Before we start, here’s the usual disclaimer: the hotels didn’t know a Globe writer was checked in and we paid the usual price for the night. Hotel prices vary widely from season to season and even from night to night, so check carefully before making your reservation. Usually my reviews include a look at the gym, but given the pandemic, I’ve made the decision to forego hotel gyms.
The Newbury vs. The Langham Boston: Who Can Claim the Most Luxurious Renovation?
In previous hotel reviews I have never pitted one property against another, but I couldn’t resist betting The Newbury and the Langham Boston in the ring and let her fight for luscious supremacy. Both buildings were constructed in the 1920s and both reopened this spring after a multi-million dollar renovation. It seemed like a fair fight. Let the polite sparring begin!
The lobby of the Newbury Boston Hotel on Back Bay.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
The Newbury began as the iconic Ritz in 1927, merged into the Taj, and then, after a long delay caused by the pandemic, reopened as Newbury in the spring of 2021. Was it worth the wait? The short answer is yes, with a capital “y”. The hotel’s public areas, designed by renowned architect Jeffrey Beers, are decorated in dreamy, jewel tones. The look of the Street Bar, the popular pub in the hotel, could be used in a textbook on how to make a bar both expensive and unpretentious. The lobby, which is unfortunately still small, shines. The caramelized sugar on that creme brulee of a hotel is Contessa, an Italian restaurant with a meal almost as good as the incredible, expansive views and beautiful interior design.
Contessa Restaurant in Langham Boston.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
The Newbury threw it out of the park (or, more precisely, out of the adjoining Public Garden). Then I checked into my room and was dejected. There was nothing wrong with the room, except that it was boring with a capital “b”. After walking through the stunning, colorful public squares, I was suddenly swimming in a beige ocean. Everything was first class and comfortable. The bed linen was Frette, the bath products were custom made for the hotel, and so was the furniture in my room. There was also a Nespresso Vertuo espresso machine. It was expensive and great, but also very milquetoast. Some might say that the absence of pizzazz was a visual cleansing of the palate, or was intended to calm and relax. I thought it was average considering the price ($ 649 for the room, plus $ 153 in taxes and fees). I stayed in a mid-range room called the Park View King.
A guest room at the Newbury Boston Hotel.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
There was also nothing that anchored the space with the city. Even so, the service was top notch, the bathroom was beautiful, and the location is probably the best in town.
Across from the Newbury is the newly renovated Langham Boston. Once the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the hotel, converted into a bank in 1922, has long needed a facelift, and after a $ 200 million makeover, it’s finally worthy of the Langham name.
Grana Restaurant in Langham Boston.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
In the face-to-face duel against Newbury, the Langham have one major disadvantage and that is their location. There’s nothing wrong with Post Office Square and its proximity to Downtown Crossing, but it’s not Newbury Street. The Langham has a lobby bar called the Fed, which is a bit more playful but less romantic than the Street Bar in Newbury. Like Newbury, Langham has an Italian restaurant. Instead of a city view, Grana has a high ceiling and no windows, but it’s bright and elegant. The restaurant currently only serves breakfast and lunch. Given its location in the financial district, the Fed bar has the potential to be a hit with the after-work crowd, but getting diners to Grana could be a challenge as the area clears after 7am on the weekdays.
A room at the Langham Boston Hotel.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
Back to the battle, while Newbury has the location and the lively restaurant, the big plus about Langham is the rooms. I chose a comparable room category (called the Premier Room) at the Langham, checked in and loved it. The space was vibrant, full of patterns and textures with artwork hinting at the city and the building’s banking history. Furniture details are reminiscent of retro suitcases and steamer suitcases. It had all the comforts of Newbury but at a lower price (I paid $ 460 for the room with an additional $ 108 in taxes and fees). The adjective I would use to describe Newbury is “great”; the phrase I would apply to the Langham is “upscale fun”.
The Street Bar in the Newbury Boston Hotel.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
The two hotels are evenly coordinated and score points outside the charts, from the turndown service to the Nespresso machines to bed linen and bathrooms. Both receive a gold star, but I will declare the Langham Boston the winner of this round because of its courage, its liveliness, its lobby bar, its cheeky outlook, its extremely attentive service and, above all, the guest rooms.
