InterContinental Boston

The hotel is beautiful. It's on the waterfront. And the people were wonderful. We did the priceline thing since we'd never been to Boston and hit the jackpot. The rooms have great views, it's close to a transit station, has parking (for a reasonable price), They also let us check in at 9 a.m.

So we were pretty excited about staying at the Boston Intercontinental Hotel over the week of July 4th. Most hotels were outrageous that time of the year and by using Hotwire I got us a rate of $125 a night. I did some extensive research on the place and while I wasn’t completely happy with its location in the Financial District, I did like the fact that it was on the water and within walking distance to Faneuil Hall.

I should add, at this point, that I have a 2 year old and was traveling with my mother and my husband, as well as my child.

Upon checking in at the hotel, we were greeted cheerfully by the doorman and later by the bellman. No problems there. At the front desk, however, it was a different story.
First, there was the problem of the deposit. The hotel wanted to secure $100 per night as a deposit. Since we were staying 6 nights, that was $600. Now, most hotels want to do this. They also tell you that it’s for “incidentals” like using the mini-bar, ordering room service, and buying movies off of the television. I usually decline it. I stay in 4 and 5 star hotels all the time and as long as they turn off the pay per view movies and disconnect the phone so that you can’t call out there is generally not a problem.

The hotel also tells you that they are not really “holding” the money, just “securing” it. Well, my bank doesn’t know the difference. The minute the hotel runs it through, my bank thinks I made a purchase and that money is as good as gone until the hotel releases it upon checkout. (It should be noted here that I have banked at several different banks and almost everyone I have banked at has done this.)

So the woman here refuses to work with us. She tells us that it is “only” $100 per night and manages to embarrass us in front of everyone in line. Well, to me, $600 is a lot of money. That was my shopping money for the trip!

After several minutes of continuous embarrassment, she finally says that she can do the things that we requested but that we won’t be allowed to eat in any of the restaurants. I retort that yes we can, we’ll just pay cash like normal people and not charge it to the room. We end up leaving a $100 cash deposit, as requested by the manager.

The room itself was large but we looked onto a roof. I loved the huge bathroom and separate soaking tub. It was roomy enough for the four of us.

More complaints, however. My mom was upset that it didn’t have a coffee maker. My husband was upset that the “business center” consisted of 2 computers in the gift shop that charged $6 per 15 minutes. Even the Holiday Inn at the Cincinnati airport had free internet and computer access in their business center.

The pool was large and had a great view of downtown Boston, but it was awkward to get to. You had to walk all the way through the fitness center and go past a security desk to reach it. We didn’t use it.

The concierge, however, was wonderful. He was very informative and helpful and we utilized him a lot. One night a repair man came to our room to fix our tub and he even ended up fixing my son’s toy plane as well.

On our last night, around 10:00 pm, we remembered that we had left our $100 deposit at the desk. So we decided to order room service. It came to $75. After receiving our meal, we got a phone call from the front desk. Same woman. Said that we didn’t have enough on our account to cover it. My husband asked how much we had and she said $100. He asked her how much the meal was and she said $75. She then went on to say that we couldn’t use those services, however, without having all $600 on our account. My husband got angry and she said that she would talk to her manager. We never heard from her again. By then, our supper was ruined because we were stressed. So what were they doing, holding our money hostage?
The location was pretty good and it had easy access to the T. I would probably not stay there again, but maybe I am expecting too much out of my hotel stays these days.

On another note, the manager told my mom that the reason we were in a poor room was because we had booked through Hotwire and that they have those rooms put aside. You know, the bad ones.

Directions: Located next to South Station, a coupe of blocks from Fanueil Hall

howa can you NOT love this place? I can not find ONE reason not to love it... New, modern, high, location, location, location, and it WOWs you at every single detail (the big rooms, with amasing views, esquisite decor, great service, great attention to detail, great gym, great pool, very clean) what else? it was love at first sight... and 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th and 5th... and we'll keep it coming!

Unique Quality: it's just perfect!