We've stayed twice at the Harborside near Faneuil Hall and just loved it. FYI, If you get a room overlooking State St., ask the front desk for earplugs.
I stayed at the westin. It was very convienent but felt that the room lacked for how much it cost. No free wifi, no micorwave, mini fridge didn't work. I stayed at a much cheaper hotel (~100 a night) that included all this before. Luckily Sprint's LTE service was working perfectly for me from my room, so I was good. Granted I will stay there again next year since it's just so darn convienent to be able to unload all your swag at anytime, no need to wait in line for the coat check and once your inside you wont have to go freeze your butt off anymore to get to the hotel.
PAX East 2015:
3 Single Day Passes [x]
Hotel [x]
Flights [x]
Packed []
Excitement[x]
———————————— PAX East 12' PAX East 13' PAX East 14'
PAX East 15'
@grayfawkes regarding the "mini fridge" did you actually request a mini fridge from the hotel? Or are you talking about the minibar? They de-stock the minibar for PAX from what I've seen, and that doesn't act as a fridge for general use. They have mini-fridges you can request from the hotel.
I agree about some of the services, but that's usually par for the course for convention center attached hotels. They know they're mostly getting business-people that will just pay for it since it's on an expense account. (not being argumentative, just pointing out that it's not really an "odd" thing for this type of hotel to charge for that stuff)
I'm going to have to say that the Westin exceeded expectations for me this year. I've stayed at the Westin 3 years running now, so I know what to expect amenities-wise. However, this year I was unable to book a double-double all 3 nights - by the time I called OnPeak, Thursday night only had King rooms available. I went ahead and made two reservations - a King room for Thursday night, and a double-double for Fri-Sat.
On Thursday morning as I was waiting for the Sonic Line, I called up the Westin and explained my dilemma and asked if there were any double-double rooms they could switch me into so I wouldn't have to check-out Friday morning and immediately check back in - that would have made the first day of the con a mini-nightmare. I wasn't expecting it to work, but they made it happen (at no additional charge). The only small hiccup was that I had to have my keys re-made Friday morning since they were technically still two separate reservations, but I didn't have to clear my stuff out of one room and move it to another. It never hurts to ask politely. Thanks Westin!
East 2014 Status: Badge [ Friend got it ] Hotel [Crappy] BYOC [YES] Transport [ ] Name on Forum Badge [ ] Challenge Coin [ ]
I know this isn't one of the "official" PAX hotels, but I rarely see it talked about: I stayed at Hostelling International Boston, on Stuart St. I've never stayed at a hostel before, so on a whim I got a bed to save some money, and I don't regret it. The facility is great and very new, I think it opened last summer (so this is the first time its been available for PAX East). There are hallway bathrooms, at least one for every room, but they are private, so no group shower stalls. There's continental breakfast in the morning, and a community kitchen, so you can bring your own food. The staff members were all great and very helpful. It's a half a block away from the Courtyard Marriott, which was a shuttle stop, so it was very easy to get to and from the BCEC; even if you walk, it's only a mile away.
The only thing I'd do in the future is try to go as a group. I went solo this time, and while everyone in my room was nice, it would have been better knowing at least one person. As much as I'd love to stay at the Westin (for the sake of my feet's blisters), the hostel is just crazy cheap, and they make it worth it at that price.
Edit: And free wifi, that's important :P
I've stayed at the Westin the last 3 years, and it's always great. There was a weird glitch when we checked in and they had us for 2 doubles, but we booked a king - my reservation even said it, so they switched us without an issue. I hate to take up the extra bed when we don't need it!
And yes, the minibar is destocked and doesn't work for cooling. we did request a minifridge and got it, which was great. We're also "preferred guests" since we signed up for their points program since hey, 3 nights a year adds up eventually, so we get free water bottles every day in our room. The Westin is a great hotel and spoils me for other trips. Their wifi though is insanely expensive, good thing the BCEC's is free - crappy, but free!
Me and my friends stayed at the Collonade this year. While it lacked the convenience of being on the convention center (a la the Westin), it made up for it for amenities, IMO. They locked the minibar for whatever reason, but other than that, the room was great, the hotel tap water was *very* drinkable (important to me), and it had a great view and location. Floor to ceiling windows that you can open, overlooking Copely Square. Also, directly across the street from the Prudential Center, which has tons of food and shopping that is also open late (we did the Cheesecake Factory around 10:30 PM one night). Not to mention that the T is right outside, and if you're driving, the parking garage is easy to access, and it's more or less a straight shot between the hotel and Summer Street, with only a 5-10 minute drive.
We had 3 people, so we had a rollaway, and found that there was plenty of room to push it against the wall next to the TV while still retaining a lot of floorspace for hanging around.
It was also absurdly easy to grab a cab from the front if you needed it. The staff was incredibly courteous and helpful.
