Prentiss House by Thatch — Hotel in Cambridge

Off to a bad start with Thatch using a different room rate than the one I paid on their website, changing the charges on my credit card without permission and dunning me for more money. It took three angry emails to straighten that error out. As it was, I had already paid the linen fee, the resort fee, the processing fee, cancelation insurance (+ 7%tax) and 14% room tax, raising the cost per night from $246.24 to $334.65. We also reserved a parking space at the cost of $36.75 per night, including processing fee. My husband and I stayed two nights. What we received in exchange for our $742.80 was a clean room; a full size bed with clean linen; one bath towel each; bulk bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash; one small desk with chair; two small bed stands; a large closet with dresser inside; refrigerator, microwave, kettle, wine opener, 4 glasses, two mugs; two packets of instant coffee and two tea bags. Oh yes, and some pretty rough toilet paper to serve the usual purpose and as facial tissue. When I texted (this is the preferred way guests communicate to staff) that I would like to have a box of facial tissue and two more packets of instant coffee, I was told "of course!" but found two tea bags and a used torn box of tissues left instead. When I texted again, I was told "of course! we will replace these items right away!" But no one came with even an apology. We are not demanding people with extravagant needs. But for goodness sake, even Hotel 6 provides Kleenex and Keurig! I love having the first dose of caffeine in my room. No, instant coffee isn't great, but better than nothing. Thatch advertises a coffee maker in the lobby, but it only worked one out of four attempts. There are CoffeeMate singles and white sugar packets in the lobby, but not in the room. You are provided a wooden stir stick. No spoons or other silverware. No one cleans the room until you check out. This was expected and not a problem. They offer umbrellas for rainy nights, but there were none around when we needed one. The walls and floors in the new section are thin. We could hear the conversation next door and the footsteps above us were loud. We were in the "Deluxe Garden Queen". no...

Amazing location, 10 min to Harvard Sq, 5 min to Porter. Beautiful renovation of historic home, great sized room for the money. Speedy WiFi. Easy to use access code, great patio space. Nice to have parking option right there. The setup is terrific for those working from the hotel and suites are great for those traveling with kids - we had our 8 year old on sofa bed and it didn’t feel cramped which is nice.

My only hesitation: we were there during unseasonably warm weather and our heating/cooling unit would not get the room temp lower than 77, which was not comfortable. I saw other rooms with windows open and now see from other reviews that my suspicions were correct and this was an issue for more rooms than just ours. We opened the windows but without screens didn’t want to leave them open all the time and invite bugs in. They couldn’t address it until day three of our stay because we arrived on a weekend. Management assessed the situation and installed a window AC. Unfortunately based on the responses to reviews here it seems that the management response to me was less than truthful: it sounds like they knew it was an issue as they’d turned off their cooling system. I really wish they would have been up front about that with me instead of pretending that somehow we were not understanding how to operate the system. Having lived and worked in older buildings for many years that was what I suspected. I see no reason why they felt the need to obfuscate. At any rate, we appreciated the window AC unit, but again, I’d think twice about staying during the summer, and hope that management can learn to be truthful and up front in the future.

Two things would add greatly to the functionality of the room for guests staying more than an overnight: a light in the closet (room overhead was dim and closet was in darkest corner of room), and a hook for wet towels in the bathroom. There was one small towel rack which was not sufficient for drying towels for 2, let alone 3 people. Also - no surprise here but the sofa bed isn’t particularly comfortable. My kid ended up folding it back up to sleep on it loveseat style but that’s only an option for the...

I stayed there last week for one night and really liked it !! Kiarah was nice enough to give me early possession of the room, but one can also leave their bags in the main sitting area under the stairs, in case the room is not ready. Communication via phone and text was convenient and the responses were fairly prompt - always helpful! Loved the homey B&B vibe (but w/o the breakfast! Altho they did hv a coffee machine in the central lobby with free water and snacks - chips packets). There is a fireplace in that central lobby which walks out into a cute patio area in the back. My room on the second floor, was spacious and well appointed. Even had a lightweight standing fan to use in case it got hot or stuffy. (Wish there was a full length mirror somewhere tho...did I miss it?) I was accommodated again at check out and then was able to leave my bag in the lobby until the late afternoon/eveng since my flight was later in the day. They even located my umbrella that I had misplaced and left it near my bags! The location was perfect for me since my daughter lives in the harvard dorm campus at the quad which is just a 5-7 min walk. It is conveniently located just off of Mass Ave on Prentis st and even tho it is just the second building in, was quiet both at night, and in the morning (my room was street facing) There are tons of eating places within 1-2 blocks;, a coffee shop and Walgreens right across the str (Starbucks a block and a half away) Harvard square is a 15 min walk, so also Harvard yard and the science center. The museum of natural history a few mins under! There are also 7-8 covered parking spaces that I saw, for which one has to pay extra - but what a convenience! I plan on staying there again during graduation week next month and hope to have an equally...