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Borders Books Music & Cafe - CLOSED
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Coffee & Tea, Bookstores [Edit]
24 School St(between Province St & Spring Ln)
Boston, MA 02108
Neighborhood: Downtown
(617) 557-7188
- Nearest Transit:
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350 Washington St (193, 92, 93)
Tremont St @ Beacon St (191, 192, 193)
Franklin St @ Washington St (92, 93)
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
64 reviews for Borders Books Music & Cafe
Review Highlights
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"...a huge travel section and a cafe that serves Seattle's Best." In 7 reviews -
"The store is large with a great selection." In 3 reviews -
"I find the staff really friendly and helpful." In 3 reviews
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64 reviews in English
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Review from K G.
Boston, MA
RIP to Borders. It is a shame that good old fashioned books are going to way of the Ipad or the Nook or the Kindle and so on....the cafe was already closed for good.
I added photos of the closing that is under way. This location had a lot of character with the old bank details and I hope something as nice replaces it. -
Review from Cristina C.
Boston, MA
7/26/2011 5 Check-ins Here
They're closing, it stinks. Another empty building in Downtown. I went in here often over the past year of working in the area and I'm sad to see them leave. They were always busy, and opened at 7am! So before work to kill some time was the time to go!
RIP Borders :(
I, along with many others will miss you greatly. -
Review from Devon M.
7/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Border's is totally a "Meh. I've experienced better" sort of place because if it wasn't, they still be a functional company which it doesn't seem like they've been in YEARS. The escalator has been out of order here long before they announced the bankruptcy, which wasn't a good sign. While I am a kindle reader for the most part, I did like having the option to walk in and buy a book or a magazine.
There was a point when this store had a lot of good merchandise and was a bustling place. I'm sad to see an empty space in the downtown crossing area, though I am sure something good will go in soon. -
Review from Andrew R.
5/16/2011
Oh, Borders. You taunt me with your 40% off coupons that are somehow still more expensive than online retailers. You drive me batty with your book classifications. You boggle me by hardly ever removing some of the front-of-the-store books (they can't ALL be awesome bestsellers for forever and a day).
But your cafe is nice. On cold, snowy days it's a great place to grab a small hot drink and sit upstairs, people-watching those that walk down below. It ever has free samples of sandwiches or baked goodies at the end of the day from time to time. A nice respite from the cold - that's what you're good for.Listed in: Free Samples
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Review from Chris B.
Hampton, NH
12/28/2011
WAS a great place to get books. Emphasize on was since it is closed!
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Review from Michelle T.
Boston, MA
3/5/2011
Huuuuge store with a grand entrance, but this book store doesn't make you want to stay. The books upstairs were kind of a mess sometimes on the shelves and it was way too stuffy.
I know borders is going through Bankruptcy, but did they really have to get rid of central air too?
Good news is, there are 40% off coupons for Borders floating around on the internet, so if you know what you want, get the coupon, come get the book and peace out. -
Review from Jackie S.
2/16/2011
Thank you Borders for providing free wifi to us. We needed a break from walking the Freedom Trail. Plus, we wanted to look for upcoming restaurants to try in the area. Seats/sofas are located near the Travel area.
Please have someone clean the bathroom often. The women bathroom reeked. -
Review from Kyle D.
Wakefield, MA
11/28/2011
I like this bookstore and this particular location because it has not only a wide selection of books, but plenty of music and dvds, along with a nice reading area. It has a good two level layout. I have probably gone to this particular location more than any other bookstore location. It can be pricey like other bookstores, but once in a while you can find some good deals. Some people like to go online for books, but I prefer to browse in person. It seems more enjoyable, especially here. Most importantly, the counter help is plentiful and the checkout time here cannot be beat. As the rating suggests, it is as good as it gets here.
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Review from Matt L.
Boston, MA
3/3/2010
This location is smack in the middle of downtown crossing and with that area failing miserably, it is not helping this store.
