Kimpton Marlowe Hotel — Hotel in Cambridge

Me and my boyfriend had a great staycation at Kimpton Marlowe. We celebrated our anniversary for which I booked a two night stay using my Ambassador complimentary weekend night and received the second night for free which was a great value. At the check-in my Diamond Elite status was recognized and I was upgraded to a top floor room with a view (I booked a basic one), offered free breakfast which I happily took, was told that the $20 nightly amenity fee will be waived, and was given 600 points to top that. That’s good! When I jokingly asked if the upgrades could stack since I’m also an ambassador, the receptionist said that it was the same, which I thought was interesting but oh well, it was late on Friday and I wasn’t in the mood to delay my check in although I did hope for a Suite upgrade, considering that we were celebrating a special occasion. Anyhow, the room was clean, stylish and tidy, no tub though, which looking back, I should have asked if there’re any rooms with bathtubs (would enjoy a nice soak in this weather) but we just wanted to relax and make it to our dinner reservation on time instead of moving rooms. I did use the social password “the snuggle is real” and received a cute gift basket with a branded mug, candy cane, hot cocoa, hand warmers and lip balms. I thought it was super cute. There was no welcome gift/welcome note in the room, which I got spoiled with in Europe even when I was still a platinum, but oh well, the US is different. They do have tons of amenities, during the day they had a hot cocoa station and donuts, and at 5-6 pm red and white wine for guests. The hotel has its distinct vibe, and a very nice and festive Christmas pop-up bar which is small and tends to get a decent line after 7 pm on the weekend that we stayed. We used our free breakfast vouchers which were valid for 1 entrée plus unlimited non-alcoholic drinks which I found great, and even better, since it was the weekend we could use it for brunch until 1.30pm, which was great- so we snuggled and slept in indeed. The food was pretty good, we tried the burger, salmon benedict, burrito and French toast, which were all pretty good although I would pass on the toast next time. The vouchers even included 20% gratuity which was great as the breakfast was truly free. The same breakfast would run us $50-60 for two each day, so we thought it was a great value. For ambassadors they also provide $20 food and beverage credit for the stay, which we used in their Bambara bar (the drinks were decent) and complimentary bottled water in room. The bed in the room was very comfy, we liked the decor and the robes were comfy and large. I would recommend to read what your amenity fee includes since there are tons of things you can get in your room (microwave, coffee maker and tea kettle, slippers and many other things). We used their complimentary polaroid camera which was such a fun thing. We liked the neighborhood, there’s a decent mall nearby, it’s a walking distance to many great restaurants, and I like that it’s near the water. I would also visit during summer since they provide complimentary kayaks, paddle boards and bikes. We also used the gym which had a good selection of equipment including free weights, a cable machine, rowers and ellipticals + some fruits! I’m sad Kimptons are leaving Ambassador program, I would definitely stay there more if they were still a part of it. I guess since they won’t be participating starting the next year, it seemed like most of their staff was unaware of this special status, and I had to go to the front desk to specially inquire about the 4pm checkout which the front desk associate was unaware of as a benefit for Ambassadors, but luckily his colleague Khalid was able to help and assist me with this. I’m also glad that I requested the printed copy of the bill at the checkout and caught an error (they did charge me daily amenity fee), which again Khalid came to help with. Also shoutout to Kareem, he was very helpful and friendly. Overall, it was a great stay and I...

