Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Luxury in Boston's Back Bay or, Is It Really Us?

When we travel, our overnight accommodations can usually be described like this: Cheap, close to the highway, pets allowed, easy check in and check out. Yep, I'm talking Motel Six.

Not this time. For our trip by rail to Boston in honor of our anniversary celebration, we stayed at the Lenox Hotel, which has been described in the following ways: Boutique hotel, "one of the five greenest luxury hotels in America," historic charm, environmentally friendly, personalized service, richly appointed... The list could go on, and it all accurately describes the place. 

I'm telling you, I could hardly recognize us as we stepped into the elegant mirror and marble elevator run by a uniformed elevator guy!

Our room, chandelier and all. I kept opening the curtains day and night for the wonderful view.

Our view from the 10th floor.
Harvard and the Charles River are off to the right, just outside the edge of this photo




A beautiful stairway just down the hall


One of the great characters at the hotel is Jimmy Fisher, who has been a bellhop there for over 60 years and who is well into his eighties. You can read about him in the article, Beloved Boston Bellhop Gets His Dueand you can see him at the hotel on weekends. I know you'll want to go.

Here is a video showing some of the amenities at the hotel. Oh, my, I am still impressed with the fact that we stayed in a hotel with actual amenities. Imagine.

10 comments:

Jean (aka Auntie Bucksnort) said...

You deserved every luxurious moment! Is that tiling in the stairwell?

clairz said...

No, Buck, it's a very lovely wallpaper.

becky said...

Gosh Clair,
you did it up right!!! What a lovely place to stay & celebrate your anniversary! Some day I'd like to stay someplace cool like that. I'm a budget traveler, too, so I can imagine what a splurge this was- but how wonderful! Loved the story about the bellhop.

Nan said...

I LOVE that hallway. The color is fantastic. I was going to ask what Jean did, only I wondered if it was like those tin ceilings only on the wall. I say, if you're going to travel, travel in luxury!

Joyful said...

It is so nice to stay in a good hotel now and then, esp. for your special time in remembrance of your anniversary.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

With all that luxury and pampering, I'm wondering how difficult it will be to settle for the Motel 6 again. heehee!

I've stayed at a Boutique Hotel in Wash. D.C twice on a work assignment and wow!....I think it was all the down bedding that did it for me...oh and the luxury chocolates on my pillow each evening....Oh yes....sigh.

~Lisa

Ms. Becky said...

you make me laugh - I travel the same way usually. just the bare minimum thank you very much. I'm happy that you celebrated in style for this special occasion. you deserve it. and it's great that you selected a "green" hotel too. happy day to you Clair.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Great post and what a marvelous way to culminate your wonderful Anniversary trip! You deserved every amenity. (That room's a quite a change from the train sleeper!) The porter sounds like a real character -- like someone out of an old novel!

TorAa said...

Sometimes we ask our self the same question: Is it really us that.. etc.

Thanks for a nice comment regarding "The American Horse".

In fact, we will rent a house in SW Michigan for the whole of July 2012;-9

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

You are so funny! "Actual amenities"...LOL! Sounds lovely, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it again and again as you go through your photos. It's nice to "travel in style" every now and then!