Charlesgate Suites — Hotel in Boston

Ended up having a good stay... although unfortunately I would not recommend and would stay elsewhere if I return to Boston. Overpriced for the experience I had, and better off going somewhere like Hotel Commonwealth. There was a big safety concern. On arrival there was no issue getting through the main front door which the secure code for the electronic lock worked for. However, my room which was on the lower street level - didn't have any bars on the windows, the physical key provided didn't work for the door, the main key code (which lets all guests through the main front door) worked to unlock my unit's door. There was also the back door entrance right next to the unit which opens up to a big parking lot which also didn't feel safe. Once I emailed for assistance they were very helpful to try resolve the issue. After sending a video of the physical key not working and the main key code working they were able to move me to a different unit on an upper floor that was available. Thankfully the physical key worked and the main key code didn't work. There were a few odd doors in the room, one that lead to the fire stairwell and one that wasn't openable and didn't know where it went. Was a bit concerning that someone could have access to the other side of those doors into the unit. The AC took ages to cool/heat the room, fire place was nice but hard to use and no instructions. Noise in the building travels very loudly - while I was in the lower level unit it sounded like people rearranging the furniture upstairs past 11pm. Can hear people out in the hallway and doors while you're in the unit. Apart from that, the stay was very enjoyable - large room and kitchen, big TV, nice view, hairdryer, communal laundry. Close to Fenway Park and Berklee. Though Boston didn't feel like a safe town, lots of homeless and no police, no one outside after dark unless it's a weekend or a baseball game has finished, had to stick with strangers in crowds or...

Overall a very nice place to stay. The standout points for us were: Very comfortable bedding. Extremely nice and well equipped kitchen- the cooktop was even induction! Very good lighting. Dimmable from "way too bright" to "quite dim". Pick what you want. It was very nice to have a fireplace. But it turned out this was more essential than a luxury (see below). The help desk was very responsive to emails and helped sort things out. We even got an early check in so we wouldn't have to mess around until the 4PM official check in time. Keypad doors and no "front desk" set up work very well.

Not so nice: We got there when the temps were changing and it was 50 degrees outside AND inside. But the climate control was locked on "cool" and we couldn't change it. The only solution was to turn on the gas fireplace. This worked, but it took forever before the room was comfortable. The bay window is nice, but it only has horizontal blinds and cars are driving around back there shining their headlights at the window. Lots of light gets through, which can make it difficult to sleep. Curtains of some kind to better block the light would help.

Things to know: If you want ice you'll need to turn the icemaker on in the freezer. If the fridge/freezers are all the save it's a switch on the side of the icemaker in the upper freezer drawer. You will need to take out the trash and recycling yourself when you leave. There's a laundry room in the basement. We only noticed this when taking out the trash as we...

Make sure you book the right room. Not every room has full kitchen and dining table. I booked a design studio room and thought there is a kitchen that I could cook some simple meals but there is NOT. I found it out after check in. And just learned that they have different units and not every unit has a kitchen shown in their pictures. Also my unit is a half basement. Half is underground. There are garbage cans right outside of one window and there are carbon boxes block the other window. This apartment is right behind highway, the passing cars’ headlights can shoot inside the room. The noise and the headlight can be very disturbing during night. We have to wear eye masks to block the light.

We have four people. We use the sofa bed as the extra bed. Then there are no extra chairs. I asked for giving us extra chairs from the host but unfortunately no chair is available since they say their rooms are fully booked. Also there is no table inside of the design studio. My son has to go upstairs to use a small table in the common area to do his project from his camp.

But the room is pretty clean. The king bed mattress is very comfortable. The sofa bed mattress is fair and much better than many other hotel’s sofa bed. The location is 10 mins away from back bay. A lot of shopping and good food in that area. Also walkable to MIT(about 30 mins). And very easy access to Charles river for a stroll or run. The host is very fast...