I know this isn't one of the "official" PAX hotels, but I rarely see it talked about: I stayed at Hostelling International Boston, on Stuart St. I've never stayed at a hostel before, so on a whim I got a bed to save some money, and I don't regret it. The facility is great and very new, I think it opened last summer (so this is the first time its been available for PAX East). There are hallway bathrooms, at least one for every room, but they are private, so no group shower stalls. There's continental breakfast in the morning, and a community kitchen, so you can bring your own food. The staff members were all great and very helpful. It's a half a block away from the Courtyard Marriott, which was a shuttle stop, so it was very easy to get to and from the BCEC; even if you walk, it's only a mile away.
The only thing I'd do in the future is try to go as a group. I went solo this time, and while everyone in my room was nice, it would have been better knowing at least one person. As much as I'd love to stay at the Westin (for the sake of my feet's blisters), the hostel is just crazy cheap, and they make it worth it at that price.
Edit: And free wifi, that's important :P
I was staying at the Doubletree Downtown so I passed the Hostel several times and was impressed by how nice it looked from the outside. I had to be new since I don't recall it being there before.
If I'm ever super short on cash I'll consider it.. But the Doubletree works just fine for me every year so far.
I've stayed at the Westin the last 3 years, and it's always great. There was a weird glitch when we checked in and they had us for 2 doubles, but we booked a king - my reservation even said it, so they switched us without an issue. I hate to take up the extra bed when we don't need it!
And yes, the minibar is destocked and doesn't work for cooling. we did request a minifridge and got it, which was great. We're also "preferred guests" since we signed up for their points program since hey, 3 nights a year adds up eventually, so we get free water bottles every day in our room. The Westin is a great hotel and spoils me for other trips. Their wifi though is insanely expensive, good thing the BCEC's is free - crappy, but free!
What I did, which I don't know if it's cheaper or not (though it was more reliable and convenient) was share my cellphone's 4G network as a wifi hotspot on an as-needed basis. I didn't use it much but one of my friends did. I had bad luck with both hotel WiFi and the Convention Center's free WiFi.
I stayed at seaport and visited friends in the westin...the room they had at the westin was a mobile deadzone (no ones phone worked) and the chargable wifi...I think I'm gonna stick with staying at the seaport and just stumble the extra distance. The room was nice and the wifi was free. I wouldn't mind staying there again next year.
While your hotel stay is fresh in your mind, do me a favor and visit the spreadsheet, check your hotel, and make sure the anmeities that I list are correct. For a lot of these, I went off of what OnPeak officially listed, and I know that for some columns (like Fridge and MiniBar, for instance), this information needs to be updated.
Keep in mind, I added non-onpeak tabs for folks that stayed at other hotels or hostels. I will eventually go back through this thread and addin information where it was posted, but if you want to do it for where you stayed, it will help.
I stayed at the Omni Parker House this year, along with two others.
Overall, it was a good stay. The hotel is very beautiful, and although it's pricey, the level of service was definitely a step above anything I have experienced before. Granted I'm a small town girl, but having someone bring my bags up to my room for me kind of blew my mind :P Additionally, every staff member I came in contact with - from the front desk, to the bell hops - was pleasant and kind, and treated me like I was worth a million bucks. I will admit I was a little worried about showing up at this really nice hotel looking a little scruffy from travel and the convention itself, but the staff were always very courteous and didn't seem at all annoyed that a bunch of nerds had taken over their hotel
The hotel seemed very quiet to me, I never heard anyone else or was bothered by noises from outside.
The room itself was a little smaller than I expected, but the ceilings were very high and since there were only 3 of us in our group it didn't seem crowded. The beds were so comfortable I can't even describe it. The room was clean with one exception - the shower had some scummy, dingy build up around the bottom tiles. I was surprised by this because I used to be a house keeper, and for such an expensive hotel I really expected them to be at the top of their game. However it wasn't a huge issue and everything else in the room was spotless.
The hotel has the possibility of giving you a good view, but our particular room basically overlooked someone's apartment, so we kept the curtains shut.
No free wifi was a bummer, and I didn't feel like paying $10/day just to check facebook.
Huge upside to this place was that it was maybe a 5 minute walk from faneuil hall, and also had a starbucks basically on the same street which made breakfast wicked easy.
Taking everything into consideration, I wouldn't purposely avoid this hotel in the future, but I can't see myself ever going out of my way to stay there again. I'd much rather be at the Westin or somewhere cheaper. But if you have the money to spend and you really want to stay somewhere classy, this might be the perfect hotel for you.
I stayed at the Omni Parker House this year, along with two others.
...
I stayed here for a night (Thurs night), and my experience was simliar to yours. I really missed Seaport's no tipping policy, though. I had someone valet my car, a different person bring my bags in to the lobby, and another person bring my bags up to the room. Tip, tip, tip.
Contrast that with Seaport, where I had someone valet my car, someone load my bags up and bring them to the lobby, someone else start putting them to long term storage before realized there was a room available for early checkin, and then bring them up to our room (he beat us there). He topped this off by getting us ice without us asking. And I didn't have to tip anyone.
