Review of Colonnade Hotel, Boston

There's no doubt that Boston's a charming city. You've got revolutionary (and pre-revolutionary) history, shopping, top restaurants, winning sports teams, cool new museums, and more. It's also a great place for business travelers. Boston's a relatively compact city, with lots of great hotels right downtown.

The Colonnade Hotel, Boston, is one great choice for business travelers. It's right next to the Prudential Center, the enclosed shopping and dining area in downtown Boston. That means it's convenient to all of the core Boston sights, as well as the majority of Boston and Cambridge-based businesses. But it also means that since it's not connected to the Prudential Center (it's across the street) you get all the benefits of the location without any of the frantic, tourist-driven feeling you can get at the large, mega-hotels nearby. (For other hotel options in Boston, consult About.com's list of top hotels in Boston). In addition to the Prudential Center, the Colonnade is walking distance to a number of Boston landmarks, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Newbury Street, and Fenway Park (if you don't mind a long walk).

While slightly oppressive looking on the outside with lots of gray concrete, inside, the Colonnade is a comfortable, up-to-date, medium-sized hotel with good amenities for business travelers, including a top-notch French Bistro and a super-convenient option of a free ride (for 1 person, within a 1 mile radius) in one of the hotel's two Smart cars.

The Colonnade's rooms have been nicely updated recently, with a rich but understated feel. Bathrooms are clean and well-designed. Highlights include the bedside clock/radio/i-Pod players that include ambient sound options (for example, rain or white noise) and background music (for example guitar or spa). Service is top-notch and friendly. An added bonus (in the summer) is the Colonnade's rooftop pool with views of Boston). Overall, the Boston Colonnade hotel is a comfortable choice for business travelers that want something nice, but a little out of the ordinary.

The Colonnade Hotel in downtown Boston is a good choice for business travelers that want a convenient hotel, a great level of service, great amenities, and access to nearby shops, restaurants, sights, and businesses.

Location - It's conveniently located the Back Bay area of Boston, right across the street from the Prudential Center, and a few blocks from the Hynes Convention center. At the same time, it's not directly connected to the mall or nearby Boston hotels (such as the Westin or the Marriott). That means you have to step outside and cross the street to gain access to the indoor walkways/mall areas that connect a large variety of nearby hotels and buildings. But it also means that you have a little more privacy and peace at the Colonnade, compared to the frantic pace that can exist at some of the larger, connected hotels. The hotel is also convenient to areas such as the Public Garden, Newbury Street, Faneuil Hall, and more. The Colonnade Boston has a T stop (the Boston MBTA, the public transportation/subway) and bus stops right outside its door.

Rooms - Rooms are nicely updated, with pillow-top mattresses, 37-inch flat-screen TVs (and DVD players, a good extra). A fine feature that you don't find in most hotel rooms is windows that can open. Rooms also have Keurig coffee makers (which I love), nice bright reading lights and "sound soother" clock/radio/iPod docking stations. Although it's pretty straightforward, I found that I really liked the "sound soother" docking station. At night, I had it set for "rain" background sound. During the day and evening, I set it to either the "guitar" or "spa" sound, which provided a pleasant, changing background ambiance that made the room feel more like home. The closet held bathrobes and an electronic wall safe.

The bathroom was a decent size, with marble fixtures, a rain-type shower head with plenty of pressure.

Service and Stay - During my stay at the Colonnade, I heard little external noise. No hallway noise made its way into the room, and almost no traffic noise. The drapes worked to keep the sun out nicely. There was no refrigerator in the room, although the mini bar worked for keeping very small items cold.

Service at the Colonnade was fast and friendly. The concierge in the lobby was helpful in recommending dinner and entertainment spots and details on the subway routes and prices. After checking in, I asked that the feather pillows be swapped for foam pillows, which was done promptly. The wall safe was locked open when I arrived. Maintenance people arrived quickly and although it took them about 10 minutes and two calls to the safe company's hotline to get the safe unlocked and working again, I was reassured to see how hard it is to open one of those safes.

One area the Colonnade should improve on is hallway lighting. While the illumination in the room was perfectly fine, the recent renovation seems to have gone a slight bit overboard on the "green" side when it comes to hallway lighting (although I've certainly seen this happen in other hotels recently). The hallways simply don't have enough lights and enough illumination. (Management did tell me they were aware of the concern and were working on solutions, so this may be resolved in the future.)

The hotel has a restaurant right off the lobby, and room service available for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late snacks.

An added bonus at the Colonnade is access to Boston's only rooftop pool. The outdoor pool features views of downtown Boston and the Prudential Center. It's generally open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., although it does close occasionally for private functions.

