Intercontinental Hotel
510 Atlantic Ave
Boston, MA 02228 (617) 747-1000
- Nearest Transit:
South Station (Silver, Red)
Downtown Crossing (Orange, Silver, Red)
Aquarium (Blue)
- Price Range: $$$$
17 Reviews for Intercontinental Hotel
Good spot. Everything is still in its like-new condition. Rooms are modern and our Harbor King had a really nice bathroom with shower and soaking tub. Great location with an easy walk to Faneuil Hall, North End and South Boston. Running a great deal on discounted rooms with advance booking, which we used to save at least $100.
Parking and internet come with fees totaling $55. Mini bar had a totally curdled and separated glass of milk in it which was the only knock against the place. It was pretty gross, but nothing that would prevent a future stay.
Nice place, great location for Aquarium and Children's Museum as well.
Oh my gawd, the bathrooms.
Now let me be honest and say I've never stayed at the Intercontinental Boston nor do I have any idea what the rooms are like. Nor have I eaten at the restaurants here.
But sometimes when I know I ate something that's not sitting well in my stomach and I don't want to deal with the embarassment of the shared 5-stall bathroom, I'll run out and down the block to use the Intercontinental's bathrooms. Pure heaven. The decor is absolutely beautiful. The doors are full length and feet nor head can be seen. The stalls feel less like stalls and more like personal toilet rooms. The privacy is the best! And once you're done with "business", you walk over to the gorgeous sinks, wash up and dry your hands with absolutely exhisite engraved towelettes. It's so good that I frequently make friends stop in for pee breaks while walking by. These bathrooms are just too irresistable.
Seriously, if you're in the area and you have "business" to take care of, stop by the Intercontinental. The staff has never given me funny/dirty looks, I never get asked any questions and the experience is totally free!
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UPDATE:
I had to knock down a star for the parking situation. There are signs all over the Intercontinental Garage with the "we're not responsible..." text - however sis and I were shocked when she picked up her car. Her brand new license plate was completely bent (like almost in half) and we found stains on the passenger seat - one of the attendants had been eating and drinking in her car!! Thoroughly unprofessional and really unacceptable given the cost of parking.
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I usually stay in Intercontinental's when traveling for work - I love the setup and decor usually but am not always the biggest fan of them. When sis said she was coming to town and bunking down here for a night I had to go see what was up with the Boston IC - afterall, why else would I have reason to visit (save for a torrid love affair or one night stand with a sugar daddy).
This particular Intercontinental has fabulous decor - the room suites include a small alcove with a desk for office work, great views, and a contemporary-japanese inspired aesthetic. I loved that in the room Sis stayed in they have a sliding window that opens from the bathroom to the sleeping area - affording more space and an open feel.
They've got a 24 hour gym as well - and room service/food charges were less than what I've found at other Intercontinentals - so bonus points for that. The staff were very cordial and seemed to be handling the mobs of conference crowds pretty well. Also bonus points for the fact that this Intercontinental is very easy to navigate - usually I find that these particular hotels are labyrinthine abysses of nothingness.
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My home away from home when in Boston. The rooms are great and the bathrooms are simply the finest of anywhere I have ever stayed. Last time I was here they upgraded me to a suite and I never wanted to leave.
One disadvantage that others have noted: they charge for everything. I don't get reimbursed for internet use and I'm not too happy about dropping a c-note for a week of the stuff. I doubt, however, that many other guests are bothered by such small amounts when most of the rooms run about $500 per night.
A perfectly clean hotel, probably more in the four star range, but totally pedestrian. Minus a star because I had two double beds (not the king or queen I requested), and I was told that there was nothing else. My work colleague who checked in later got the suite. Not cool. Perfectly fine sheets/pillows/flat screen TVs, but they charge extra for everything. 15 minutes in the business center to print my boarding pass cost $5. I hate that stuff. Lame. I stayed here because it was terribly close to where I was doing biz (spitting distance, really), but I'd go elsewhere on my own dime.
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Fabulous and fantastic are the two "f"s reserved for this hotel.
After driving around aimlessly for 30 minutes because I got shafted by some soccer mom on Seaport and ended up driving into Chelsea, by the time I reached the Intercontinental, thanks to the great directions voiced by my friend John on the cell, I arrived at my destination, hungry and a bit disheveled as it was raining the moment I landed.