Otherwise, I'll agree that Omni Parker is in a GREAT location. It's JUST close enough to walk to the convention if you want to (I did this at 4:30am in the morning after a night of drinking and MTG at Seaport - took me 20ish minutes). The hotel is nice, but feels a little dated. The room was nice, nothing amazing, but certainly not bad. I'd say it's perfect for PAXers who want to be in the middle of downtown for the fun. But my personal perference right now is Seaport.
2nd year staying at the Seaport. Still probably the best hotel I've stayed at for a convention.
Room already had a mini-fridge, a huge 46" Samsung HDTV (of better quality than anything either my g/f or myself currently game on), free wifi. Heck, the couch in the room even folded out into another bed. The view of the convention center was stellar, and you're a bit closer to food establishments than you are at the Westin.
Definitely looking to hit the Seaport again for next year.
What I did, which I don't know if it's cheaper or not (though it was more reliable and convenient) was share my cellphone's 4G network as a wifi hotspot on an as-needed basis. I didn't use it much but one of my friends did. I had bad luck with both hotel WiFi and the Convention Center's free WiFi.
I thought about that, but I have Virgin Mobile which runs on Sprint's network, and had a great signal in our room, so it wasn't really needed. We didn't have any problems connecting to the BCEC wifi when in line and really just used it to download the decks for SolForge. I had great reception in the BCEC on my phone for internet, with the exception of some of the expo hall, which I think is more so interference from so much stuff and being on the ground floor than anything else. I also make sure to push important twitter accounts like Pax_lines to text messages for the weekend just in case
While your hotel stay is fresh in your mind, do me a favor and visit the spreadsheet, check your hotel, and make sure the anmeities that I list are correct. For a lot of these, I went off of what OnPeak officially listed, and I know that for some columns (like Fridge and MiniBar, for instance), this information needs to be updated.
Keep in mind, I added non-onpeak tabs for folks that stayed at other hotels or hostels. I will eventually go back through this thread and addin information where it was posted, but if you want to do it for where you stayed, it will help.
I checked the Westin waterfront info, but don't see a forumers comments section, so I'll remark here:
mini-fridge is available as a request, its free, and you may not get it, but you can ask.
wi-fi was 7$/hour according to the webpage trying to connect to the internet brings you to
Since it was discussed upthread, the Westin Mini-Fridges were indeed empty, but they worked for me. We stored some beverages in there Saturday night. We also got the free water bottles on the SPG member floor, which was nice.
Since it was discussed upthread, the Westin Mini-Fridges were indeed empty, but they worked for me. We stored some beverages in there Saturday night. We also got a the free water bottles on the SPG member floor, which was nice.
damn, I wish I new about the free water bottles, those would have definitely came in handy
PAX East 2015:
3 Single Day Passes [x]
Hotel [x]
Flights [x]
Packed []
Excitement[x]
———————————— PAX East 12' PAX East 13' PAX East 14'
PAX East 15'
My friends and I stayed at the Revere Hotel Thurs-Sunday and had an excellent experience.
Upon Check-in we were greeted with friendly smiles and complimentary champagne. Check-in was quick and we headed up to our room. Unfortunately, someone had left sour milk in our room, but the front desk quickly fixed this by giving us a new room down the hall. The room itself was fairly spacious. We had two queen beds, and enough floor space for a friend to sleep there. We unfortunately forgot our air mattress, but it would have fit there perfectly (queen size). We also had a balcony with a gorgeous view. The bathroom was a little small, but the hotel made up for it with the Skoah bath products. Free wifi was also a plus.
I tried to edit it on the spreadsheet, but the revere is also pet friendly. They offer fridges at a price of $10/night (I may have this number wrong so don't quote me.) because they only have fridges on one floor. The revere also has a heated pool and a nice game area with a ping pong table. The only downside was that the revere was on a busy shuttle stop. We often had to walk to the convention center because buses would fill and not even stop by the hotel.
The spreadsheet's first page (with all the info) has been unlocked for updates to main information (Fridge, Pets, etc). Please continue to put other feedback (positives, negatives or other information) in the tab for Forumer Feedback.
What I did, which I don't know if it's cheaper or not (though it was more reliable and convenient) was share my cellphone's 4G network as a wifi hotspot on an as-needed basis. I didn't use it much but one of my friends did. I had bad luck with both hotel WiFi and the Convention Center's free WiFi.
I thought about that, but I have Virgin Mobile which runs on Sprint's network, and had a great signal in our room, so it wasn't really needed. We didn't have any problems connecting to the BCEC wifi when in line and really just used it to download the decks for SolForge. I had great reception in the BCEC on my phone for internet, with the exception of some of the expo hall, which I think is more so interference from so much stuff and being on the ground floor than anything else. I also make sure to push important twitter accounts like Pax_lines to text messages for the weekend just in case
I have AT&T. I was ready for bad/no cell service based on experience at previous PAX Easts, but surprisingly I had little to no issues. I'm not sure if it's because I was on 4G this time or if AT&T just built out more, but I have a feeling it was the former. My 3G Vita (AT&T) had issues connecting the couple times I tried.
