The Liberty Boston, a Luxury Collection Hotel Review

Living In Luxury, The Liberty in Boston

Boston, MA | Charles St. | Hotel Review | December 2016

In a last minute attempt to reach AAdvantage Gold status for 2017, I booked a few flights over the final days of December.  Three of my six flights on American would either originate or arrive at Boston-Logan Airport.  I didn’t have a reason to fly to Boston other than first class tickets on American were phenomenally priced and scheduled at times that worked for me.  So, I ended up spending three out of the six final days of 2016 in the Boston area.  My decision to center my status run around Boston was only aided by unusually low rates at fantastic SPG and Marriot properties.  One of these fantastic SPG properties was The Liberty Boston in the West End neighborhood.

In addition to being a Luxury Collection Hotel, one of the only SPG brands I had yet to complete a stay at, it was less than ten minutes away from Boston-Logan and priced a little below what I had budgeted for the night.

Arriving Later Than I Planned

I booked a flight on American that was scheduled to depart a little before five in the evening.  Scheduled arrival time would have put me on the ground a little before eight and at The Liberty Boston around 8:30.  If my flight arrived on time, I would’ve enjoyed a nice dinner at the hotel and had the rest of the evening to explore the hotel and its surroundings.  Of course, as you might have guessed, everything did not go as planned.

My flight from St. Louis to Chicago was delayed an hour and a half giving me a five-minute window to make my flight.  I was told because of my fare class (and lack of elite status) that I would have to just wait for the next flight from Chicago to Boston or pay to standby.  That wasn’t the case.  While onboard my flight from St. Louis to Chicago, I went to AA.com and the website let me change flights free of charge.  Of course, the damage was done, and I would arrive nearly three hours later than I had hoped.

This ultimately meant that I wouldn’t have much time at The Liberty Boston and would spend most of my time sleeping.

Check-In

I finally got to the hotel around 11:30 PM.  Luckily, Downtown Boston is located fairly close to Boston-Logan so once I had landed in Boston, it was a quick ten-minute drive to the hotel.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the hotel was the lack of a front desk.  The main entrance doesn’t lead to a front desk but rather an escalator leading to the atrium.  The lobby was beautiful, and with Christmas having just taken place two days ago, the lobby was still very festive.

I would later learn that part of The Liberty Boston is contained within an old jail.  That would explain the multiple levels of catwalks, central atrium in the lobby, and steel bars covering a few windows.  It actually took me awhile to find out why the hotel looked like it did and why the lobby bar was called “The Clink.”  Needless to say, I was slow to catch on.

My ignorance aside, I was truly amazed my how beautiful this property is.  The massive lobby is breathtaking, and the rooms are luxurious.

When I approached the front desk, I was upgraded to an enhanced room due to my elite status.  Additionally, if I would have been 21, I would have received a free glass of champagne.  Two bottles of champagne bobbed around in the half-melted bucket of ice on the front desk taunting me.  The front desk crew was professional but not the most friendly group of SPG employees I’ve met.

The Room

Unfortunately, my room was not located in the original jail area but rather the recently built tower.  Upon entering my room, I immediately noticed the classical ambiance the hotel was going for.  Dark colors, wood accents, and warm lighting were signature characteristics of the room.  Ultimately, it was a welcomed changed of pace compared to my normal millennial traps like to Aloft.

The room was fairly large with a massive and comfortable king bed the focal point of the room.  The TV was mounted on the wall and was well over fifty inches.  I’m pretty sure this TV was by far the largest TV I’ve encountered at any hotel.  Also on the walls were various artwork and wall accents.  One notable wall piece was a bunch of old jail cell keys in a frame.  Other features of the room included a large desk, leather chair and ottoman, minibar, floor to ceiling windows, power outlets on both sides of the bed, and ample storage.

The Bed

The bed was massive, and it was fantastic.  I was fairly tired after a miserable layover in Chicago-O’Hare so any bed would have sufficed.  This bed was the perfect balance of firmness and softness.  I do have one complaint with regards to the bed.  The covers were way too short.  It was almost as if they didn’t fit the bed.  Still, I managed to get a great eight or so hours or sleep.

The Bathroom

The bathroom was gigantic.  It consisted of two vanities, a shower, and a bathtub.  Having both a bathtub and shower is very rare and much appreciated.  The bathtub also featured a caddy that went across the length of the tub.  It added an extra touch of luxury to the bathtub.  I enjoyed a fantastic bath (something I’d never do) just because the tub was so inviting.  Once I finished up in the bathroom, I was able to slip on some hotel branded slippers and a robe.

The Liberty Boston Amenities

The hotel property is somewhat small.  There aren’t that many amenities and only two onsite restaurants, one of which didn’t appear open.  Though small, The Liberty Boston featured the traditional hotel amenities.

Room Service

One amenity I did use was the hotel’s room service.  Both my super late dinner and breakfast consisted of a dish off of the room service menu.  Since I missed the dinner window (up until 10 PM), I was left with a much smaller selection of dishes, albeit still very tempting.  I decided to go with the dim sum.  I love dim sum and found The Liberty Boston’s dim sum dish to be pretty tasty, however, overpriced.  For breakfast, I went with eggs benedict which was just okay.

The Gym

There was a fitness center located on the first floor.  Feeling healthy, I popped into the fitness center for around an hour.  The equipment was all very expensive and techy.  The treadmills had smartphone capabilities, preloaded video courses, and a wide array of workout metrics.  There were also some weights which were pretty standard and some various workout equipment typical of an SPG property fitness center.

The Property

I spent some time exploring the unique property.  For a good hour, it didn’t dawn on me that this hotel used to be a jail, so the unique design and layout were very surprising to me for quite awhile.  Once I realized that the hotel uses part of an old jail, the catwalk, rod iron bars, and name of one of the onsite restaurants (The Clink) made a lot more since.

If you find yourself staying at The Liberty Boston, make some time to explore the hotel’s lobby and catwalks.  I won’t go into too much detail, but it’s a unique setup.

Overall

{Insert Photos} After my stay at The Liberty Boston, I was surprised by the great rate I booked.  The hotel is deserving of the label “Luxury Collection.”  From the unique design to the fantastic guest rooms, this luxury collection hotel is a great property in Boston’s West End neighborhood.  Combine the luxurious amenities with the phenomenal location and The Liberty Boston is by far, one of the best hotels in the area.