The 10 Best Hotels in Boston

Boston’s hotel scene has come a long way. No longer confined to just a few neighborhoods like Back Bay and the Financial District, new boutique properties have popped up in historic buildings in tony Beacon Hill and Bay Village, while established luxury hotel brands like Four Seasons, Langham, and Raffles have brought their top-notch hospitality to the reinvigorated Boston Harbor.

Let Afar’s curated list of the 10 best Boston Hotels—part of our Hotels We Love series of the best retreats in the world—inspire your next trip.

Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street

Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street

• Neighborhood: Back Bay
• Why we love it: Stylish digs in the sky with a memorable afternoon tea
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There are two Four Seasons hotels to choose from in Boston, but this 61-story Back Bay skyscraper—one of the tallest towers in the city—has proven to be our favorite. Guest rooms range from Deluxe (and Deluxe Accessible) to Presidential, all with floor-to-ceiling windows, giving them an airy, sleeping-in-the-sky feel. If you can swing it, book the Back Bay corner suite, a circular space with an en suite bathroom and a standing tub overlooking the domed Christian Science church and plaza. Downstairs, a seventh-floor indoor pool caters to families with amenities like pool floats and weekend warriors looking to do laps. Japanese izakaya bar Zuma is a local favorite, as is the raw bar at the brunch buffet and the kid-friendly afternoon tea at the restaurant Trifecta. From $1,004 —Laura Dannen Redman

Hotel Commonwealth

Courtesy of Hotel Commonwealth

• Neighborhood: Kenmore Square
• Why we love it: A clutch location and unabashed allegiance to the Red Sox
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Boston is nothing if not a sports town. For those keen on catching a game at the venerable Fenway Park, the oldest Major League Baseball ballpark still in use in the country, there are few spots better than Hotel Commonwealth. Only a two-minute walk from the stadium, the hotel has 245 guest rooms and suites; many have floor-to-ceiling windows and a separate living room area, and some look directly into the park. (The rooftop Fenway Terrace, with its outdoor seating warmed by heat lamps and fire tables, affords the same views).

Baseball fans looking to splurge should consider booking the Fenway Park Suite, a 700-square-foot room with a park-facing balcony designed in partnership with the Boston Red Sox. The living room comes decked out in memorabilia, including part of Fenway’s Green Monster scoreboard (originally given to Johnny Pesky when he retired), a coffee table signed by legendary Red Sox players, real Fenway seats on the balcony, and small bags of authentic Fenway pitching mound dirt. From $347 —Bailey Berg

InterContinental Boston

Courtesy of the InterContinental Boston

• Neighborhood: Boston Harbor
• Why we love it: Freshly renovated interiors, resortlike amenities, and an unparalleled location
• Loyalty Program: IHG One Rewards
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Yes, it’s massive—424 guest rooms and suites, to be exact—which lends this recently renovated IHG hotel a resort feel, given the wealth of amenities and its central Boston Harbor location. Visitors can check into a plush classic room on Four Point Channel or into a corner-view suite—all with marble baths and picture windows that let in ample light—and drop their bags before heading out for a stroll. Nearby attractions include the Seaport, the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and the Boston Tea Party & Ships Museum next door. Downstairs, the northern Italian steakhouse Matria calls, preceded by an aperitivo at Bar Fellini, and perhaps followed by some mischief making at the new-in-2024 Loyall Counting Room, a “secret den” in the tradition of Boston’s rebels, with top-notch cocktails. For introverted travelers seeking a respite from the city, the handsome spa calls with honey-agave massages and detoxifying facials. From $305 —LDR

The Langham, Boston

The Langham, Boston

• Neighborhood: Financial District
• Why we love it: The stately former home of the Federal Reserve Bank leans into its heritage
• Loyalty program: Brilliant by Langham
• Book now

This century-old building in the Financial District spent its first 59 years as the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In 2003, the Hong Kong–based Langham Hospitality Group reopened the landmark building as a well-appointed hotel. The original brass Federal Reserve seal remains embedded in the marble floor of the hotel’s Italian restaurant, Grana. In the lobby, the banker’s box drawers line one of the walls, while the custom-designed carpets are inspired by the leaf motif found on dollar bills.

The 312 guest rooms at The Langham Boston, renovated in 2021, have a modern residential feel, with a blue and tan color scheme meant to evoke the shores of New England. Sprawling marble bathrooms have rain showers, while a wooden armoire hides a well-stocked mini bar. On the first floor of the hotel, visit the Fed, a moodily lit 1920s-style cocktail bar with a vault of rare spirits from around the world. From $812—BB

The Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel

Courtesy of the Liberty Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel

• Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
• Why we love it: The best night you’ll ever spend in a jail
• Loyalty: Marriott Bonvoy
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A stay at the Liberty might be the only time you brag about spending a night in the slammer (or, at least, a former one). Erected in 1851, this Beacon Hill hotel was originally the Charles Street Jail, which shuttered in 1973 after more than a century housing Boston’s most notorious lawbreakers. In 2001, Maryland-based Lasalle Hotel Properties bought the building with the intent of turning it into a hotel, a project that wasn’t completed until 2007.