Omni Boston Hotel at the seaport
The outdoor pool at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
When I previously talked about the. wrote Omni Boston Hotel at the seaportA friend said, “It sounds like a cruise ship on land.” There are some similarities to a ship on land. First of all, the hotel is huge. With 1,054 rooms, it is the largest hotel built in Boston since 1984. There are seven dining options and if a guest is at the Omni for a meeting, a direct tunnel can take them to the convention center. Conclusion: If a guest stays here, he never has to leave the hotel. There is also this pool which is only open to guests.
The Omni strives to be a conference hotel that doesn’t feel like a conference hotel, and it succeeds. On a Friday night, the sports bar called Sporting Club was a mix of guests and neighbors from South Boston. The crescendo bar in the lobby drew a rather reserved group of guests. It felt like a good place for a secret gathering and a fancy cocktail.
The hotel has two towers, one had more traditional rooms called Patron Rooms, the other had a category called Artist Rooms, which were filled with exposed concrete and wooden floors. The artist rooms are what my parents would call “funky”. It’s an attractive option for congress attendees. I went for a traditional Patron Room and was an instant fan. I loved the wood accents and the clever use of space. The carpet looked a bit like the beach at low tide, but luckily it didn’t smell of it. The bathroom had (modern) wood paneling, which, unlike most marble bathrooms, gave the room a warm feel.
A guest room at the new Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
I heard some floor noise from my room (I think there was an office Christmas party going on that night somewhere in the huge hotel), but like all the hotels I’ve stayed in during this review, was it mostly quiet and I slept well? .
The Sporting Club at the Omni Boston Hotel on Seaport.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
At $ 189 a night plus taxes and fees of $ 44.50, The Omni was good value, especially for those looking for a hotel near Seaport. The most repulsive thing I could find was a program that offered a charity donation when a guest checked out of the household. The Omni would donate one meal a day to Feeding America for those who forego the service. My immediate thought was, “What about the employees who miss tips? I would rather make a donation to them. “
The lobby of the Colonnade Hotel BostonChristopher Muther / Globe Staff
The colonnade hotel
At the end of last month the globe brought a story about the 50th anniversary of the Colonnade Hotel and how the hotel had accepted its brutalist past in the style of the 1960s with a major renovation. As a fan of retro and mid-century design, I really wanted to check in and see what was done. Unfortunately, I set my vintage expectations a little too high. Some of the lumbering elements of the lobby had been dismantled, but I didn’t see anything reminiscent of decades past, except for some exposed concrete and a few tchotchkes scattered here and there. I wouldn’t expect the hotel to turn into a retro-themed playground like that the TWA Hotel in New Yorkbut I am hoping for a renovation along the lines of the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC Five years ago, Watergate reopened with a modern, playful take on the 1970s. Instead of having a bit of retro fun, the Colonnade was just a nice city hotel, and that’s certainly no shame.
A room at the Colonnade Hotel in Back Bay.Christopher Muther / Globe Staff
What I found strange, however, was my room. It was big enough and comfortable, but it looked like a hodgepodge. Some of the furniture was new and some had been around for a while. The walls were brilliant white and mostly bare. One chair was randomly at an awkward angle by the window. Why was it there? Was there a Jimmy Stewart “back window” situation outside? I was so confused.
This is picky. The hotel has checked all the important criteria: it was clean, comfortable, there was a Keurig coffee machine and fast WiFi, and it is in a prime location (across from the Prudential Center) in Back Bay. At $ 206 a night plus $ 50 taxes and fees, it didn’t feel inappropriate given the space in my room. The Colonnade has a rooftop pool open in summer and a new restaurant called Lucie in the lobby. But in my opinion the place will always be Brasserie Jo. Hopefully the next time the Colonnade is renovated it will also be nostalgic and full of retro throughout the hotel.
Christopher Muther can be reached at christopher.muther@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Mutter.