Management meltdown here. They really don’t care how poor their services and amenities are because they just toss around membership points. Their first offer was to comp my $8 bottle of water to remedy the situation. I’m not talking a few nuisances.. there is a list, which I tried to ignore as just a glitch, but it wasn’t. It was a systemic failure on management level intermittent wifi. Key not working on each return. Broken blackout curtain, which really wasn’t a blackout curtain. (Room was facing east) Hint: bring clips/clothespins for curtains and eye mask if you want a river view room. Requested items and procedures deliberately ignored. (Away from elevator, My room was right next to the elevators) Pre-booked room was not honored (based on availability) *I booked in may and stayed in august. When I booked there were many rooms available. My requests for coffee machine and sofa bed to be made up were fictitiously written down by front desk staffer who may have thought it was amusing to be this rude. There was no mention on website or their app regarding any Covid related policy changes however, there were many…food availability being foremost. There are not many restaurant choices nearby and the ONE time I tried their restaurant we waited 30 minutes for the bartender to MAKE Bloody Mary mix. Yes. A SUNDAY when alcohol is not poured until 11:00 am and breakfast has been served since 7 am…. So they’re staffed. Not a single employee that day or the night before could be bothered to make the Bloody Mary mix for Sunday BRUNCH. (A suit/managerial person did stroll in at 11:20 to point out the obvious, sigh) Maybe bloody marys are a west coast thing??? Well, so much for ever booking again at any IHG hotel. Not relaxing at all. Super hassle and stressful. Those points, like I said, were an insult and was the $8 free bottle of water and the condescending attitude. The timeline of events were noted and when asked, at checkout, were explained to front desk. Take note Boston IHG upper management, you have a problem here.

Addendum: I received a response from regional director which implied I am impatient about being served alcohol. To the person replying, Bloody Mary MIX does not contain alcohol. When it’s not made, the 11:00 law now means a Bloody Mary can’t be served until there is mix, right? The employee also seemed confused as to why it wasn’t ready and had to make it at 11:00. (We can’t order until 11:00 so that’s when the employee realized there was no mix) *this is a management issue. Sidework? Prep? Checklists? My experience took 30 minutes to make the mix. (Do you understand the term, “prep?”) It’s standard procedure to make sure a bar has pars on BOTH liquors and mixers. This is so obviously a management issue. Management is taking this as an opportunity to improve. But, if you don’t understand the problem….. I also had an opportunity. A very pricey stay in a hotel that falsely advertises its amenities and skill. My opportunity was destroyed. My lesson takeaway is I will not be booking with IHG hotels again....

This was my first stay at a Kimpton property and suffice to say it would not make me inclined to return to this brand.||Pros||1. The location was reasonable enough and fairly convenient for public transport / walking into Boston. There’s not much of significance nearby though, and the adjacent Cambridgeside shopping mall offers relatively limited dining and retail options. |2. The bed was very comfortable and the room was spacious and reasonably clean.||Cons||1. The check in process was slow and seemed very clunky.|2. I wasn’t impressed to find that, despite having been told in writing prior to my Rewards Night stay that I would not be charged the property’s $30 nightly ‘Amenity Fee’, the person checking me in tried to insist that I had got this wrong and that I would be charged this ridiculous fee which seems to offer nothing of any real value to a guest. I mean who the hell wants to borrow a Polaroid camera or a vinyl record player, anyway?! Seriously, this was stated as one of the so-called perks attached to this additional charge. When I showed the front desk clerk the email confirming that a reward stay would not attract the fee (sent only 10 days prior to my check in date), he tried to have me believe that I was mistaken and the policy had changed since then. However, I held my ground and he conceded saying that ‘as a gesture of goodwill’ he would remove the charge. How incredibly patronising!|3. The service at check in was pretty typical of the service at every other point of my stay; slightly aloof and a little dismissive, and not at all genial. This dog friendly hotel seemed to pamper pooches far more than human guests in my opinion. By the way, if you’re not a dog lover, be aware - there were lots of them staying at the Kimpton Marlow!|3. The lighting in the bedrooms is woefully poor, with no central light controls for the floor and table lamps used to light the space. To have to get out of bed and turn out all the individual lights in this day and age is unheard of.|4. Maintenance of the room and bathroom was only average. There was unsightly limescale build up on the black taps and the shower head which was not great.|5. The breakfast welcome amenity for IHG Diamond Elite customers is really quite poor for what is meant to be an upscale brand. The ‘choose one item’ ruling is not at all generous compared to other IHG brands with buffet offerings, and the counter service ordering arrangement on weekdays felt like having breakfast at McDonalds.||Overall, I was largely unimpressed and wouldn’t choose to stay here again. Neither would I choose another Kimpton Hotel as it seemed to me that this brand was triumph of style over substance, practicality and...