entrance set the scene for this elegant boutique hotel.The doorman, Kevin, was on hand to assist with bags and opening doors. He welcomed the kids and ushered them in while Craig and I got sorted. The foyer of the hotel is small but impressive and warm. The reception is also small yet functional but hey who needs a big reception anyway.
While I was checking in, I could hear the kids behind me chatting away to the Kevin. As it turned out he became a highlight of Boston and just shows that great staff go a long way to making your trip perfect. In typical Aussie fashion, Kevin quickly became Kev and his rapport with the kids was like nothing I have ever experienced. He was also exceptionally knowledgable and great at his job. The kids were super excited about my sister and hubby arriving that night and Kev was happy to hear all about it!
Location of Eliot Hotel Boston
The Eliot Hotel Boston is a boutique 4 star hotel on Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay area. It’s a short walk to Fenway Park and Newbury Street, think high end shopping, and Boston Common. Boston Common is the start of the Freedom Trail which leads you into central Boston past Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market and on to Paul Revere House and the Bunker Hill Monument.
Cost for Eliot Hotel Boston
When researching hotels for Boston I found it to be a fairly expensive city. There could have been a number of contributing factors to this. Our stay included Christmas Day, I wanted to stay somewhere pretty central where we could walk to most places. We also needed a room that would sleep 5 people and space for Santa to drop of his gifts! Given all these constraints I was very happy with what we paid and the free room upgrade was icing on the cake.
We always book our hotels through Hotelscombined.com and find the rates to be very competitive.
Our suite at the Eliot Hotel Boston
As stated previously we received free rooms upgrades to suites for our stay at the Eliot Hotel and I have to admit that I was blown away when I opened the door to our suite. We had been sharing one room with twin double beds for the previous 3 weeks including 6 cases and there was no room for any of us. This upgrade was just perfect and just what we needed at the halfway mark of the trip.
The suite could sleep 6 people and the kids were of course arguing over who would sleep on the pull out couch and have it to themselves. Alannah won that fight being the eldest! She’s also the heaviest sleeper and wouldn’t get woken when Santa dropped in!
How lovely was it to have a 2 rooms, the lounge area was big enough for all 7 of us to open our presents on Christmas morning. The kids ran down the hall to wake their uncle and aunt to let them know Santa had been. We also had 2 sets of windows, plenty enough for us all to crowd around when it hit 8am and we realised our dreams had come true and it was snowing outside on Christmas morning. I got it, I actually got my white Christmas and I couldn’t have been happier.
There are 3 types of rooms available at the Eliot Hotel including deluxe guest rooms, one bedroom suites and two bedroom suites all with a generous floor plan. Being boutique and luxurious the Eliot Hotel has certainly paid attention to detail. Each of the suites has a desk area and ours had a walk in robe for our heavy winter jackets and boots that was a great place to store our wet items from the snow. All hotels in the Boston area are smoke free zones which I love, being a non smoker.
The bathroom in our suite had recently been renovated in floor to ceiling white marble, it had a walk in shower with no bath tub which I prefer anyway, there was a free standing basin and toilet. It was small but plenty enough room. The toilet location was a little strange sticking out into the doorway but that’s ok as long as there is a toilet I’m pretty happy with that.
Each room had a mini bar under a bench with a sink and coffee machine above. There was also free tea, coffee and biscuits for guests. We also found a lovely welcome gift of a chocolate muffin with a warm welcome note from the general manager. These small things are a nice touch and really do make you feel welcome. We were so happy with our room and so thankful for the upgrade to the beautiful suite.
Dining at the Eliot Hotel Boston
The UNI restaurant is located on the ground floor of the Eliot Hotel. It is open for breakfast and dinner 7 days a week and for late night ramen on Friday and Saturday nights. It was recently named as the best restaurant in Boston. The Japanese menu highlights global street food-inspired small plates, innovative makimono, nigiri and sashimi, alongside craft cocktails and a wide-ranging sake list.
To be honest we actually didn’t eat here, reason being was we were in Boston from 23rd – 27th December and had a cracking itinerary. We found that the times we could have eaten there the restaurant was closed or not what we were looking for. The kids would have struggled to eat anything there also. I can confirm that my sister and her husband thoroughly enjoyed their ramen supper on their first night. They had flown straight from Melbourne through to Boston on the evening of the 23rd December. I did drop in for a beer to celebrate their arrival but that was it.
Verdict
I loved the Eliot Hotel Boston and can not recommend it enough. It was perfect for our Christmas away from home and all the staff were so excited for us when it snowed on Christmas morning and yes we were out there playing in the snow in our pyjamas the minute it started. Yes they all thought we were hilarious! It started snowing at 8am and snowed solidly until 11am giving us about 4 inches to play in. It didn’t snow for the rest of the day.
I couldn’t have felt more welcome by the team at the Eliot Hotel Boston, from the free upgrade to the awesome staff and the hotel room was homely and warm. I was concerned that spending Christmas in a hotel would be a bit sad but our experience was far from that. The wifi was great as we had to FaceTime home a few times, we called for their Christmas and then 17 hours later for ours. We also called at 3am Melbourne time to tell the Nans that it was snowing!
I was incredible lucky to get the snow like we did, I knew it was a gamble but it turned out just perfect, I couldn’t have ordered it any better. I honestly didn’t see many people while we were at the hotel although when we checked out on our way to New York on the 27th December, there where another 3 Aussie families checking out behind me. I think that kind of says it all! Either we all have the same taste or the Eliot Hotel Boston is a great choice of hotel when staying in Boston.
Have you been to Boston or experienced a white Christmas? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Safe travels,
Sal, Craig & Our3kids.
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