I stayed at the Omni Parker. It was a nice older hotel. The big concern there was the walls. They were super thin so it wouldn't take alot of noise to be heard. Luckily I am a deep sleeper and I didn't hear much. The stay was better for me because I signed up for their free rewards program so I got free Wifi and a complementary morning drink delivered to my door. It is right in the heart of downtown and 2 minutes away from fast food and 7-11.
For the price I paid it was definitely worth it but I'm going to try like hell for the Westin or Seaport next year.
Since it was discussed upthread, the Westin Mini-Fridges were indeed empty, but they worked for me. We stored some beverages in there Saturday night. We also got the free water bottles on the SPG member floor, which was nice.
To clarify, it's the mini-bar in the room. Its slightly chilled, but it doesn't keep anything actually cold at food-safe levels. It's in all the rooms and emptied for PAX. The mini-fridge is a requested item, they bring up separately.
Stayed at the Seaport this year, which, of course, was my first year doing multiple days at Pax so I can't compare to other area hotels.
What I can compare to was hotels in general! The Seaport was basically loaded. Free Wi-Fi (good wi-fi at that, too), a decent-sized lobby area which had plenty of people gaming and eating in, two restaurants and a cafe with average prices, friendly staff, etc. My only complaint was room service was a bit slow and a lot overpriced, but then again, that's room service for you. Definitely a place I'm planning on staying again next year.
I stayed at the Best Western in Woburn Mass. It was about 10 minutes from the convention center and was pretty cheap. Only $100 a night and with 5 of us going and splitting the cost it was only about 40 bucks from each of us. We werent looking for anything fancy, just a place to sleep for the night. The room was clean and the beds were comfortable. The bathroom was nice as well. My only complaints about it would be that the food was HORRIBLE but I guess I cant really complain cause it was a free continental breakfast. Also the mini fridge kept making this annoying clicking noise but since we didnt need to use it we just unplugged it
We stayed at the Langham this year. We will not be returning. We requested 2 double beds for the four of us in our room. We got a single king sized bed, and a rollaway. My wife is 5'2, and her feet dangled off the end of the rollaway. It was the single most uncomfortable hotel bed I have ever slept in. The room was definitely not big enough for four people. We understand they are used to single or double occupancy, so I didn't make a stink about that. Having made the reservations back on day one when they were first made available, I was a little miffed about not getting the two beds, but we made do.
Honestly, the hotel was nice, the food was good (albeit obscenely expensive - the lunch buffet on Sunday was $58 a person), everything was mostly clean, etc. The main reason for my displeasure is due to the attitude of the checkout clerk. They charged us an additional $25 for the rollaway bed (the one we didn't want to begin with), and when I asked that the charge be dropped, the clerk was incredibly rude about it. He insisted that the Langham "did us a favor" by including the rollaway, rather than making us sleep on the floor. He told us if we didn't like the $25 fee, we were welcome to stay elsewhere, although he implied other hotels wouldn't want us. His sneering attitude toward us was uncalled for, unprofessional, and downright rude.
I feel I should point out that my group is all in their mid-30s, clean, employed, etc. We're not loud teenagers, didn't trash the room, or anything like that. We had plenty of room charges from the bar and restaurant. In other words, we are pretty good customers to keep happy. That they wouldn't drop a $25 BS fee from a >$1400 invoice in order to make a displeased customer happy says a lot to me about an establishment.
I wasn't looking for special treatment or anything like that, and I realize OnPeak has as much to do with the overbooking situation as the hotel. This was our 10th PAX, and we're used to how these things work. That being said, it was the Langham that forced the rollaway fee on us, and it was well in their power to remove it. If they couldn't bring themselves to do so, that's fine too. It does not excuse the attitude of the man who checked us out. We left Boston with a seriously sour taste in our mouths. A crummy end to an otherwise fun weekend.
Could anyone who stayed at the Weston attached to the BCEC tell me what the rates were? I forgot to check, and now i can only find their normal list rate which is $300 a night. Some how i don't think it cost that much during PAX (i would like to stay their next year)
The Westin was $185 a night for a double room, before taxes, $211.74 after taxes per day. Note that if you use a debit/checkcard, they will preauth your entire visit plus about $150 for expenses.
Could anyone who stayed at the Weston attached to the BCEC tell me what the rates were? I forgot to check, and now i can only find their normal list rate which is $300 a night. Some how i don't think it cost that much during PAX (i would like to stay their next year)
All of the 2013 hotel prices are in the spreadsheet in the OP.
Could anyone who stayed at the Weston attached to the BCEC tell me what the rates were? I forgot to check, and now i can only find their normal list rate which is $300 a night. Some how i don't think it cost that much during PAX (i would like to stay their next year)
All of the 2013 hotel prices are in the spreadsheet in the OP.
Thanks for that, i feel like an idiot, but i got my answer.
We stayed at the Langham this year. We will not be returning. We requested 2 double beds for the four of us in our room. We got a single king sized bed, and a rollaway. My wife is 5'2, and her feet dangled off the end of the rollaway. It was the single most uncomfortable hotel bed I have ever slept in. The room was definitely not big enough for four people. We understand they are used to single or double occupancy, so I didn't make a stink about that. Having made the reservations back on day one when they were first made available, I was a little miffed about not getting the two beds, but we made do.