The set up of this Borders is such a mess and so large and disorganized that you almost get lost trying to figure out the sections. The stacks are very high and it is hard to see anything on the upper shelves. Add in that there is hardly any staff to assist you on the floor and the existing staff behind the counter is in la la land and you have a place that you want to avoid. They have an upstairs with DVDs and other random items plus the Seattle's Best Coffee where you will find most of the time, people just hanging around for hours. Skip this spot and head over to Boylston or one of the many other locations in downtown.Listed in: Disorganized Mess
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Review from Alex R.
Boston, MA
5/12/2008
This bookstore has never even once had whatever book I was looking for. It's not like I have totally weird taste in books, right? I like out-of-print books about 17th-century explorers no one has ever heard of, and slug porn. How hard is that? It also irritates me that under the big-ass FICTION sign what they mostly have is "science fiction," which in case you didn't know is books about dark elves and bullshit, and "romance," which I don't really know what that is but I'm sure it sucks, and if you're looking for a normal "fiction" book that is not either romantic or about dark elves, you have to go to the back and look for it in the "literature" section. Because in the world of Borders everything is about elves or romance or else it's a classic.
And do they really need that many books about the Bible?
And you know what else is gross? Their bathroom. It's free and public, and you know what that means: it means homeless guys are giving themselves baths in the sinks.
And another thing I hate is their escalators, because they're too narrow for two people and that means you're stuck standing there behind the homeless guy who's riding it up to the bathroom and he smells bad. He will still smell bad when you're stuck behind him again on the way down, so really all he did was spread his stink all over the bathroom too.
But for a long time they had this poster that said "The Clique" on it and I'm in one of those so that was pretty cool. Upgrade from one star to two because of that poster.
If you're not going to support independent booksellers, just order from Amazon. Borders has nothing going for it. -
Review from Russ S.
Somerville, MA
8/22/2007
This was *my* Borders when I used to work right downtown.
It's an old bank, which is neat because they use the old vault to house "journals", if I recall correctly.
The upstairs is nice because they have chairs you can sit in, and a big row of windows to look at tourists and weirdos from.
The Seattle's Best coffee is good because it's not a Starbucks, the staff has always been friendly, and you can go sit upstairs and putz around on your laptop or whatever. Very spacious laptopping area.
Oh and they have readings and musical performances sometimes.
And the bad stuff?
The lines get long here sometimes even though theres like 12 cashiers. The escalators are broken a lot. The bathroom gives you hepatitis just walkin' through the door. The foreign language section sometimes has this guy who doesn't wear deodorant just hangin' out.
All in all a pretty good Borders considering its right in the grossest part of downtown. -
Review from Daniel M.
12/30/2008 1 Check-in Here
Oy.
Over all I much prefer B&N but since there's not one near work this is where I come to kill time. the store itself is laid out strangely and I've never quite figured out the layout. Mind you I have no real intention of learning their layout so there's that.
What gets me most about this place is the near constant lines coupled with the hideous prices and the fact that it smells like urine in the elevator and on the second floor. Since their escalators are often on the fritz you're forced to take to the elevator and hold your breath for a while. Fun times.
They often have "big" 30% off sales on their DVDs but even at 30% off their prices are too high. Really, $65 for one season of a TV show?!? I guess when compared to FYE's bend over and take it pricing structure it's not as bad but still, wow.
Oddly their bargain books are always outside. The section for them inside is eensy and contains more kid's books than anything. I would like this section to be bigger and easier to navigate since it's nice to find a new author you may never have heard of if their book wasn't $3 but alas...
Since there's nothing better in the immediate area this store will suffice but if you can make it down to Copley go to that Borders or better yet to the B&N at the Pru.
OH! And as a side note for those thinking they're getting away from Starbucks by getting coffee here you should know Seattle's Best is a Starbucks brand. :-/Listed in: Chain chain chain...chain of…
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Review from Jenna S.
