Hotel 1868 — Hotel in Cambridge

I'm a fan of small, intimate hotels like this, especially when I am traveling on business as was the case this week. First of all, the location is great if you have any meetings or need to be close to Cambridge or Harvard. I was here for meetings around the latter and it was perfect, having the Porter station right outside and, frankly, one can walk too if the weather is half decent. It is also only about 25 mins to Logan, traffic permitting as it was the morning I left.||I was checked in by a very friendly agent, and I saw a few when I was there and all were very pleasant. I was quickly on my way to my room via a single elevator. It is only 4 storeys, served by one elevator which is perfectly sufficient, although I chose to walk down the stairs each time which is easy too. The hotel didn't seem very full when I was there but I wonder if the single elevator might cause something of a wait in peak times. This is just a guess and it was fine for my purposes.||The lobby is small and has a pleasant, relaxed ambiance. There are a few comfortable chairs in which to sit and wait for visitors, Ubers etc. which is perfectly fine since this isn't a full service hotel that needs a bar, restaurant etc. Having said that, it has a very well nice basement gym replete with treadmills, free weights and weigh machines and I was impressed with it and was very happy to make use of it. There is also a nice looking business center down there plus coffee machines etc. This is very good for a hotel of this size and level I think.||To the room. Small, for sure, although there were larger ones I could have booked. However, I was on my own and so a double bed with an ensuite, walk in shower is perfectly fine as, basically, I was just staying in there for a few hours a day and off in business meetings during the bulk of the day and eating out at night. I like the decor, modern and functional and the room was spotless and in very good shape. I don't watch TV but there was a huge flatscreen on the wall opposite the bed for those who do. The shower is a walk in version (so much better than over the tub showers) that has a shower curtain too, apparently in response to previous comments, but that is not really necessary. The bathroom area is very compact and well designed with a couple of niggles that I will mention below. Overall, the room is a nice place to be. ||However. If you are here for a while as a couple, I recommend you think about one of the larger rooms as there is really not much space in the small one I had, especially for any length of time. There is a tea/coffee area with a stool to sit on but if you are not sitting on the bed there really isn't anywhere to sit and spend time. That's perfectly OK for a room of this type, but be aware if you need more space or plan to spend significant time in the room.||Personally, I don't need housekeeping every day, especially when it's just me in the room so "on demand" is perfectly fine for me. ||Couple of small things. The design of the shower area means that the sink is in the corner and the water from the shower makes its way underneath where the sink sits. It is all tiled and this is part of the design. However, in my room, the tiling wasn't sloped toward the drain in the sink area, as it was beneath the shower so water tended to collect beneath the sink and not drain. This is a little annoying when you come to use the sink, but not the shower, as the floor stays wet for a long time, at least in the room I had. In addition, there is very limited storage around the sink itself which is no big deal because there is useful storage above the toilet but beware! It is easy to knock items from there into the bowl which, none of us wants of course!||These things are minor and don't significantly detract from what is a very nice and otherwise well-designed hotel in which I had a very nice stay and which was incredibly reasonable for such a central location and comfort of the hotel. I will certainly look to stay here next time I am in this area of Boston for business or pleasure. I encourage you to check it out if you are looking for...