Honestly, the hotel was nice, the food was good (albeit obscenely expensive - the lunch buffet on Sunday was $58 a person), everything was mostly clean, etc. The main reason for my displeasure is due to the attitude of the checkout clerk. They charged us an additional $25 for the rollaway bed (the one we didn't want to begin with), and when I asked that the charge be dropped, the clerk was incredibly rude about it. He insisted that the Langham "did us a favor" by including the rollaway, rather than making us sleep on the floor. He told us if we didn't like the $25 fee, we were welcome to stay elsewhere, although he implied other hotels wouldn't want us. His sneering attitude toward us was uncalled for, unprofessional, and downright rude.
I feel I should point out that my group is all in their mid-30s, clean, employed, etc. We're not loud teenagers, didn't trash the room, or anything like that. We had plenty of room charges from the bar and restaurant. In other words, we are pretty good customers to keep happy. That they wouldn't drop a $25 BS fee from a >$1400 invoice in order to make a displeased customer happy says a lot to me about an establishment.
I wasn't looking for special treatment or anything like that, and I realize OnPeak has as much to do with the overbooking situation as the hotel. This was our 10th PAX, and we're used to how these things work. That being said, it was the Langham that forced the rollaway fee on us, and it was well in their power to remove it. If they couldn't bring themselves to do so, that's fine too. It does not excuse the attitude of the man who checked us out. We left Boston with a seriously sour taste in our mouths. A crummy end to an otherwise fun weekend.
That's crap and unacceptable. My friend had a similar situation at the Westin where he got a king instead of the request two doubles. They gave him the roll away for no charge, and took money off each night of his stay. They were also very helpful and apologetic, although he had to fight for quite a bit to get the deal he did.
Write them a letter and/or an email, to someone as high up as you can. Mention that you have shared your experience with other PAX attendees, and will share it on other outlets (TripAdvisor, etc.) to warn them of your negative experience so they can avoid the same unprofessional and rude behavior you did. That employee has his head up his butt if he thinks that there aren't many, many attendees with some to lots of disposable income available. Who are responsible, quiet, and don't trash rooms. Who also may also need to do travel for business at times, and in the future may not pick the Langham and will tell others not to as well.
That's crap and unacceptable. My friend had a similar situation at the Westin where he got a king instead of the request two doubles. They gave him the roll away for no charge, and took money off each night of his stay. They were also very helpful and apologetic, although he had to fight for quite a bit to get the deal he did.
I had a similar experience at the Westin this year, except I didn't get the roll away at all. I checked in around 1pm, found we had 1 bed instead of the 2 I had reserved, and was told several times that they were looking into moving our room or getting us a rollaway. Neither ever happened despite me checking in every 2 hours or so. By the time they stopped saying "we're working on it" and said "sorry, we're out of rollaways," it was too late for me to go to a store and buy my own air mattress. We complained enough to the night manager that I eventually got some blankets to sleep on (they were out of pillows too), knocked off some of the price for the first night, and he put in a notice for us to get a room switch on Saturday.
I understand they were over capacity, but it seemed like management was not very interested in helping to fix a problem and was more interested in passing the buck hoping we'd just accept our lot. I know I should probably write to the Westin and OnPeak people, but I keep forgetting.
That said, the convenience of staying at the Westin was still such a bonus that I'll try to reserve there again for 2014.
That's crap and unacceptable. My friend had a similar situation at the Westin where he got a king instead of the request two doubles. They gave him the roll away for no charge, and took money off each night of his stay. They were also very helpful and apologetic, although he had to fight for quite a bit to get the deal he did.
I had a similar experience at the Westin this year, except I didn't get the roll away at all. I checked in around 1pm, found we had 1 bed instead of the 2 I had reserved, and was told several times that they were looking into moving our room or getting us a rollaway. Neither ever happened despite me checking in every 2 hours or so. By the time they stopped saying "we're working on it" and said "sorry, we're out of rollaways," it was too late for me to go to a store and buy my own air mattress. We complained enough to the night manager that I eventually got some blankets to sleep on (they were out of pillows too), knocked off some of the price for the first night, and he put in a notice for us to get a room switch on Saturday.
I understand they were over capacity, but it seemed like management was not very interested in helping to fix a problem and was more interested in passing the buck hoping we'd just accept our lot. I know I should probably write to the Westin and OnPeak people, but I keep forgetting.
That said, the convenience of staying at the Westin was still such a bonus that I'll try to reserve there again for 2014.
I know this isn't one of the "official" PAX hotels, but I rarely see it talked about: I stayed at Hostelling International Boston, on Stuart St...... It's a half a block away from the Courtyard Marriott, which was a shuttle stop, so it was very easy to get to and from the BCEC; even if you walk, it's only a mile away.