Chicago, IL
6/24/2009
This may literally be the worst Borders I've ever been to - and I've been to the Borders on Michigan Ave. in Chicago.
We only stopped in to use the bathroom and then I remembered I wanted to buy my dad a father's day card - great, they have a stationary section. This Borders literally had the worst bathroom I've ever been in. The bathroom was unmarked (how are you supposed to know it's upstairs - there's no signs!), tiny and dirty. Ewwww. The bathroom just had a weird funky smell to it that obviously never went away. One of the stalls just didn't lock (which always leads to awkward walk-ins) and one of the sinks was backed up and not draining. Gross. The best part of the bathrooms: the "Bathroom Inspection" paper on the back of the door is marked every hour of every day - including the day we were there! Who inspected this place? A gross person?
The rest of this place is just typical - books, stationary, DVDs, etc. It kind of had the feel of a weird 80s-looking Borders that was seriously in need of a renovation. Stationary section was small compared to others I've been to. There's no employees wandering around anywhere so don't think about asking for help.
The last straw: the check-out line was insanely slow moving and the employees obviously looked like they hated themselves. At least the woman who checked me out was polite but that was about it. I love Borders - it's my favorite chain bookstore - but this one needs a lot of serious help.Listed in: Boston!
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Review from Laura P.
Seattle, WA
3/11/2007
Jenny N. and midnight i pretty much took the words out of my mouth. While I didn't have the exact same experience (how gross- people should NEVER entertain the idea of eating in a bathroom stall. eww), the handful of times that I've used Borders' bathrooms have been icky, icky and smelly, smelly. I swear, they don't have ventilation in the bathrooms.
If I ever need to use a restroom while I'm in downtown crossing, I'm heading to the 3rd floor of DSW. Not that they have spectacular bathrooms, but they aren't as gross or traumatizing as the one at Borders.Listed in: When ya gotta go...
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Review from Rachel S.
5/18/2007
This place may be good for books (from reading other reviews) but they should remove "Music" from their name. They have the worst music collection I have ever seen. While the staff is helpful and seemingly knowledgeable about music overall, every time I've been in there, they never have what I'm looking for. And, I'm not talking about random rare B-sides, people. If you are a music store, you should aim for a complete collection.
The staff will order what you want but if you're on your lunch hour, chances are, you want the album NOW, not in two weeks. Not to mention, the prices are a bit high for CDs ($17?)Listed in: Places That Suck
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Review from cherie c.
3/2/2008
Yes, this is a review of a chain. But it is a review of this specific location.
I overheard someone say they were renovating this location. I hope that's the excuse for not having much selection, being messy, and for not making it easy to find things. Looks like they either cut hours drastically, or the employees were hiding. I couldn't find anyone to help me except at the register. The children's department isn't as good as those at other bookstore chain locations.
And for a downtown bookstore location, why don't they have more (and more interesting) author events? This is a town with more universities than I ever imagined; surely there is a literary crowd who will turn out for those things. -
Review from Jen H.
2/6/2009
Not much to this place that is unique or anything like that... large, corporate book store, music, gifts, coffee. That about sums it up... so it gets 3 stars.
I will say though that I love coming here to kill time when waiting for friends, browse books that I'd want to rent from the library, and if you need a caffeine kick then there's the attached cafe. -
Review from AccioSoyMilk ..
Richland, MS
4/9/2007
I've visited this location every now and then--it's not the best in design. I've used the bathroom once. It wasn't great, but it wasn't as nightmarish as some other reviewers have described.
Apparently it used to be a bank, which would account for the odd setup. This location tends to be neat and very well-stocked, although being downtown it's also very popular for tourists, business types and homeless people alike, and it can be hard to get a comfy chair.
The magazine section tends to be really disorganized. Staff isn't really that friendly, although it could be that they're just busy. Upstairs the music staff tends to be more helpful and polite, although that is not always the case. There's also usually a police officer on duty to observe customers and look scary. -
Review from Tammy L.