The 298 guest rooms and suites are decorated with framed keys from the original cells and embroidered throw pillows that resemble tally marks. Six restaurants and bars all follow the jailbird theme. In Clink, a seafood restaurant serving oysters, swordfish, and other local catches, tables are separated by prison cell doors. Catwalk, a cocktail bar on the original jail catwalk, has a menu of casual bar snacks like free-range chicken wings and burgers. From $501 —BB

Mandarin Oriental, Boston

Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental, Boston

• Neighborhood: Back Bay
• Why we love it: Extra large suites and one of the city’s best spas
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Following a $15 million renovation in 2020, the Mandarin Oriental Boston’s 148 guest rooms and suites now look like a posh complement to the neighborhood’s high-end boutiques on Newbury Street. Think chinoiserie wallpaper, art deco touches, marble bathrooms, and some of the largest suites in Back Bay. High-spending groups will enjoy the ability to book connecting rooms and family packages that include in-room tiny tents, stuffies, board games, and books for the kiddos.

Speaking of packages: Mandarin Oriental’s round-the-clock concierge service can arrange any number of VIP-style experiences, including tickets to a Red Sox game and a private tour of Fenway Park, a tall ship sailing in Boston Harbor, and a tour and tasting at Sam Adams Brewery. Sybarites should take note of the hotel’s 16,000-square-foot spa and wellness center, with its steam rooms, vitality pools, and three- to five-day well-being retreats. Visitors can also seek renewal through sound bathing and sleep massages, or reinvigoration with custom fitness programs (ideal for those training for the Boston Marathon). From $708 —LDR

The Newbury Boston

Photo by Nikolas Koenig

• Neighborhood: Back Bay
• Why we love it: Modern luxury with a coveted rooftop trattoria
• Loyalty program: Leaders Club (Leading Hotels of the World)
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Previously the Taj Boston (and originally built to be the first-ever Ritz-Carlton in the United States), the Newbury reopened mid-pandemic after a two-year renovation with a new look. Named after the street it resides on, the hotel faces Boston’s tree-shaded Public Garden and offers 286 elegant and modern guest rooms redone with warm woods and a neutral palette by interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud. Nearly a third of the accommodations are suites, and some have wood-burning fireplaces.

Right off the lobby, the wood-paneled Street Bar has oversize leather sofas and classic cocktails, like a Manhattan and a Sidecar. It’s also steeped in history: Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill are said to have visited the dimly lit space. These days, the rooftop trattoria, Contessa, is arguably the bigger draw, even for those who aren’t staying at the Newbury. Reservations are hard to score, in part because of the superlative views of the Back Bay and the traditional northern Italian fare, like classic veal Milanese and spicy lobster capellini. From $611 —BB

Raffles Boston

Photo by Brandon Barré/Raffles Boston

• Neighborhood: Back Bay
• Why we love it: The social Sky Lobby, the Guerlain spa, and the modern Portuguese restaurant
• Loyalty program: Accor Live Limitless
• Book now

Set within a 35-story mixed-use building that opened in September 2023, the Raffles Boston experience begins in the sparkling Sky Lobby on the 17th floor, which is decorated with seasonal flower arrangements. Here, guests can admire the art and the grand staircase within the three-story atrium. Award-winning design firm Stonehill Taylor left its mark on the 147 butler-serviced guest rooms and suites, relying on copper accents in a nod to Paul Revere’s copper company, and floral notes everywhere.

Raffles Boston is home to several hot new restaurants, including a new Italian entry by two-time James Beard winner chef Jody Adams, and Amar, where chef George Mendes serves modern Portuguese with New England influences. (To wit: the Maine lobster comes with Azorean pineapple.) The banquette-lined Long Bar & Terrace riffs on the historic bar of the same name in the Raffles Singapore with its own Boston Sling cocktail featuring locally made Blind Duck gin and cranberry compote. For well-being seekers, head to the fourth floor for the Guerlain spa, fitness center, and 65-foot indoor pool. From $980 —LDR

The Whitney Hotel

Photo by James Baigrie/Whitney Hotel

• Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
• Why we love it: A petite homebase in a vibrant part of Boston
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Named after the prominent industrialist who once owned the site, The Whitney started out in 1908 as housing for nurses who worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood. Today, the quintessentially Boston brick building is a boutique hotel. The 65 guest rooms, with their navy and white rooms (referencing the city flag) and subway tile bathrooms, all feature tall windows with views of the Charles River.

Guests are offered a glass of champagne while they check in. A staff member will also give guests a map passkey for discounts at some of the best bars, restaurants, and shops nearby. While the neighborhood is walkable, the Whitney has a fleet of courtesy bicycles, should you want to cover extra ground. The Massachusetts State House and Museum of African American History are a half-mile bike ride away, and the three-mile-long Esplanade Park that hugs the Charles River starts just outside the hotel’s doors. From $467 —BB

XV Beacon

Courtesy of XV Beacon

• Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
• Why we love it: Modern luxury in a historic hotel
• Loyalty program: I Prefer (Preferred Hotels & Resorts)
• Book now

XV Beacon (aka Fifteen Beacon) has long occupied a gilded spot on Beacon Hill in a historic Beaux-Arts building. Before it was a standard-setting luxury hotel, it was the homestead of a wealthy Boston merchant in 1722; the foundations remain visible in the hotel’s wine cellar. Thankfully, history doesn’t weigh down the XV Beacon. Its 63 guest rooms are the picture of comfort, done in chocolates, charcoals, and beiges, with four-poster beds, Frette linens, cashmere throws, and gas fireplaces. Hospitality services (valet laundry, room service, concierge) run 24 hours a day. Ask for a reservation at on-site steakhouse Mooo, a local favorite. From $506 —LDR