I realize this is a real old post but I stayed here too, was pretty nice, good value, my roommates mostly kept to themselves but were polite. (I hope I didn't snore too loudly) But I didn't realize that the Marriott was a shuttle stop, I rode the T there and back the whole weekend. If I stay there again next year, and I very well might, (for longer too, didn't do enough sightseeing) I'll keep that in mind.
I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Boston last year and can't emphasize enough how great the hotel was. If you can, I recommend going with the Business plan rooms, as they include breakfast (a damn good full spread breakfast, that they will let you take away. They will even assemble a goody bag for you, which pretty much covers lunch.) Also included in the business rate is internet access for the duration of your stay, and a free 1L water bottle left in your room daily (which came in handy for grabbing quick on the way to the Expo). Also, the hotel is very clean, the staff very friendly, and the doormen extremely large (also friendly).
The shuttle trip was also quick each direction, and cab fair without a tip to the the convention centre was $10 incase I needed it.
All around I recommend the Hyatt (de Lafayette) for your stay during PAX East.
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Kilonum[E]Somewhere near BostonRegistered Userregular
I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Boston last year and can't emphasize enough how great the hotel was. If you can, I recommend going with the Business plan rooms, as they include breakfast (a damn good full spread breakfast, that they will let you take away. They will even assemble a goody bag for you, which pretty much covers lunch.) Also included in the business rate is internet access for the duration of your stay, and a free 1L water bottle left in your room daily (which came in handy for grabbing quick on the way to the Expo). Also, the hotel is very clean, the staff very friendly, and the doormen extremely large (also friendly).
The shuttle trip was also quick each direction, and cab fair without a tip to the the convention centre was $10 incase I needed it.
All around I recommend the Hyatt (de Lafayette) for your stay during PAX East.
Stayed there this year myself, easily became my official 4th choice hotel (After the Westin, Renaissance and Seaport in that order).
In 2012, I booked through Hotwire and got a king room at the Millennium Bostonian. It is crazy awesome. The rooms are huge, the beds are super comfy, and there's a separate dressing area which is amazing if you're traveling with someone who needs to do hair and makeup for cosplay. However, their double-double rooms are pretty limited so it's probably difficult to get one and there's no shuttle to the con.
2013, we stayed at the Doubletree, which was more expensive for a smaller room, although being around the rest of the PAX crew is nice. If we've got a third again this year, we'll likely go with the Doubletree again since they have better availability for double queen rooms. If not, the Millennium is getting my business again.
PAX East Attendee. Professional Tabletop Gamer. Donut Enthusiast.
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nsaneThat guy with the face.Registered Userregular
Me and my friends stayed at the Collonade this year. While it lacked the convenience of being on the convention center (a la the Westin), it made up for it for amenities, IMO. They locked the minibar for whatever reason, but other than that, the room was great, the hotel tap water was *very* drinkable (important to me), and it had a great view and location. Floor to ceiling windows that you can open, overlooking Copely Square. Also, directly across the street from the Prudential Center, which has tons of food and shopping that is also open late (we did the Cheesecake Factory around 10:30 PM one night). Not to mention that the T is right outside, and if you're driving, the parking garage is easy to access, and it's more or less a straight shot between the hotel and Summer Street, with only a 5-10 minute drive.
We had 3 people, so we had a rollaway, and found that there was plenty of room to push it against the wall next to the TV while still retaining a lot of floorspace for hanging around.
It was also absurdly easy to grab a cab from the front if you needed it. The staff was incredibly courteous and helpful.
We also stayed at the Colonnade. If you're planning on staying there again and want the key to the minibar, all you have to do is ask for it at the front desk. I think it saves them time. If they know you don't have the key, they don't bother taking inventory every day. I highly recommend Brasserie Jo. It's attached to the lobby and the food is great, we ate there every morning. Also, how much was the roll away bed?
PAX East 2018: Passes [X], Hotel [X], Airfare [], coin []
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I agree about some of the services, but that's usually par for the course for convention center attached hotels. They know they're mostly getting business-people that will just pay for it since it's on an expense account. (not being argumentative, just pointing out that it's not really an "odd" thing for this type of hotel to charge for that stuff)
On Thursday morning as I was waiting for the Sonic Line, I called up the Westin and explained my dilemma and asked if there were any double-double rooms they could switch me into so I wouldn't have to check-out Friday morning and immediately check back in - that would have made the first day of the con a mini-nightmare. I wasn't expecting it to work, but they made it happen (at no additional charge). The only small hiccup was that I had to have my keys re-made Friday morning since they were technically still two separate reservations, but I didn't have to clear my stuff out of one room and move it to another. It never hurts to ask politely. Thanks Westin!
The only thing I'd do in the future is try to go as a group. I went solo this time, and while everyone in my room was nice, it would have been better knowing at least one person. As much as I'd love to stay at the Westin (for the sake of my feet's blisters), the hostel is just crazy cheap, and they make it worth it at that price.
Edit: And free wifi, that's important :P
And yes, the minibar is destocked and doesn't work for cooling. we did request a minifridge and got it, which was great. We're also "preferred guests" since we signed up for their points program since hey, 3 nights a year adds up eventually, so we get free water bottles every day in our room. The Westin is a great hotel and spoils me for other trips. Their wifi though is insanely expensive, good thing the BCEC's is free - crappy, but free!