I'm a fan of small, intimate hotels like this, especially when I am traveling on business as was the case this week. First of all, the location is great if you have any meetings or need to be close to Cambridge or Harvard. I was here for meetings around the latter and it was perfect, having the Porter station right outside and, frankly, one can walk too if the weather is half decent. It is also only about 25 mins to Logan, traffic permitting as it was the morning I left.||I was checked in by a very friendly agent, and I saw a few when I was there and all were very pleasant. I was quickly on my way to my room via a single elevator. It is only 4 storeys, served by one elevator which is perfectly sufficient, although I chose to walk down the stairs each time which is easy too. The hotel didn't seem very full when I was there but I wonder if the single elevator might cause something of a wait in peak times. This is just a guess and it was fine for my purposes.||The lobby is small and has a pleasant, relaxed ambiance. There are a few comfortable chairs in which to sit and wait for visitors, Ubers etc. which is perfectly fine since this isn't a full service hotel that needs a bar, restaurant etc. Having said that, it has a very well nice basement gym replete with treadmills, free weights and weigh machines and I was impressed with it and was very happy to make use of it. There is also a nice looking business center down there plus coffee machines etc. This is very good for a hotel of this size and level I think.||To the room. Small, for sure, although there were larger ones I could have booked. However, I was on my own and so a double bed with an ensuite, walk in shower is perfectly fine as, basically, I was just staying in there for a few hours a day and off in business meetings during the bulk of the day and eating out at night. I like the decor, modern and functional and the room was spotless and in very good shape. I don't watch TV but there was a huge flatscreen on the wall opposite the bed for those who do. The shower is a walk in version (so much better than over the tub showers) that has a shower curtain too, apparently in response to previous comments, but that is not really necessary. The bathroom area is very compact and well designed with a couple of niggles that I will mention below. Overall, the room is a nice place to be. ||However. If you are here for a while as a couple, I recommend you think about one of the larger rooms as there is really not much space in the small one I had, especially for any length of time. There is a tea/coffee area with a stool to sit on but if you are not sitting on the bed there really isn't anywhere to sit and spend time. That's perfectly OK for a room of this type, but be aware if you need more space or plan to spend significant time in the room.||Personally, I don't need housekeeping every day, especially when it's just me in the room so "on demand" is perfectly fine for me. ||Couple of small things. The design of the shower area means that the sink is in the corner and the water from the shower makes its way underneath where the sink sits. It is all tiled and this is part of the design. However, in my room, the tiling wasn't sloped toward the drain in the sink area, as it was beneath the shower so water tended to collect beneath the sink and not drain. This is a little annoying when you come to use the sink, but not the shower, as the floor stays wet for a long time, at least in the room I had. In addition, there is very limited storage around the sink itself which is no big deal because there is useful storage above the toilet but beware! It is easy to knock items from there into the bowl which, none of us wants of course!||These things are minor and don't significantly detract from what is a very nice and otherwise well-designed hotel in which I had a very nice stay and which was incredibly reasonable for such a central location and comfort of the hotel. I will certainly look to stay here next time I am in this area of Boston for business or pleasure. I encourage you to check it out if you are looking for...

Very disappointed in what we got from this hotel for the price, would go as far to say its the worst value hotel I've stayed in, and I travel quite a lot. ||Firstly, well located, Porter Station right across the road, plenty of shops, bars and restaurants nearby too. Also a very nice area.|Despite being on a busy main road, our room, at the back of hotel was reasonably quiet.|Bed very comfortable, albeit exceptionally high off the ground. ||Great TV with a good selection of channels.|Coffee machine in room, filtered water and ice available in basement. Staff very friendly and helpful. Decent wifi. ||The reasons for the low rating. Room was very basic. Didn't even have somewhere to hang my coat which is a ridiculous oversight. There are a few hangers for clothes, but the space was too short for my long coat.|Hairdryer was poor in bathroom, but also no power outlets near mirror in hallway to use. ||The soap provided was disgusting, it left a real oily residue when used, which took some time to get off. Seen a number of reviews say the same. Test your products before supplying to your customers. ||Shower curtain! Why on earth would you put a shower curtain on a walk in shower, it kept blowing into the limited space in the shower making it very uncomfortable to shower. Also it was very small and didn't stop water getting everywhere! ||No room service! This is a 4 star hotel, I don't expect to have to go down and ask for towels or room to be made up, covid is no longer in effect, change this policy. ||No fridge in room, this is again another shocking oversight I assume, never been in a 4 star that hasn't a fridge, usually you'll get a mini bar too, but not here. ||The room itself was just very small, was difficult for 2 people to move around with 2 cases and the bed. Also the only chair in the room was tucked into a corner too close to the bed to actually sit on to do your footwear, sitting on bed wasn't an option as it's so high off the ground. ||As I mentioned, in terms of the cost and what you get, I would rate this hotel as the worst value I've ever experienced anywhere in the world. |Would...