Boston, MA
4/5/2008
I hate the lighting. With so many books and so many people sitting on the floors reading, there should be enough light for me to look where I'm going.
They usually don't have what I'm looking for and I have to order or reserve a copy online. Which isn't so bad, except for one time when they ordered two copies of everything. Luckily the staff member said I won't be charged for the extra copies. That would have been about $50-75 extra.
I love the gift section on the second level. The cards are beautiful but pricey. I usually look at them and convince myself a Hallmark card is more meaningful and less expensive. But it's nice just looking at them.
I like the magazine selection, especially since they have a section for foreign magazines.
I probably spend about a couple hundred bucks at this place every year. It's a good thing I have a rewards card. Except I have to print out my coupons and I keep forgetting to do that.
What's up with the bargain books being displayed outside? -
Review from Peter G.
Boston, MA
3/17/2009
Well, if nothing else, this Borders is housed in probably the most jovial Brutalist building in Boston. Architecturally, it's a bit less Soviet Bloc Futurist and a bit more Neo-Classical which is a good thing since you don't HAVE to keep your eyes firmly set on the ground as you walk in.
Within lurks exactly what you'd expect: a Borders like any other but with poorer lighting. I suppose its one unique feature is the plentitude of little nooks for you to hide with your book in.
As an alternative to buying books you might consider using the Boston Public Library - the second-largest Public Library in the United States after the Library of Congress. Yeah, that means it's wicked big.
Still, this place is ideally placed for killing time in downtown crossing. -
Review from Jeffriana S.
MA
2/21/2007
Great selection, friendly staff, lots of room to sit and read in the cafe.
Yes, the bathrooms are not the best. But come on, people! This is a city! Be happy they actually HAVE a public restroom.
...But who bases their review of a BOOK STORE on a public lavatory, anyway? -
Review from Neha S.
Boston, MA
1/6/2011
Selection:This store has a lot of books. If you're picking up a bunch of things you can order them online and then just pick them up at the register. They put out the best sellers/new releases out on the front, so you can get in and out if you're picking up the newest twilight book. (If you're reading twilight though, please reconsider your life choices).
Layout: This store isn't organized very well. On the first floor you have best sellers, magazines, fiction, and some non fiction. On the mezzanine you have a seating area. Then on the 2nd floor you have more non-fiction, lifestyle books (cook books), music/dvd, and a random cards/knicknacks section. If you're looking for a non-fiction book you might have to ask a staff member.
Seating: There is a lot of seating at this borders. The entire mezzanine is full of tables/chairs. The first floor has rows of couches (near the fiction) and there are some chairs on the 2nd floor as well. A lot of people use the mezzanine section to work, study, and hold meetings.
Staff: The staff here is great. They're helpful, polite, and will take the time to show you where things are.
Bathrooms: The bathrooms here are horrible. They usually smell and aren't always stocked.
People: There's a wide mix of people who come to this borders. Students, professionals who are picking up gifts, tourists who need a break, the FUNemployed, and yes some homeless people. People mostly stick to themselves.
Location: Downtown Crossing (green/red/orange T stops) is a convenient location. I come here because I live near by, but a lot of people come by because they're shopping.
WiFi: It's free! Although it can be slow sometimes :(
Pride: Yes Borders is more expensive than other stores. But you can save if you're a part of their rewards programs or partake in one of their BOGO sales. Also no one checks to see if you bought anything (coffee, etc) if you're working upstairs. -
Review from Sally B.
1/22/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I have been here dozens of times, and always walk away mildly frustrated.
The location of this store is great, their displays are perfect for finding new books to read, and they usually have above-average deals and clearance items. For convenience and quick browsing, they get a few stars.
Their selection, however, is limited and their floor service is basically nonexistent. If you can spot an employee and get them to notice you, they're great, but I've had a few times where I wandered around for 15 minutes looking for ANYONE who can help me and eventually just gave up and left. In all the times I've been here, I have never found an open seat in the store area, and have only found one in the cafe twice.