We had 3 people, so we had a rollaway, and found that there was plenty of room to push it against the wall next to the TV while still retaining a lot of floorspace for hanging around.
It was also absurdly easy to grab a cab from the front if you needed it. The staff was incredibly courteous and helpful.
If I'm ever super short on cash I'll consider it.. But the Doubletree works just fine for me every year so far.
What I did, which I don't know if it's cheaper or not (though it was more reliable and convenient) was share my cellphone's 4G network as a wifi hotspot on an as-needed basis. I didn't use it much but one of my friends did. I had bad luck with both hotel WiFi and the Convention Center's free WiFi.
Also, if you want to provide comments in the sheet for Forumer comments, that'd be cool too:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvZ3-Fh1pM0NdFRhV2Fqb2l1T2dGbGJfRDZoaF9RS2c#gid=0
Keep in mind, I added non-onpeak tabs for folks that stayed at other hotels or hostels. I will eventually go back through this thread and addin information where it was posted, but if you want to do it for where you stayed, it will help.
Overall, it was a good stay. The hotel is very beautiful, and although it's pricey, the level of service was definitely a step above anything I have experienced before. Granted I'm a small town girl, but having someone bring my bags up to my room for me kind of blew my mind :P Additionally, every staff member I came in contact with - from the front desk, to the bell hops - was pleasant and kind, and treated me like I was worth a million bucks. I will admit I was a little worried about showing up at this really nice hotel looking a little scruffy from travel and the convention itself, but the staff were always very courteous and didn't seem at all annoyed that a bunch of nerds had taken over their hotel
The hotel seemed very quiet to me, I never heard anyone else or was bothered by noises from outside.
The room itself was a little smaller than I expected, but the ceilings were very high and since there were only 3 of us in our group it didn't seem crowded. The beds were so comfortable I can't even describe it. The room was clean with one exception - the shower had some scummy, dingy build up around the bottom tiles. I was surprised by this because I used to be a house keeper, and for such an expensive hotel I really expected them to be at the top of their game. However it wasn't a huge issue and everything else in the room was spotless.
The hotel has the possibility of giving you a good view, but our particular room basically overlooked someone's apartment, so we kept the curtains shut.
No free wifi was a bummer, and I didn't feel like paying $10/day just to check facebook.
Huge upside to this place was that it was maybe a 5 minute walk from faneuil hall, and also had a starbucks basically on the same street which made breakfast wicked easy.
Taking everything into consideration, I wouldn't purposely avoid this hotel in the future, but I can't see myself ever going out of my way to stay there again. I'd much rather be at the Westin or somewhere cheaper. But if you have the money to spend and you really want to stay somewhere classy, this might be the perfect hotel for you.
I stayed here for a night (Thurs night), and my experience was simliar to yours. I really missed Seaport's no tipping policy, though. I had someone valet my car, a different person bring my bags in to the lobby, and another person bring my bags up to the room. Tip, tip, tip.
Contrast that with Seaport, where I had someone valet my car, someone load my bags up and bring them to the lobby, someone else start putting them to long term storage before realized there was a room available for early checkin, and then bring them up to our room (he beat us there). He topped this off by getting us ice without us asking. And I didn't have to tip anyone.
Otherwise, I'll agree that Omni Parker is in a GREAT location. It's JUST close enough to walk to the convention if you want to (I did this at 4:30am in the morning after a night of drinking and MTG at Seaport - took me 20ish minutes). The hotel is nice, but feels a little dated. The room was nice, nothing amazing, but certainly not bad. I'd say it's perfect for PAXers who want to be in the middle of downtown for the fun. But my personal perference right now is Seaport.
Room already had a mini-fridge, a huge 46" Samsung HDTV (of better quality than anything either my g/f or myself currently game on), free wifi. Heck, the couch in the room even folded out into another bed. The view of the convention center was stellar, and you're a bit closer to food establishments than you are at the Westin.
Definitely looking to hit the Seaport again for next year.
I thought about that, but I have Virgin Mobile which runs on Sprint's network, and had a great signal in our room, so it wasn't really needed. We didn't have any problems connecting to the BCEC wifi when in line and really just used it to download the decks for SolForge. I had great reception in the BCEC on my phone for internet, with the exception of some of the expo hall, which I think is more so interference from so much stuff and being on the ground floor than anything else. I also make sure to push important twitter accounts like Pax_lines to text messages for the weekend just in case
I checked the Westin waterfront info, but don't see a forumers comments section, so I'll remark here:
mini-fridge is available as a request, its free, and you may not get it, but you can ask.
wi-fi was 7$/hour according to the webpage trying to connect to the internet brings you to
damn, I wish I new about the free water bottles, those would have definitely came in handy
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Upon Check-in we were greeted with friendly smiles and complimentary champagne. Check-in was quick and we headed up to our room. Unfortunately, someone had left sour milk in our room, but the front desk quickly fixed this by giving us a new room down the hall. The room itself was fairly spacious. We had two queen beds, and enough floor space for a friend to sleep there. We unfortunately forgot our air mattress, but it would have fit there perfectly (queen size). We also had a balcony with a gorgeous view. The bathroom was a little small, but the hotel made up for it with the Skoah bath products. Free wifi was also a plus.