Note to service is the key to perfecting excellent customer service, in addition to the Euro modernity that is lavished through out. I personally enjoy the simple lines and heavy use of dark wood furniture, so walking into the lobby was a breath of fresh air for me. The wait staff are impeccable and fine manners abound, as the checker apologized to me beforehand about taking a call while I was at the counter. Everywhere I walked and visited, I was associated as "Miss" here or "Miss" there. Men holding open doors and even pointing out areas that were marked with puddles near the valet section. "Miss, watch out for that puddle.." Where have all the Bostonian men been in my life??
I worked out at the gym only because it was so inviting and spa-like, that I did not have the feeling that this was a strenuous assignment. Rather, it felt relaxing to work out in an area so well placed and clean with Roman aesthetics in mind. Elliptical machines spaced widely apart and treadmills with metrosexual business men keeping up their physiques. I did my portion of the cardio and made a point to peek in the pool room. Gawgeous. Just Gawgeous.
Room 652 was a large and spacious retreat for this non-high maintenance lady; but it came with two double beds, even though I had requested a king size. I mean, what was a single girl going to do with two doubles? Maybe I could do push ups or something, but I loved the room and the muted camel carpeting that sucked in my tired feet. Accents were with plum coloured Asian influences and modern brushed metal light fixtures and recessed lighting glowed. Loved the hallway made large by the gorgeous full length mirror at the end of the hall. The bathroom is my new boyfriend. Large. Flexible. And lots of options.
Large raised tub for two people, nice sink with large counter area, and a beautiful glass encased shower I could practically live in. Stepping into it for my evening and morning shower made me feel as if at a spa. And what is more fitting, than leaving your new boyfriend, fully enveloped in one of their signature white terry cloth robes with the Intercontinental Boston stitched elegantly across my left shoulder.
As I reviewed work emails, the phone rang to confirm my wake up call. I looked over, and the digital screen read my last name:
******, Welcome to the Intercontinental, Boston. Wishing you a pleasant stay here.
As I got into the double bed by my lonesome, my head adjusted to the soft synthetic down pillows and the down comforter became instantly warming. I knew right away that sleep would not be a chore, since it was technically only 12:30 am on the West coast, but I did have to wake up in about 3 hours East coast time. Right.
Check Out procedures are a bit neolithic since the flat screen LG tv refused to work with me, so I ended up calling the front desk downstairs where they immediately checked me out. The concierge saw me wandering around with my luggage searching for the parking elevator, which was discreetly hidden behind two ornate doors.
"We do this on purpose, miss," he motioned, smiling, "so to test your cognizant abilities." His Boston accent made it more appealing so I laughed.
Wow. I am in love. And in love with my new boyfriend that comes complete with a door I can close firmly behind me with digital instructions to Not Disturb. Great location as it is along the Waterfront, easy walk into Chinatown, and the North End as well as the touristy areas of Fanueil and Newbury. I have found my new home away from home, and have decided to come back for a Friday evening stay before I hit Harvard Square the next morning for some coffee before the students stir from the busy night before.
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Stayed here last night, while in the city celebrating my birthday. Upon arrival (after check-in time of 3pm), we were half-heartedly greeted by the front desk, who then informed us that our room was not yet ready. She gave us two complimentary drink vouchers, and so we headed off to RumBa, with the promise that we would be called shortly to head up to our room.
We settled in at RumBa, greeted casually, after sitting at the bar for more than 10 minutes with no service (mind you, it's 3pm, so the bar was empty). Service was pretty slow, for a quiet time of day, and we ordered a couple of appetizers, trying to be patient while waiting for our room...2 hours later, my husband heads back to the front desk to ask about our room, and found that no one had informed the new shift workers that we were waiting. So our room was ready, and had been ready. Great service.
Our room was great, I loved the modern design, and it seemed far bigger in size than most hotel rooms. The bellhop came with our bags (after we called for them, since they weren't in the room as promised), and was very courteous, got us ice, and overall provided the best service we'd see all weekend.
We had breakfast at Miel this morning, I'll review that in a separate entry. Overall, I don't think we'd come back to the Intercontinental. There are too many other options for hotels in the city, and places we frequent where the service is FAR superior. Perhaps they just need to work out the kinks, so maybe we'll try again in a few months, after all the half-assed employees get bored and leave.
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I've come to the realization that I don't do fancy.
My company's holiday party was being held here so who was I to say no to free food and booze? Exactly. The location is practically perfect, about a 5 minute walk from South Station. The lobby is very pretty, lots of dark woods and nice decorations. The ballrooms were pretty nice.
