The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts

The Oak Bar

Just as palatial as it was when it first opened in 1912, the storied 383-room Fairmont Copley Plaza remains as iconic to Boston as the Plaza is to New York City -- and no less grand, as they share the same architect. The lobby alone is 5,000 square feet, and has 21-foot-high gilded coffered ceilings. "Boston’s Grand Dame" has welcomed just about every U.S. president since Taft, celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Tom Cruise, and more than a few of the world's most powerful moguls.

These days the Fairmont Copley Plaza draws a wide range of guests, from conventioneers to college parents to Freedom Trail tourists. The location, right on Copley Sqaure in the heart of Back Bay, is as good as any in the city. And the palatial lobby and the romantic, wood-paneled Oak Bar and Oak Room restaurant have more extravagant impact than anything you'll find at Boston's other top luxury hotels -- the Ritz, the Four Seasons, and the Mandarin Oriental among them. And yet room rates here are reasonable, compared to those hotels, largely because the standard guest rooms are about half the size.

Capped doormen rush to open doors and deliver luggage up to rooms, and staff warmly addresses you by your last name. But don't expect too many automatic freebies here. Turndown service and free newspapers and shoeshines are available only upon request.

• 24-hour room service, with a $4.25 delivery charge and 18-percent gratuity
• Evening turndown service upon request
• Concierge desk, open 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

View on a Larger Map

The Fairmont is located at Copley Square, a historic and picturesque town square in the heart of the tony neighborhood of Back Bay. The 60-story, I.M.-Pei-designed John Hancock Tower, Trinity Church (dating back to the 19th century), and the stately Boston Public Library all add to Copley Square's architectural splendor, and make it a lovely place to meet a friend, play boccie ball on the lawn, or have a picnic lunch (all of which both tourists and locals do regularly). The Hynes Convention Center is a short walk from the hotel, and so is much of the city's best shopping, along quaint Newbury Street and at the Prudential Center mall.

• One block from nearest stop on the T (Boston's subway system)
• Two blocks from the upscale boutiques of Newbury Street
• One block from the Prudential Center mall
• Less than two miles (about a 10-minute drive) from Faneuil Hall, a historic marketplace with more than 150 shops and cafes
• About a five-minute walk to the Boston Common; 10-minute walk to the start of the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile path that hits 16 different historic landmarks
• About a five-minute drive from Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox
• Harvard Square is across the Charles River, about 25 to 30 minutes via the T.
• 10-minute walk from the South End's restaurant row on Tremont Street
• A 20- to 30-minute drive to Logan International Airport

The Fairmont Gold Fairmont room

Starting at a mere 210 square feet, the Fairmont's Moderate Rooms (the cheapest room type) are much smaller than those at other luxury hotels in Boston -- the standard rooms at the Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental, for example, are each around 400 square feet. But since the hotel's $34 million renovation (back in 2004), its guest rooms are definitely among the best looking ones. Decorated in the style of a classic Back Bay town house with dark-wood furniture, crimson throws, and marble baths, the rooms manage to look elegant, but not bland (unlike the rooms at the Ritz and Four Seasons).

• Guest rooms start at a cramped, 210 square feet (Moderate Room); one queen-size bed.
• Fairmont rooms, the most common room type, offer a bit more space (260 square feet) and include either a king, queen, or two double-size beds. Deluxe and Signature Rooms, as well as 10 different suites, are also available.
• Comfortable beds (but not quite as luxurious as those at the Taj Boston): 310-thread-count sheets (60 cotton/40 poly); four down pillows; Sealy Posturpedic pillow-top mattress
• Small, but elegant, all-marble bathroom: bath/shower tub combo
• Luxurious Miller Harris toiletries
• Thick terry robes
• Average-size 32-inch LG flat-screen TV with about 32 channels, including free HBO; pay-per-view movies and TV shows also available
• Bose-wave radios; iPod-docking connections
• Stocked minibar
• Wi-Fi and hard-wired Internet; $14 per day
• Rooms on the Fairmont Gold floor have coffeemakers and DVD players, access to a separate concierge and check-in counter, and a lounge with a free business center, a DVD and book library, afternoon hors d'ouevres, and a hot breakfast buffet. Wi-Fi is also free on this floor.

The fitness center

The Fairmont Copley's strength is not in its extra amenities. The one-room fitness center with a few dated machines is no match for what you get at the Taj Boston and Lenox hotels. And the business center at the Fairmont is not free.

• Business center charges $1 per minute to use one of the three PCs; $1 per page for black and white printing, and $2 per page for color.
• Wi-Fi costs $14 per day.
• Small, unimpressive one-room fitness center: older cardio equipment; one Precor multistrength training machine; one fairly old Cybex bike
• No pool
• No spa

The Fairmont is one of the few hotels to have it's own "canine ambassador" (a black Labrador named Catie Copley who was formerly trained as a guide dog). You'll find her luxuriating on her doggie bed in the palatial lobby six days a week, next to her personal business cards. Guests can even take her out for a walk; just make arrangements with the concierge.

• No size or pet type restrictions
• $25 fee per day
• Pets may not be left alone in the room.

The hotel makes attempts to reach out to children with its friendly hotel dog and kids' menus, but be aware that the small standard rooms can only fit one queen-size bed (no room for a rollaway bed). This means that families will need to upgrade to a Fairmont Room with two double-size beds (only enough room to sleep four, no room for a rollaway either).

• Free cribs
• Free rollaway beds, but they don't fit in standard rooms
• Connecting rooms available
• Children under five eat free at the Oak Bar.
• Kids' menus available at the Oak Bar and Oak Room
• Room-service kids' menu; $8 entrees like grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and pizza

The Oak Room

The dark-wood-paneled Oak Bar and Oak Room restaurant are two of Boston's most beautiful dining establishments. With mirrored walls, richly upholstered banquettes, and twin Waterford chandeliers hanging from a 30-foot ceiling, the Oak Room steakhouse is about as sumptuously decorated as hotel restaurants get. The Oak Bar, modeled after a British Officer's Club, feels like a set from the TV show Mad Men -- the kind of place where dashing men in suits casually make deals over martinis and oysters while eyeing a blonde in the corner.

• Oak Bar; open for drinks at 11 a.m. and also serves the Oak Room's full menu whenever the restaurant is closed.
• Oak Room steakhouse restaurant; open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch, with a traditional steakhouse menu and a full raw bar. Dinner entrees run from $30 to $40, but the four-course lunch special is a good value at $20.
• 24-hour room service offers an expansive menu, including a special "fitness" menu, a kids' menu, a snack menu, a comfort-food menu, a build-your-own pasta selection, and limited selections from the Oak Bar and Oak Room (entrees run $15 to $25, plus a $4.25 delivery charge and 18-percent gratuity).

The hotel hasn't been renovated since 2004, but the furniture and carpets still looked to be in good shape. The guest rooms and common areas are spotless.