Mandarin Oriental, Boston Rating: 5.0 Pearls

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts

The Spa

An impressive new contender among Boston's old-guard luxury hotels, the 148-room Mandarin Oriental in Back Bay tries to doing everything bigger and better. Few expenses were spared in constructing the $300 million, limestone-and-marble-façade building, which opened in October 2008. The sleek entryway gives way to a dark and cozy living-room-style lobby. The standard rooms, some of the largest and most luxurious in Boston, are equipped with sink-into beds with Frette sheets and Ploh pillows, separate deep tubs and rainfall showers, and 42-inch flat-screen TVs with some 20 free movie channels. The city's most spectacular spa, a 16,000-square-foot extravaganza, tops it all off.

In Boston, only the Four Seasons can compete with the level of service delivered here. The all-out attack includes nightly turndown, complimentary shoeshines and newspapers, a welcome tea delivered up to the room right after check-in, and a Mercedes that shuttles guests anywhere within a two-mile radius of the hotel.

If one has to nitpick, the views overlooking restaurant-lined Boylston Street, though charming, don't quite match those you get at the Fairmont, the Four Seasons, or the Taj, where many rooms face Copley Square or the Public Garden. The Mandarin also lacks a pool, which is a feature you get at the Four Seasons.

That said, the sleek, contemporary design of its ultra-luxurious rooms gives the Mandarin a unique profile among the finest hotels in Boston.

A welcome beverage deilvered to your room

In Boston, only the Four Seasons can compete with this extraordinary level of service; free shoeshines and newspapers, free car service, and a welcome beverage upon check-in are just a few of the special attentions guests receive. Twice-daily housekeeping includes evening turndown service, when the staff leaves bottled water, a card with the next day's weather forecast, and slippers to greet you when you return to your room. You'll never touch your bags from the time the porter opens your cab door to when he puts you into another cab to the leave.

• 24-hour room service
• 24-hour concierge
• Free overnight shoeshine
• Choice of newspaper delivered to the room the next day (asked for what you prefer upon check-in)
• The house car, a Mercedes S-Class, will drive guests anywhere within a two-mile radius of the hotel during certain hours.
• Pricey valet parking

View on a Larger Map

Located on restaurant-lined Boylston Street in Back Bay, two short blocks from Newbury Street and a five-minute walk to picturesque Copley Square. The Mandarin Oriental is connected to the Prudential Center mall and the Hynes Convention Center.

An upscale commercial and residential area in the center of the city, Back Bay offers a little bit of everything, from luxury shopping to fine arts. Even Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, is walkable from here. Office workers toil away in the area's high rise buildings, while business travelers convene for conferences at the Hynes Convention Center. It also boasts some of the city's best shopping and notable cultural attractions: the upscale chain stores, cafes, and boutiques of Newbury Street; and the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

• Nearest stop on the T, Boston's subway system, is two blocks away at Copley Square.
• A 20-minute drive to Logan Airport
• A 15-minute drive to historic Faneuil Hall
• A five-minute drive or a 15-minute walk to Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox
• A 15-minute walk to the Boston Commons, where the Freedom Trail starts

Rooms feature Playstation 3

The Mandarin's standard rooms are a study in understated luxury. Earth-tone fabrics and blond wood floors characterize the decor. Frette sheets top the wonderfully comfortable bed. The bathrooms, arguably the best hotel bathrooms in the the city, feature deep tubs and marble showers. The high-grade electronics include a 42-inch flat-screen TV with some 20 premium movie channels. And everything is brand new -- the hotel just opened in late 2008.

• 42-inch Philips LCD flat-screen with about 75 channels, including 19 premium movie channels (seven HBO, six Encore and six Starz), and 19 HD channels
• Sony Blu-ray Playstation 3 is available on request, along with a list of the DVDs and video games available.
• For the bed, a sink-into Simmons mattress topped with 400-thread-count Frette sheets, Ploh pillows and duvet
• Great bathrooms with a deep tub, a separate shower (with the strongest rainfall showerhead I've ever experienced), a separate toilet stall, Red Flower toiletries, thick Frette towels and robes, and a scale.
• All rooms come with king-size beds, except for the Mandarin and Mandarin Back Bay, some of which have two doubles. Lifestyle Rooms offer an additional twin-size day bed.
• Suites start at 1,040 square feet. Premier and Premier Corner Suites offer additional living rooms and big bay windows. The Oriental and Dynasty Suites feature unique decor and extra features like mirrored walls with flat-screen TVs in them, powder rooms, and pantries.

The fitness center

• The 16,000-square-foot Spa at Mandarin Oriental is the largest and most luxurious in Boston.
• The spa offers four different heat/water experiences -- Vitality Bath, Crystal Steam Room, Experience Shower, and ice bath -- even before you get to the actual treatments, which come with hefty price tags.
• Compared to the huge spa, the fitness center is modest but well equipped; it offers state-of-the-art Technogym fitness equipment, separate rooms for cardio, strength training, and yoga/stretching, and plenty of bottled water, fresh fruit, towels, and free earphones.
• Free, 24-hour business center with two Macs and one Dell PC. Free copy/printer/scanner machine.
• No pool, unlike at the Four Seasons

Pets stay for free at the Mandarin Oriental, and some pet amenities (food bowls, beds, treats) are available upon request.

• Rollaways are charged per night.
• Free cribs, strollers, and some baby/kid amenities (stuffed animals, bath toys, diapers, rattles)
• Sony Blu-ray Playstation 3 and library of kids' DVDs and video games upon request
• Child robes
• Standard rooms start at 400 square feet, with plenty of room for a rollaway or crib. The 540-square-foot Mandarin Back Bay Room with two double beds.
• Connecting rooms are also available.
• 10-minute walk to the Swan Boats at the Public Garden

The hotel just opened in October 2008, and housekeeping cleans and straightens twice daily, so everything is spotless and in mint condition.

M Bar & Lounge

Dining options are all delicious at the Mandarin Oriental, whose building also house the James Beard award-winning L'Espalier.

• Asana serves Contemporary American cuisine in a sophisticated setting. Breakfast entrees include a tomato omelet or brioche French toast; lunch entrees feature a gnocchi dish with duck confit and chicken consomme; dinner entrees are delicious, like the steak and eggs and Hudson Valley moulard duck.
• M Bar and Lounge serves classic bar grub and Asian-inspired snacks: wagyu beef sliders, chilli caramel popcorn, and crunchy shrimp skewers. Cocktails like the Stately Romance and Jasmin Dragon are unique.
• 24-hour room service, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options available.
• The James-Beard-Award-winning French restaurant, L'Espalier, is in the building (though not operated by the hotel)
• L'Espalier's lower-priced sibling, the casual bistro Sel de la Terre, is downstairs.