So the waiters (all 8000 of them) came out of their little rooms in some kind of weird flight pattern. There were like three waiters to every table, and it was almost like they were assigned to certain people in that table. They were all very stiff, and looked like a deer in headlights when you complimented them or said something conversational to them. I wasn't a big fan of it all, it was way to uppity for me. At one point one of the waiters came and wiped the crumbs off of the table. And if you left the seat, they would come over and fold your napkin for you. And when they were serving the bread, it had to be placed right side up on the plate or else! o_O It was too much for me.
The food was simply amazing. We started off with a creamy pumpkin soup with a filo crust on top. It was very rich but so yummy! Then the main course was filet mignon with asparagus and some fancy tater tot. It was excellent, even though I had never eaten something that red before in my life, I was a little nervous, but it was very very tasty. For dessert we had this yummy chocolate fudge cake thing. I love chocolate so it was amazing. Now I don't know if this meal was the hotel's decision or my company's, but the entire meal was way too heavy. Everything was very very rich, in some cases, too rich. The meals didn't balance each other at all, and my tummy hurt after I left. Also, it sucked if you didn't eat red meat, like one of the girls at my table, or if you were a vegetarian, because that's all we had. But I don't know if i could blame the hotel for that. We shall never know
The bars (there was like one at every corner) were nice, not fancy stuff, even though the prices were $7.00 for a bear and $10.00 for wine and mixed drinks (thank you complimentary drink coupons!) however they did not skimp on the alcohol which isn't necessarily a good thing. They put too much vodka in my cosmo and barely any cranberry juice. I could only take one sip of my margarita for fear i would make a fool of myself there was so much tequila.
This is turning into a very long review but i must add one more thing....their bathrooms, are AMAZING. There are actual wood doors and little rooms instead of stalls. I was awed.
But all in all, I liked it, but i didn't like it. Formal dining is not for me, give me a burger, a beer and a bar with loud people and the Red Sox on and I'm happy. But that doesn't mean the place isn't amazing. I'm just glad I got to go for free =)
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Clean Room , Friendly Staff, Great gym. so theres lots to do here they got a Japanese Rest. the size of my bathroom LOL and SNOBS galore at the main lobby bar. Other than that Its a VERY nice hotel.
4 or 5 stars? This place was great overall! You won't go wrong with this hotel. Close to the Waterfront, Faneuil Hall and the North End, the location is desirable and convenient to freeways as well if you are driving. Also close, but not too close to the airport!
On the plus side - decor and amenities are great, service is good and prompt too! The rooms are very nice with a luxurious bathroom with tub and separate glassed in shower, plus in the room, a wide screen plasma TV and extra wide desk - great for the business traveler. On the minus side, parking is expensive - though not out of line in a city like this one, and there is a charge for internet access.
Good restaurant and bar on premises. On Friday and Saturday anyway the bar is great - fabulous vodka martinis and single malt scotch (my boyfriend's drink of choice) - though on Sunday the difference in bartender was noticibly off - not up to the previous quality. in mixed drinks and lacking in availability, (or even knowledge) of specific brands of of liquor.
Extras are expensive...Internet access costs $14.95 per day!! Parking is $39 per day if you have a car as of 2007.
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Excellent experience all-around. 1 block to the South Station T stop. 10 minute walk to North End (Little Italy). Just opened early 2007.
Stayed here for 3 days in September 2007, and the place has most of what you expect a 4 star hotel to have. Bath or shower? One of the many choices you have inside one of their bathrooms. Lobby is quite spacious and shares its space with a restaurant, which can be quite busy and loud during happy hour. In-house gym very accomodating for any free weight or cardio workout. The workout floor is pretty massive for a hotel, and the indoor pool is a treat as well. Concierge is very receptive to any questions you may have about the city.
If you stay here, you definitely won't have to worry about staying in a sub-par place.
This is a four-star hotel. (Make that four Yelp stars!) I was impressed with the modern decor and the amenities.
I stayed in a Deluxe room (two double beds). It had everything you could want: plasma TV (but strangely, no HD programming yet), comfortable beds dressed with fine linens, even a mood light on the panel above the nighttable. The resplendent bathroom features separate tub and shower (and a scale that told me I had gained six pounds on my trip). The view from my eighth-floor room included the Children's Museum across the wharf. My roommate, a first-year lawyer with discriminating tastes, called our room "the nicest I've ever stayed in."
