Raffles Boston — Hotel in Boston

Update 15 months later:

We stayed again (one week this time) and while overall we had a decent experience, I would say Raffles fell shorter than expectations again this trip. We stay exclusively at top 5 star hotels (Four Seasons, Aman, etc), so our expectations are for that level of stay. From poorly cleaned rooms (why not replace the powder room towel for DAYS?!) to a lack of attention to detail one becomes accustom to staying exclusively at five star hotels—Raffles underperformed again this stay. BUT there was a lot of improvement as well.

There are a lot of positives: the front desk and valet staff are wonderful. Many of the butler team are excellent. They do this service quite well compared to other NA butler service hotels. The restaurant staff are also lovely. With dining, every item is done very well—I get why it is a popular place for locals as well.

Other positives: the rooms are curated nicely. The pool and gym areas are both well-appointed and well-maintained. Everything is present to ensure a fabulous five star experience.

However, the hotel fell short. A few examples: our powder room hand towel was not replaced for two days. During turn down our slippers are haphazardly tossed under the tv space of the bedroom. The towels feel like they belong at an airport hotel (we laughed about their poor quality). They left our morning dirty coffee cups when they cleaned the room one day. One of the toilets at the spa had pink mold forming in it. During open hours they had a male attendant working in the female changing room (this did not bother me personally, but it could be an issue for others and there should have been some signage to allow women to know). There were several times food items were charged we were not given or they were entirely forgotten. There is a damp smell to the hotel in some areas. There are only 2 elevator banks to service the hotel. One evening I waited several minutes for an elevator (at one point both opened on my floor, but both were going down and I had queued to go up). Other weird occurrences included the lights turning off on their own on multiple occasions and the temperature resetting the day of checkout up to 72°. The lights went out at least 3 times (once in the shower, once in the powder room and once watching tv). I’m not sure if this is some weird cost-saving measure they have in place to be “green” (aka save money let’s be honest), but it comes across as cheap or broken. Speaking of cheap/broken, the hardware in the bathrooms is either lose, os in the case of the shower, comes right off in your hands. The water also did not reach a hot enough level for a proper shower the day of check out. I do know the hotel was near capacity that day. Again, I’m not sure why corners are being cut like this.

All in all, it is a lovely hotel with much potential, but it lacks that extra essence that I’ve come accustomed to with hotels of this caliber.

On my last stay, in room dining was awful. This trip, it was lightyears better. I was very impressed with their drastic improvement. It was top notch.

A solid 3/5 performance for the Raffles, but they’re still very much figuring it out.

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Rooms are great. I appreciate that the suites have a powder room (which the suites at the Four Seasons do not). The hotel is exceptionally clean and well-appointed. Having a butler is lovely. We have stayed in hotels with butler services previously (St Regis/Ritz), and despite being new to NA, the butler service is on par with established hotels in NA.

The valet team is excellent. As are the staff at the spa.

Room service is dreadful. From not taking severe allergies seriously, to getting almost EVERY order wrong, to waiting extra time for their mistakes… it actually ruined the experience. Get it together—this was a HUGE failure in my opinion.

We will likely return as we didn’t get to experience the restaurants and as much of Boston as we would have liked. I have much hope for the hotel, but I cannot at this time speak positively about any dining...

We’re big fans of Raffles and Accor, so we were excited to try Raffles Boston. Unfortunately, the experience was far below the standard we’ve come to expect from the brand and left us very disappointed. I regretted choosing this hotel.

One of the signature elements of Raffles is the attentive butler service and thoughtful details—but from the start, that was missing. Upon arrival, we waited in line to check in and were greeted by a friendly staff member, but there was no welcome drink or escort to our room. Our key came in an envelope with a blank line for the butler’s name. Oddly, we never saw or heard from a butler during our stay—until the last night, when we received a text introduction, just before check-out. In the room, there was a standard birthday cake and a bottle of water with a birthday message. We had requested a crib, which was there. While appreciated, the gesture felt generic—especially compared to our recent stay at Raffles OWO in London, where we were welcomed with champagne, a charcuterie board, balloons, flowers, and a range of baby amenities including a bottle warmer and preferred milk stocked in the fridge. That level of care and attention is what makes Raffles special—and it was completely lacking in Boston. We never received any proactive service. When I stopped by the front desk the night before departure to get our bill, I shared our disappointment. The staff member apologized, admitted the butler team had essentially forgotten us, and offered $200 off the bill and a bottle of champagne. While appreciated, it felt like too little, too late. The small issues added up: housekeeping didn’t replenish milk for coffee, there was no separate soap for the bathtub (just wall-mounted shower gel), and we were incorrectly charged for a bottle of champagne we never touched—and still haven’t heard back after calling about it. On departure, I messaged our butler to collect our bags. After some delay, a kind bellman told us he couldn’t leave his post without coverage, so I went upstairs and got them myself. To top it off, we were staying on the same floor as hotel management and regularly rode elevators with them. Not once did anyone greet us or inquire about our stay. For the top-tier suite, highest loyalty status, and a birthday celebration, it was disappointing to feel entirely overlooked. Some staff were genuinely kind and helpful, but overall, this stay felt more like a standard Hilton than a Raffles. This property has a long way to go before it meets the brand’s reputation or competes with other luxury hotels. It felt like a failure of leadership, not...

I recently stayed at the hotel for my husband’s birthday. We were both truly looking forward to our weekend getaway with no kids (a rare occasion). There were several things that made our stay not so special and left with mixed feelings about the quality and service I was expecting, being a top notch hotel. To begin with, no one opened the door for us downstairs. It was really cold and windy, our hands were busy with luggage and clothing bags. After we entered the building, someone came and took our belongings. We then were greeted and directed to the elevator to do the check in. At check in, they asked who the reservation was for. I provided my last name. The information she had didn’t seem to match with mine and I asked her if she would need my ID. She gently took it, checked it and continued. It still seemed strange to me that the phone number and email details were not matching with the ones I had provided while I made the reservation online, so I corrected them with her. I would only assume everything was correct as she had checked my ID and expect my name would match with the reservation she has in her hands. They gave us keys and directed to the room. As soon as we entered the room I was pleased with the view and the impeccable details. Until I noticed that there was a welcome note left for another person, different last name.

Our belongings were still around and not yet in the room. We go back to the front desk, and comment on the issue. The manager and check in person came to apologize and provided another room. This time, the room was smaller, no little couch but two chairs, even though I had paid for the same room. Our luggage was in this room ready for us. The manager had offered champagne, which was delivered hours later after our arrival. I had asked to make reservations for Blind Duck and was told I didn’t need any.

When we head there, they asked if we had any reservations. The place was full and only taking standing orders by the bar. They also asked for my ID, when I didn’t have it as I left everything in the room. We later left to our dinner reservation at La Padrona, which was exquisite and lovely. Our butler later was able to book us a table for the bar where we could sit and enjoy the view.

Overall, the stay was okay. But the hiccups we had at check in and the misunderstanding, as well as not being able to get the reservation for Blind duck when we asked before they were opened, left me a bit disappointed. I was expecting a world...