The Colonnade Boston is a good hotel for business travelers, providing a good mixture of access and privacy. The hotel's staff is attentive without being overbearing, the hotel has a nice French Bistro restaurant (Brassiere Jo) attached. As noted above, the hotel is in a central Boston location in Boston's Back Bay.

Business Extras - The Colonnade has two micro Smart Cars. During the day (if staff are available), the Colonnade can drive guests to locations within about a 1 mile radius.

The Colonnade provides all the basic business traveler-related services, including Wi-Fi. The Colonnade, like most business hotels, charges for Wi-Fi, roughly $15 a day, with discounts for multiple days. Frequent visitors may want to join the hotels I-Prefer Global Guest Benefit Program, which will provide a room upgrade, complimentary Internet access and a welcome gift.

Business Center - The hotel's business center is in the lobby, just behind the concierge's desk. While not huge, it's fine for a hotel of the Colonnade's size. The business center has two PC-based workstations, a black and white laser printer, a color laser printer, fax machine, and a flight board, which lists upcoming flights from nearby (about 15 minutes) Logan Airport. Guests can use the PCs and printers free of charge to print boarding passes. Otherwise, PC and Internet access time is sold in blocks of 15 minutes.

Fitness Center - The hotel has a full fitness center on the fifth floor, with full windows that overlook the brick houses in Boston's South End. Larger than some micro gyms you find in smaller hotels, the Colonnade's fitness center has a great selection of cardio equipment (both LifeFitness and Precor) and weight equipment, including free weights. The fitness center is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is stocked with fresh fruit, towels, and water.

Parking - The Colonnade has on-site parking (approximately $38 per day) that's convenient, with in and out privileges. The hotel has laundry service. For a working environment, the rooms have tables and fairly comfortable and adjustable chairs. Their desks are nice, but nothing special.

Food - For food, the hotel offers a few options. The first is a 24-hour room service menu, with a good range of choices. The second is the restaurant in the lobby, Brasserie Jo, a nice French bistro with a comfortable feel.

One of the charms of the Colonnade is Brasserie Jo, an authentic French Bistro from Chef Jean Joho (who opened the original Brasserie Jo in Chicago). Stepping into Brasserie Jo is like stepping into Paris. Whether it's for a quiet drink before dinner at the classy, art-deco 1940's-style bar, dinner in dining room, a late-night dessert, or breakfast in the wicker chairs in the sunny front window, Brasserie Jo is more than the standard hotel restaurant--it's a destination for local residents, not just the default dining choice for guests with few other options, as is often the case in hotel restaurants. It has an upscale feel but a comfortable vibe. Brasserie Jo is the kind of place that feels like home after a long day at work.

Of course, the food is good too--especially for people who enjoy French food. During my stay, I found the traditional steak frites impressive, and the day's special--trout with brandy cream sauce--was fabulous. The deserts were also amazing. Save room if you're tempted to try their special profiteroles with chocolate sauce or floating island with caramel and almonds. And, of course, you can't go wrong with creme brulee.

Business travelers looking for something different can take a short taxi ride to Boston’s nearby South End, for a wide range of trendy restaurants.

The Colonnade is a good choice for small-to-medium business functions, or ones that need to be run concurrently with business conventions happening at the nearby Hynes Convention center.

The Colonnade has a range of meeting and function rooms, including some with nice views of Boston and the surrounding area. From small executive or board meetings to large, grand ballroom events, the Colonnade can handle it. The hotel has 13,000 square feet of function space, including two grand ballrooms (with seating for up to 650 guests) and a number of smaller salons. In addition, there are 15 well-appointed conference rooms.

The hotel's Boston Ballroom includes a built-in stage with long, flowing curtains. The Colonnade East and West Rooms have good floor-to-ceiling views of the Prudential Center and Copley Square. The Braemore and Kenmore meeting rooms have a European touch, with Irish carpets and European textiles. For large events, the Huntington Grand Foyer and Ballroom provides an impressive meeting area for up to 650 guests, with vaulted ceilings, marble flooring, and custom hand-knotted area rugs.

In addition, functions can be held at the Colonnade's unique roof top pool (in summer, of course!) on the 11th floor, with its impressive view of the Boston skyline.

Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel, including in the function areas, the pool, and the Brasserie Jo restaurant. The 24-hour business center provides additional resources, and professional event support is available.

The Colonnade Hotel
120 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Phone: + 1 617 424 7000

Fax: + 1 617 425 3222

Website: http://www.colonnadehotel.com/

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.