I sampled just one of the hotel's amenities: the fitness center. It is clean and equipped with the latest and greatest in cardio and Nautilus machines. I liked the large stretching/yoga area, replete with body balls. The fitness center's best asset is its location: it is on the second floor and overlooks Atlantic Ave. I would spin for twenty minutes just for people watching.
My only quibble with this hotel is the checkout procedure. It isn't automated, so I had to wait in line on a Sunday morning for a few minutes.
I found out about this place because of a deal on Travelzoo. Amazingly, it was $160 off the regular rate. Miraculously, the rate applied - and rooms were available - the weekend of Harvard and MIT's commencements and reunions. The hotel seemed rather empty each time I walked through it during my stay, so I suppose the cat isn't out of the bag yet on this gem.
If you want to be in the middle of the action on Boston's renascent waterfront, you owe it to yourself to stay in the InterContinental.
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Our last few nights as Boston-area residents were spent in the Intercontinental, that's to the buyer of our condo who wanted us out pronto. The reward was to check into these digs. Not bad for an in-town vacation- close to the ICA, lobster rolls, and T access. We had room 505 which had a nice enough view, save the big blue light on top of the nearby roof. Still, lazy me after spending the day saying goodbye to friends could laze on the chaise, watching planes land and sail boats float by (and some weird hot air balloon touting Fan Pier).
I generally avoid hotel restaurants. Miel is decent, if expensive. We splurged on the truffled scrambled eggs ($17). This item deserves more billing on the menu. We wanted to try out Rhumba, but I got weirded out seeing kids there late our last night. Skipped it. Sushiteq was eerily uncrowded, so we skipped that, too.
Would I stay here again? Yes, if Hotwire is so kind to give us a great rate again. I'd gladly return to the awesome, awesome bathroom (which is almost as large as the bedroom). The only weird thing about our room is the waste of space for the in-room hallway. Maybe it was a marketing ploy- makes you feel like you are entering your dream home's hallway and creates some interesting suspense when you first arrive.
Modern, fabulous, sleek and cool. This is a very fabulous intercontinental. The service is so-so and with any new establishment, it may take them some time to get their act together...but overall it is quite the experience.
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Beware the Front Desk Staff and Manager. Incompetent? Possibly. Haughty? Oh yes. I made a reservation and intended to pay for my parents anniversay stay, only to be thoroughly hassled via phone by the Manager after they deleted my credit card info (left at time of reservation) and replaced it with the card my parents put down for incidentals. Even the corporate office was unhelpful. Ridiculous red tape, and atrocious customer "service" on this one issue.
Why the difficulty?
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Staying here on my latest business trip to Boston, and really like it. In fact, I'd rate it as one of the top 3 hotels I've stayed at while on business. It's in a great location, the decor is sleek, modern and hip, and the rooms are very comfortable, well-decorated, and have cozy beds. What's not to like about all of that?
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This hotel is absolutely gorgeous. We stayed here on a business/pleasure trip for a weekend in February (It was so cold!).
1) Decor - the lobby, wall decor behind the check-in counter, waiting area lounge, and bar were absolutely gorgeous and modern. It was all really chic and simple that gave it a modern zen-type feel. It wasn't too bright or floral like most hotel lobbys. Very simple and elegant.
2) Service - IMPECCABLE. Everyone addresses the clients as sir or madame (as in most of Boston - but still). There were always people to hail you a taxi, or a particular taxi if you had a firm coupon to the airport. The concierge was knowledgeable in recommending restaurants to try at 10 p.m. at night (we flew in late from CA). However, the cabbie was more knowledgeable and we ended up eating at Giacomo's at the North End - EXCELLENT PASTA.
3) Our room - STUNNING. It went along with the whole zen feel - the bed had Egyptian cotton sheets that I rubbed my toes on all night (I am not a weirdo). We had a very large silver plasma and at the foot of the bed was a nice ottoman where we put our suitcases. At the headrest of the bed was a window opening that opened up to the bathroom (or the bathtub). The bathroom had the higher-scale amenities you find at the Bellagio in Vegas (i.e. Qtip packets, sowing kit, cotton swabs, etc.). The shower was clear glass and we had our own terrycloth bathrobes. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any bubble bath and the hotel didn't have or sell any either.
4) Location - It is a short walk away from the I.M. Pei towers and South Station. It is one block from the financial district. It's a great location that is a close taxi ride from everything. I think the new museum is walking distance, but we didn't go there. On top of the hotel are very, very expensive condos.
Overall, I would love to stay here again. This hotel has raised the bar for me and has made me a bit pickier.
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