citizenM Boston North Station Hotel
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About
This is your perfect Boston hotel in an ideal location - citizenM Boston North Station. Find us perched on top of TD Garden Arena, across the street from Boston North Station metro and train. Reach us from the airport by taxi in around 20 minutes. Walk a short distance to Faneuil Hall, Boston Tea Party ships, downtown and other attractions.
All our rooms are packed with tech and comfort, from giant beds to rain showers, and smart TVs with free movies (or stream your own content via the superfast free Wi-Fi). All rooms are deep-cleaned and disinfected after every stay. Control everything from lights to temperature via the beside MoodPad tablet, or with our free app (the app is also your key to contactless stays and free welcome drinks when you book your next stay through it).
In our colourful living room, enjoy books, art and ultra-comfortable Vitra furniture - and remember to check out the sensational view of Boston skyline from our (beautifully furnished) outdoor terrace.
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The bed was very comfortable but again only for 1 person. I did request extra pillows as it only had two when I arrived and they came quickly. On three sides the bed is surrounded by walls so this would make it difficult for a second person to get out of bed in the middle of the night if they were closer to the window.
The bathroom is tiny. The shower was very nice with the rain shower option but only had one combined shampoo/body wash. There was no conditioner (note for those that really need it- you need to pack it). The "bathroom" was just a toilet and a shower and the sink was out in the open room. I do believe there was a curtain you could shut but it would give you zero privacy if you needed it.
Everyone was very friendly and nice. The food downstairs was sub-par. And you have to order hot food to get a drink so a lot of food was wasted as it was clearly just microwaved (I think it could have been decent if it was oven baked or even fried for a majority of "hot" appetizers but the soft/microwaved items were not worth eating).
I would not stay here again but I am admittedly more of a luxury hotel traveler. I would spend more to get more space and a more traditional hotel room. But for a solo traveler that doesn't want/need a ton of space it is a decent choice. Tons of restaurants to walk to and right next to TD Garden.
The room itself is small but very different than your average hotel room. You control everything from your iPad right in bed if you want! The mood lighting, climate control, blinds and television controls are right at your fingertips. The place is very different, classy, artsy and sexy! We visited the bar and outdoor patio which was beautiful with an awesome view of the city. Every inch of this place is cared for and super clean!
The blackout shades are great and the mood music on the television helped us drift to sleep even on a loud street. We loved our experience at this hotel and can’t wait to return!
I was fine with the small room, and there were things about the concept I enjoyed. Bed was comfortable, and I slept great. However, my interactions with the staff at this hotel were downright terrible.
Here's a quick run down of some of the gripes I had during stay:
1. Not fifteen minutes after checking in, an evacuation alarm begins to sound. One "ambassador" comes over and tells me that this happens all the time and not to worry. Then another "ambassador," presumably a more senior one, comes over and argues with the other ambassadors. Finally, the more senior ambassador comes over and rudely barks at us that we need to leave the building. So we evacuate ....
2. The next morning I am awoken to an announcement that they are about to begin testing the evacuation alarm system. This test went on for about an hour.
3. I brought a bagel into a conference room where I was trying to get some work done. Apparently, this is against the rules -- never heard of a hotel lobby that doesn't allow outside food, and there was no signage about this, but okay... I learned that I broke the rules when an "ambassador" came over to interrupt an important call I was on, insisting that I "hide" the bagel so he doesn't "get in trouble with his manager." This bagel was an EMERGENCY for this guy, who seemed to have no awareness of how to politely speak to a guest of the hotel. Instead, he wound up grabbing the bagel away from me and throwing it out.
4. There are no coffee makers in the room, so you either need to leave the hotel for coffee (which you can't bring back into the lobby) or purchase it in the lobby for about $3 for a small cup (plus tip, of course).
5. Both check in and check out are done at a kiosk, which is honestly fine, but not with a hoard of "ambassadors" standing around you having loud, obnoxious conversations with each other.
6. Everything about this hotel is downright weird. Prepare to be very confused a lot of the time. Just one of many examples: In the shower there are two giant bottles labeled "shampoo" (one called AM and one called PM), but no shower gel, no soap, no conditioner, etc. I called down to inquire, and the person who answered told me that the shampoo could also be used as body wash...
It was just a really weird, unpleasant experience.
We will return to the citizenM in Amsterdam, but this trip to Boston was not what we had hoped for.
Front desk staff is utterly incompetent and useless, seems nobody knows anything, not interested in helping
or caring that guests have a good experience, but chatting with each other.
The only thing they do right away without delay is charge you, but when it comes to following up on things- nothing. It seems they do not want to have any guests on the 4th floor either, as they have freezing temperatures
(we both have a cold now!!), and play annoying loud music.