It's a nice idea and a good staple of Downtown Crossing, but fails to be a good destination for chilling or getting help. -
Review from Joe R.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2006
My office is nearly on top of this Borders, and I find it makes a fantastic lunch hour hideaway. A colleague and I speculate that I could disappear into Borders for at least 4 hours before being missed at work (if not 4 days).
This is a huge bookstore with an amazing collection of books. I usually try to trick the beards & spectacles crowd into believing I'm a responsible consumer by trying to avoid Starbucks and large book chains, buying organic everything (even Q-tips), and donating to the flavor-of-the-month-liberation movement. I fall somewhat short of my lofty objectives at this Borders, though - it's a veritable orgasm of print.
If in need of a book or hideaway from your job, Borders is there for you. -
Review from Erica D.
Revere, MA
11/20/2010 8 Check-ins Here
Not the best borders I've gone to, but it's a super convenient location in Boston.
My last visit was so-so, I didn't find the book I was looking for. The clerk was somewhat helpful, he asked if I needed help, looked the title up in the computer, but when it seemed like it wasn't in the store, he suggested I go downstairs and ask someone else if they were on the display tables. Huh? How about you suggest ordering the book for me?
Beyond that, the book selection is pretty good, especially if what you're looking for is on the display tables (apparently!), but if you're looking for something specific, you might be out of luck. The setup of the store is inconvenient. Just about every time I go to the store the escalator going down is broken. I don't even know why the bother "fixing it", worse case scenario, they turn into stairs. There is nothing worse than having to wait in line to take the elevator back down with eleven other people -
Review from R A M.
Salem, MA
11/16/2007
This is the worst Borders store I have ever been to. It only misses getting 1 star because of its great location.
So what does this store suck? It's not because of the grimy bathrooms or hordes of stinky homeless pooping themselves on the second floor - that stuff is to be expected of any store located in the middle of a city.
The School Street Borders sucks because it is, simply put, not a very good book store. Whoever runs the store seems to place 'having full shelves' above all else, even though these full shelves are out of order, filthy, and never get weeded so that new material can be put on display.
If the recently released book you want is not on the Best Seller list or lacks a lot of buzz, lots of luck finding it in the store, even if the online inventory system, in-store inventory system, and staff only inventory system say it is there. You can ask store employees about it, but they will confuse shrugging their shoulders with customer service and will, at best, disappear to "the basement" for awhile and come back with some sob story about how crazy it is down there, like it's that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark or something and if they, heaven forfend, actually open a box to find the book that everything states should be there, seven forms of previously unknown misery will escape and plague mankind for a thousand years.
Or maybe they just step out to smoke a cigarette, who knows. Anyways, they won't find you your book and will offer instead to order it from another store with arrival in 5-7 business days. That's right, the staff will order a book from another store rather than open boxes in their own.
Are they really that busy? I mean, they have to be doing something with their time, right? Because the staff certainly are not, say, working the cash registers when the afternoon rush hits. Maybe their claims of a Thing That Should Not Be lurking in "the basement" are true and they must perform dread and mystical rituals every day to keep it appeased. Or maybe their managers have no clue and happily send everyone on lunchbreak just when things get busy.
They must get a lot of lunchbreaks in that store, because the shelves are not only covered with crumbs, but the books on'em have only the vaguest sense of order. I'd suggest the staff retake Kindergarten Alphabet 101 if I thought it would help, but they can't even get the Sue Grafton books in order after she even did them the favor of alphabetizing all the titles of her books! That said, they seem equally incapable of match "like with like" so that you'll find random travel books and once even a jazz CD set stuck in the middle of the same Sue Grafton section! So not only do you have "A is for Alibi" coming between "M is for Malice" and "G is for Gumshoe" but you have those three titles bookended by a Rick Steves's Europe and a Best of Miles Davis CD! AND IT STAYED THAT WAY FOR THREE WEEKS!
