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Crowne Plaza Boston-Natick
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
3 reviews for Crowne Plaza Boston-Natick
Well like most places CP has its good and bad...the good is the awesome beds (I dare you to not fall asleep within seconds) and the incredible service you get at Dux, their steakhouse. The bad is a fire alarm going off in the middle of the night with announcers telling people to evacuate because it wasnt a drill and us sleeping through it...no one ever called our room, knocked on our door or attempted a head count to see if all the guests were okay. We had to hear about this the next day from some friends of ours staying on the same floor who were evacuated into the cold in their pajamas. At least we would have died warm and comfortable.
The room and bathroom were well stocked and comfortable, very clean. Despite the fire alarm scare I would stay there again although I would skip the pricey meal at Dux. Although the service was excellent and it was convenient to gorge on steaks and vegetable platters their claim of best steak in town is a gross distortion of the truth. The steak wasnt that good at all! Tip - hit up Ken's steakhouse just down route 9, they really DO have the best steak in town!
Staying at this hotel is like dating the boy your mom wants you to date. He's pretty clean, he's a good provider, he isn't going to surprise you with anything strange or creepy, but, let's be honest--this is about as exciting as dating Greg Brady.
Greg has even tried to get himself a makeover--the rooms are relatively new and updated. But let's face it, Greg has not been able to break his style mold here--BROWN is the overwhelming sensation, from the carpets to the wall treatments to the drapes.
And what is it with big hotels and double beds? How many business travelers these days, or even family travelers, still look for the two double bed thing? It's not like Natick is a big family vacation destination. This big place was full of business travelers, it's clear they cater to that market, so they should be able to stock enough capacity for king no-smokings, booking as far ahead as I did.
The bathroom was nicely updated with good products available and nice shelving space to store you own personals, and there was a nice flat panel in the room, but they still use an outdated video system called Command that delivers mostly low-def channels and is slow to respond to clicks and entries--it's maddening trying to get to a channel you want to view.
And it's noisy here--the doors have no sealing around them so when you shut your door, there is NO WAY to avoid it bouncing and rattling, metal on metal, on the frame. The design is such that you cannot avoid slamming your door every time you close it. I was flinching as much every time I went in and out as I was when my neighbors went in and out, and conversations in the hall and in the room across from mine were annoyingly audible.
And once again, here's a relatively pricey hotel that cannot seem to figure out how to hang window coverings that truly shut out the light, even though they provided what looked like a plastic chip clip that was basically useless.
The places boasts a cafe, a bar, and a restaurant called Dux which bills itself as the top place for steaks, but I didnt' try any of them. It also has a pool and what looks like a pretty big array of meeting rooms.
I noticed that the ground floor of each wing sported rooms with little hedge-enclosed patios, which might be nice for longer staying guests, but it was quite depressing down in that hallway.
They also have a little store adjacent to the front desk where you can get toiletries, some food items, etc--but despite the service guide in the room touting it as being available 24/7, it was dark and closed most of the time after about 10:30, and it offered the same miserable array of beverages as the poorly conceived vending machine selection on each floor. You have the room, why not use it to make travelers happy with fresh OJ, milk, and something a little more creative than Aqua Fina and Coke.
Which brings me to the front desk--these are some very sad-sack, unfriendly folks. Only one person I dealt with, on checkout, was friendly. Everyone else gave me a look like I was hassling them, whether it was to get ones for a five to raid the drink machine, or to get a new keycard made.
I'm sure it's the best business hotel right in the area, but why does it have to be such a dreary experience.
One final tip--park around the back and it's much easier to get a close spot to the elevator lobby.
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Getting married here in september, and already I love the place! The director, Rick Maple, is awesome. He makes planning a wedding a piece of cake, and totally chills you out. The place is gorgeous, staff is helpful, and location is great (Natick mall right across the street, Legal seafoods a few doors down). Updates to come!
UPDATE: Now that they have our money, communication has all but disappeared. It takes almost a month to get a call or e-mail back (I would have stopped in if I had the time- I would defiantly suggest doing this though!) and when we finally heard from someone, they were calling to let us know our next deposit was due! I really hope all goes well...
2/08: All went well with the wedding! No problems, and it was beautiful! Didn't cost a lot either which was great! Big bang for your buck! I would suggest getting your own photographer though even if you get the package deal. They were sub-par and the owners were VERY unprofessional and rude. I couldn't wait to be done dealing with them!!! Trust me, its worth the extra $$
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