As soon as I saw my room in the Ames, I was ready to redecorate my apartment, and renovate my recently done and much loved bathroom! The showpiece David Rockwell decor is exactly my taste and although the room was small, it was well planned.
The room was equipped with a large bed; nice sheets; stylish easy chair and overhead lamp; huge flat screen TV with multiple cable channels and on demand. The mini bar came with almost full sized liquor bottles, great snack selection, and all sorts of cool accessories. There was excellent lighting, and a laptop sized safe. WiFi is available for $10/day and I was never in my room long enough to warrant purchasing it.
The mini bar and HVAC system were silent. On the 11th floor I could hear an occasional siren, but it was pretty peaceful and quiet, even when there was jack-hammering outside.
The bathroom had great lighting, a Duravit sink/vanity, a gorgeous towel warmer than I never used, a lighted make-up and a rainwater shower head plus an adjustable height sprayer. Toiletries are from my neighbor across the street in NYC, Malin & Goetz. There was a huge window, covered by the off-white version of the scrim-like window treatments I have at home.
My issues with the room were minimal. It is clearly designed for a shorter stay or people who pack even lighter than me. There was 1 small drawer in the closet and about 8 hangers. No where near the storage space necessary for a 5 day business trip, where I can’t repeat an outfit or people will talk. The only request I made to the front desk – for more hangers, was ignored.
My princess tendency (or one of them!) is that I cannot sleep on a hard pillow and I usually bring my own small down travel pillows to Central America or France, but they’re not usually necessary in American hotels of this calibre. The down pillows were rock hard. A friendly maintenance guy I met outside my room did deliver on his promise to ask housekeeping to bring different pillows, but soft ones must not exist. Somewhat looser foam pillows did arrive, but I still needed to use a rolled up corner of the down quilt instead of pillows in order to sleep!
The location is excellent; between two different T (mass transit) stations. The Old State House, across the street, is a major historical attraction, and houses a “secret” entrance to the T station. Two different lines can be found there. Other lines are a block away at Government Center. These lines took me to wherever I needed to go during a 5 day business trip – including a quick connection to the Convention Center Silver line. A $15 weekly T pass saved my company a lot of money on exorbitant Boston cabs. Beacon Hill and North End restaurants are a short walk.
The hotel doesn’t have much of a lobby. There is a very nice restaurant – Woodward. The only meal I had time to eat there, breakfast on the day I left, was excellent. They have a variety of “hash” on the menu, which piqued my curiosity when I noticed one came with mushrooms and truffles. Turns out hash in Boston is a melange of potatoes, onions and spinach, with the mushrooms and truffles plus eggs made to your specifications over it.
The concierge, Chas, was helpful about suggesting things to do in my unexpected down-time on Sunday, after an appointment cancelled.
The Ames passes my test for a business trip hotel. Would I come back and pay to stay there with my own money? Definitely!
The Ames Hotel Boston, 1 Court Street. 617- 979-8100. A Morgans Hotel group property.
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This article was originally posted on October 13, 2011.
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