Okay, that's it. I'm knocking this place down to one star. Any bookstore that makes me nostalgic for the Barnes and Nobles that used to be down the street, the one with rats nests behind the shelved books and the always mysteriously sticky Romance section doesn't deserve my love.
Still, nice location. -
Review from Chris W.
Somerville, MA
11/8/2010
Let us talk of the men's restroom at this Borders location. If I could describe it in one word, it would be: urine. The scent of urine in the men's bathroom is so concentrated it makes me wonder whether it is from man or beast.
On the other hand the staff here is friendly and attentive without being overbearing. Selection is pretty good, but it doesn't feel like a bookstore. It's just missing something. Even the Borders at the Cambridgeside Galleria has a better atmosphere. -
Review from Jack M.
Boston, MA
11/16/2009
I've been here a million times over the years. Great place to browse.
Usually pretty crowded - especially now around christmas time.
First floor has all the books, magazines, and their little coffee shop. The food isn't too bad - I've had their pastries and quiches and they're all nice. Service there is pretty.... spotty. But - the rest of the place is great.
Upstairs is seating for the coffee shop, DVD and music section, greeting cards and little gifts, and an awesome area for kids. DEFINITELY check out the kids area - they have a GREAT selection of kids activity gifts this year. And there's a sale going on now - buy 2 get 1 free on kids games and gifts. Wicked cool. -
Review from Kenny L.
1/27/2008
If you can put aside the bathroom reviews of the place, it is actually a good location where you can spend much time with its fairly large collection of books in its two stories. It is one of the few open bathroom locations I know in the Downtown Crossing area and the homeless knows this too.
It has it's own Seattle's Best Coffee stand inside with a separate seating area from the bookstore, large collection of magazines, new book releases, references, puzzles and comics, DVD and music, and cookbooks, you'll hopefully be immersed in your leisurely read and forgetting the crazies singing and playing music immediately outside, though I admit I have actually sat down in the circle in the front to enjoy my lunch. -
Review from John L.
5/4/2008 2 Check-ins Here
Like a shining behemoth, you tower over an end of the Downtown area, showing us your large collection of books and former bank exterior/interior. And yet, you can only whelm us with your large magazine collection and built-in caffeine station.
OK, terrible prose aside, I'm kind of ambivalent about this place. The book prices are standard for a chain (basically, unless you really need to get something ASAP, you are much better off scouring an independent bookstore or ordering from Amazon). The DVD collection upstairs seems to be okay, but the CD selection leaves much to be desired in terms of both price and available options (I understand that a bookstore can't sell everything that a record store could, but the selection wasn't that good by any standards).
The real draw here is the magazine racks, which do have a decent, extended collection of magazines of all genres.Whether you are just looking for Sports Illustrated, or something more unique, you might find it in their rows of magazines.
The other interesting side of this Borders, which one won't find at the Boylston one, is the outside. It seems to be a favorite place for your petitioning types, looking to get book buyers to sign on to save the environment (but by signing that paper, I'm drawing on a tree!!!). Or sometimes, there are booth/tables, such as the time some Lyndon LaRouche acolytes put up a table to tell people how Mike Bloomberg is evil.
If you really need a book, you can possibly find it here. But it's probably not the best bet in the world. -
Review from Nicole S.
5/21/2009 17 Check-ins Here
This is right down the road from where I work so I like when I get a chance to walk down there at lunch and flip through the bargain books that have outside and the new ones on their tables once you are inside. I get emails from Borders all the time and they are easy to use here. I find the staff really friendly and helpful. Once I was looking for a specific book and could not remember the name and the employee was able to figure out what I was talking about. Unfortunately, they did not have it but she suggested other book stores to try.
The only bad thing about this place is that the line can get pretty deep at lunch. Don't be scared- it moves quickly but still a bit annoying. -
Review from Burger B.
