Hynes Convention Center — Attraction in Boston

Okay, I'm going to be perfectly honest- the layout of this place is confusing as all hell. My friends and I came for Anime Boston, and this also doubled as our first time in the state, so we honestly had no clue what to expect. We did not realize that the convention center was attached to a large mall, so when we were trying to figure out where tf to get badges on Day 0, we sort of panicked.

Once you learn the layout of the venue, it is very easy to navigate and convenient that the hotels + convention center + food court are all in one location. CVS and Eataly saved us that weekend.

The convention center itself, take away everything else, is still very massive. It's multiple stories high, and each level stretches out pretty far. This was a wild concept for us because none of us grew up in a compact city like this- so that was another thing to get used to. Some of the panel rooms felt small and capped off early, but I know that's not exactly the center's fault. The dealer's room was HUGE and very well laid out. The convention really utilized the space of the Hynes in an efficient way.

The only issue that I did experience had to do with the convention center being combined with a mall. Because it's open to the general public, there were a lot of people coming up to us and harassing my friend group (plus other people in costumes). There was a group of teenagers that approached us and started filming us to try to provoke reactions. Another random woman turned around and took a video of my friend and I walking, without ever saying a word?? Lots of rude comments and stares as well, mostly from families.

There's obviously no way to regulate this like you can in a space that's just a convention venue, or a hotel. But, it is annoying when you're just trying to walk to a panel, or go grab a water and randos try to start something. Alas, it was still...

The Hynes Convention Center is a large multi-floor event space located in the heart of Back Bay and the Prudential Center shopping complex. It is connected directly to a hotel located in the same complex, providing easy access to any out of state visitors, as well as being located near multiple public transit stops.

We came here for Anime Boston 2025, after years of not attending Anime Boston. The convention layout was pretty much the same, however with a few changes such as a smaller game room, the artists alley being on the first floor, and the dealers room on the 2nd floor. The convention wasn't overly crowded but had a sizable crowd throughout the day. However, there wasn't too much variety of goods sold, and it felt like dealers were a lot smaller compared to previous years. Prices were also expensive, especially compared to some online retailers or official merch shops.

The concert, headlined by Blue Encount and Reol, was a highlight of the con. The acoustics were a bit loud for Blue Encount, that you couldn't hear the singer sometimes due to the instruments being louder. Reol's concert was great as well, and really brought energy even though it was delayed by about 20 minutes. The line situation was tough to deal with, as there was conflicting information regarding lineups and no tickets sold in advance, meaning that some people lined up too late and were denied entry.

The food situation inside the con is as expected, with overly expensive food & drink, however there is enough restaurants located throughout the shopping complex and surrounding areas that makes it easy to find food &...

I have attended 2 events at the Hynes and had mostly positive experiences here. There's rarely a line to get in because there are multiple entrances, and it is connected to both the mall and the Sheraton without having to go outside. They also allow outside food and drink which is awesome. Obviously it gets crowded, but there are spaces to stand off to the side. Multiple bathrooms on every floor. My main issue was the staff. I get that they have to follow fire code, but I have never been to a convention that is so strict about where to stand and sit. If you stepped 3 inches to the left while waiting in line, you'd get snapped at for "blocking an aisle" despite there being plenty of space. One program there were 3 people standing in the back of the room and they made them leave and wait to see if a chair opened up despite there being plenty of space. If you're going to allow thousands of people standing on top of each other into artists alley, I don't think 3 people in a spacious room is...