Very hypocritical covid-rules, some staff do not wear the masks, e.g. cleaning staff does not when they
clean the rooms, but they do not allow you to eat your own food in the general area to make you
buy their food. The food options are very limited- they did not have half the things on the menu available.
I loved their tablet with which you can lift or lower the blinds/curtains, adjust the intensity of the lights in your room and also shower (!), and of course select the tv channels or movies you want to watch like a remote control.
is both discreet and friendly.
This is what I call a feel good hotel.
The only negative point of this hotel located downtown is they don't have parking and the public parking near the hotel is VERY expensive ($45 to stay overnight). Clients should have a special price.
Superficially, the CM in Boston is almost exactly the same as the one in Amsterdam. Same room (more or less), same cafe, same "living room" area, same concierge, etc.
All of the good things about the room apply: Giant bed, tablet control over almost everything (you can use the hotel's app as well and do it from your phone), soundproof, awesome TV (though, see caveat below), and very interesting bathroom/shower configuration (different from Amsterdam, but still pretty cool).
So, that much is good. A few things were not so good: There are no luggage carts, and the nearest parking is a block away. This means you have to leave your car in a limited parking area, while you make multiple trips up to your room with your stuff. I can understand that maybe they don't want to deal with carts in the Covid environment (having to sanitize after every use), but other hotels manage, and considering that at the Boston location, you have to navigate two sets of elevators, the luggage issue is a real thing.
Second: You can stream to the TV from a phone or tablet, but you can't do it from a laptop unless you have an HDMI cable with you, and you call the manager to get the remote which will let you switch the input on the TV. Now, it's to their credit that they'll actually let you do this. Some hotels won't. But it's far too cumbersome and kludgy to be a good solution. Streaming to a smart TV is easy. They've made it significantly more complicated than it needs to be. The manager said that they're working on a solution.
Third, there's no real way to turn on the light in the bathroom without turning on the lights in the rest of the room. This means that you run a pretty chance of waking up your partner when you get up in the middle of the night to go.
I'm not sure if this constitutes a "bad" thing, per se, but the concierges in Amsterdam seemed to be a lot more helpful. I'm chalking this up to maybe a difference between Dutch and American work ethics, but the concierge was one of the things that made the CM in Amsterdam really stand out. Having said all that, I don't want to leave anyone with the impression that this is a bad hotel or that the staff were unhelpful or anything. They were very helpful. The staff in Amsterdam just set a standard that Americans might not be able to pull off.
And also, of course, we're here in the middle of the pandemic, and there don't seem to be many guests here, which I'm sure makes the staff feel like there's not much to do, so I can cut them some slack there. At times it almost seems like we've got the whole hotel to ourselves, which is nice, though I wish I could turn the heat up in the "living room," and put some better music on.
On the whole, it's very nice here. The parking/luggage issue should really be addressed, and the TV streaming situation needs to be fixed, but apart from those two things, it's great.
The highs:
• Great location in the West End of Boston, which means the great restaurants of the West End and the North End are steps away; it is adjacent to North Station, and very close by walking and car to South Station, close to beautiful parks, and good shopping.
• The bed is soooo comfy and the size of the bed does not make it easier for one to get out of bed.
• The room is appointed very well in terms of chic minimalism-even though the room is not big in terms of size but its works very well. There is a small fridge, a table to do some work, a small comfy bench to entertain guests, a kimode that has a shower stall that changes colours, small open wardrobe, a huge ass drawer under the bed that can be utilised to store full sized luggage or more clothes, and the control pad that allows a guest to control the functions of the room, which is awesome.
• The amazing view from the bed, which has me adored at the fact that I can look out at the Boston skyline for days on end!
• The 4th floor is just like walking through a pop culture wonderland with the various art pieces and furniture that really makes this brand one of a kind. Also, the bar makes spot on drinks with great balance and the 4th floor really feels like a chic, luxurious, non-pretentious living room I wish I had.
• Lastly, the crew/employees are friggin awesome and are so friendly. Every time, I encountered an employee, they were always so warm, friendly, gracious, and genuine. I have always appreciated the great customer service the employees have provide to myself and to other guests. They really hire amazing individuals whom care and love what they do (I hope they are treated well by their management and company).
I just love it here and any time I come to Boston I try to stay here and recommend this property to friends and family that arrive into Boston for a getaway. This is my go to hotel and will be staying here for many visits and trips to come!
"No ironing facilities in rooms, instead they have an "ironing room". Plan ahead as it takes time for the equipment to heat up and just one per floor "Read full review
"The desk/workspace is very small. One draw, Small closet. Small dorm size refrigerator and safe in room."Read full review
"Be aware of the bed situation with it being against the wall so prepare to climb over the bed to get to the side nearest the wall."Read full review
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