Boston, MA
2/9/2009
TIP:
There's a loft above the coffee bar with a bunch of tables. It's a great place to get together to study, socialize, etc. Four friends and I held our knitting circle up there on a Sunday and the space worked out well. -
Review from Min T.
Los Angeles, CA
11/12/2009
After going to Commonwealth Books, this place is huge in comparison.
I bet they have almost everything though I spent most of my time in the large magazine section. They have a pretty good selection of arts, crafts and design magazines.
I wouldn't have minded looking through the rest of the store but we only stopped in for magazines.
Looks like their coffee section was filled with lots of people hanging out in the early evening. Kind of random on a Thursday night. -
Review from Liz K.
Brooklyn, NY
8/22/2007
Lotsa homeless people but a good seating area up top. Book selection is pitiful.
Russ -- Seattle's Best was actually acquired by Starbucks in 2005 or 2006. They just keep the brands separate because Starbucks has an affiliation with Barnes & Nobles.
Corporate sneakiness strikes again!!!
I do like Seattle's Best though; they come up with some great latte combinations. Honey Latte, for example. -
Review from Andrew D.
Warwick, RI
7/14/2009
I am incredibly tempted to give 5 stars for this place, if only for one reason: Seattle's Best Coffee. Hell yes. Whenever I'm in the area, I take a chance to escape the Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks staring me down from every corner to get some legitimately tasty coffee. I also really like the setup they have here: I usually walk in and grab the latest issue of a magazine I like, get a giant coffee from Seattle's Best, and go to the upper seating area where i can sit down and read until I run out of caffeine.
Unfortunately, like most inner-city chain stores, this location is probably one of the smallest Borders I've ever been to. This is hardly noticeable most of the time, though, as they still have a significant collection of books and DVDs, and I've usually been able to find whatever I'm looking for here. Service has always been good, too, so really I have no complaints. Maybe I should have given them 5 stars after all... -
Review from Ethan A.
Boston, MA
5/28/2010
I'll give them four stars, because they have done me well over the years. This location is tucked away in the corner of Downtown, so you don't have the gangs of teenagers harassing the aisles. I know a lot of people use Borders for the public restrooms, and this one isn't as poorly maintained as its nearby counterpart. I always felt the card section was too small, but I've found everything else I needed, including a few obscure books I did not expect.
Free WiFi, though my iTouch needs to be at least in the front entrance area to get a bar of reception. The lines get massive during rush hours, but move fast enough. -
Review from Julie T.
Boston, MA
8/13/2009
Definitely not my favorite Borders around Boston, but close to work and a good place to stop by and catch up on some reading, seeing how I never actually buy the books...
The bathrooms are plain gross here. I suggest you walk a couple blocks to use the Macy's bathroom. You've been warned! -
Review from Ky E.
Cambridge, MA
7/12/2008
I come here like every week, why?
The coupons, they send out at least 2 coupons per week to your email. The best ones are the 40% off dvd boxed sets!!!
Another great thing is their online request feature, it saves time. -
Review from Tina D.
1/11/2011
This store is large and in charge... for real, there are multiple floors of books, music, and various whatnots. There is a huge travel section and a cafe that serves Seattle's Best. While I am a Starbucks girl, I enjoy the occasional cup of coffee there without wanting to puke like I do when I'm at Dunkin. The staff are friendly and helpful, but are totally cool with leaving you alone to browse at your leisure. I also like that they have an area setup with comfy chairs so that you can preview books for as long as you like. If you end up buying the wrong thing, they are great with returns and don't give you any hassle.
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Review from Laura N.
Brooklyn, NY
11/23/2009
It's one of those bookstores that people like to hang out in, taking their time passing through the periodicals and new releases. In this sense, it's a very nice place to pass the time if you're a literary type.
The books that get featured on the tables are not nearly as well chosen as the books that get featured on the tables at Barnes and Noble.