I tried to edit it on the spreadsheet, but the revere is also pet friendly. They offer fridges at a price of $10/night (I may have this number wrong so don't quote me.) because they only have fridges on one floor. The revere also has a heated pool and a nice game area with a ping pong table. The only downside was that the revere was on a busy shuttle stop. We often had to walk to the convention center because buses would fill and not even stop by the hotel.
I have AT&T. I was ready for bad/no cell service based on experience at previous PAX Easts, but surprisingly I had little to no issues. I'm not sure if it's because I was on 4G this time or if AT&T just built out more, but I have a feeling it was the former. My 3G Vita (AT&T) had issues connecting the couple times I tried.
For the price I paid it was definitely worth it but I'm going to try like hell for the Westin or Seaport next year.
To clarify, it's the mini-bar in the room. Its slightly chilled, but it doesn't keep anything actually cold at food-safe levels. It's in all the rooms and emptied for PAX. The mini-fridge is a requested item, they bring up separately.
What I can compare to was hotels in general! The Seaport was basically loaded. Free Wi-Fi (good wi-fi at that, too), a decent-sized lobby area which had plenty of people gaming and eating in, two restaurants and a cafe with average prices, friendly staff, etc. My only complaint was room service was a bit slow and a lot overpriced, but then again, that's room service for you. Definitely a place I'm planning on staying again next year.
Honestly, the hotel was nice, the food was good (albeit obscenely expensive - the lunch buffet on Sunday was $58 a person), everything was mostly clean, etc. The main reason for my displeasure is due to the attitude of the checkout clerk. They charged us an additional $25 for the rollaway bed (the one we didn't want to begin with), and when I asked that the charge be dropped, the clerk was incredibly rude about it. He insisted that the Langham "did us a favor" by including the rollaway, rather than making us sleep on the floor. He told us if we didn't like the $25 fee, we were welcome to stay elsewhere, although he implied other hotels wouldn't want us. His sneering attitude toward us was uncalled for, unprofessional, and downright rude.
I feel I should point out that my group is all in their mid-30s, clean, employed, etc. We're not loud teenagers, didn't trash the room, or anything like that. We had plenty of room charges from the bar and restaurant. In other words, we are pretty good customers to keep happy. That they wouldn't drop a $25 BS fee from a >$1400 invoice in order to make a displeased customer happy says a lot to me about an establishment.
I wasn't looking for special treatment or anything like that, and I realize OnPeak has as much to do with the overbooking situation as the hotel. This was our 10th PAX, and we're used to how these things work. That being said, it was the Langham that forced the rollaway fee on us, and it was well in their power to remove it. If they couldn't bring themselves to do so, that's fine too. It does not excuse the attitude of the man who checked us out. We left Boston with a seriously sour taste in our mouths. A crummy end to an otherwise fun weekend.
All of the 2013 hotel prices are in the spreadsheet in the OP.
Thanks for that, i feel like an idiot, but i got my answer.
Write them a letter and/or an email, to someone as high up as you can. Mention that you have shared your experience with other PAX attendees, and will share it on other outlets (TripAdvisor, etc.) to warn them of your negative experience so they can avoid the same unprofessional and rude behavior you did. That employee has his head up his butt if he thinks that there aren't many, many attendees with some to lots of disposable income available. Who are responsible, quiet, and don't trash rooms. Who also may also need to do travel for business at times, and in the future may not pick the Langham and will tell others not to as well.
I had a similar experience at the Westin this year, except I didn't get the roll away at all. I checked in around 1pm, found we had 1 bed instead of the 2 I had reserved, and was told several times that they were looking into moving our room or getting us a rollaway. Neither ever happened despite me checking in every 2 hours or so. By the time they stopped saying "we're working on it" and said "sorry, we're out of rollaways," it was too late for me to go to a store and buy my own air mattress. We complained enough to the night manager that I eventually got some blankets to sleep on (they were out of pillows too), knocked off some of the price for the first night, and he put in a notice for us to get a room switch on Saturday.
I understand they were over capacity, but it seemed like management was not very interested in helping to fix a problem and was more interested in passing the buck hoping we'd just accept our lot. I know I should probably write to the Westin and OnPeak people, but I keep forgetting.
That said, the convenience of staying at the Westin was still such a bonus that I'll try to reserve there again for 2014.
I had a similar experience at the Westin this year, except I didn't get the roll away at all. I checked in around 1pm, found we had 1 bed instead of the 2 I had reserved, and was told several times that they were looking into moving our room or getting us a rollaway. Neither ever happened despite me checking in every 2 hours or so. By the time they stopped saying "we're working on it" and said "sorry, we're out of rollaways," it was too late for me to go to a store and buy my own air mattress. We complained enough to the night manager that I eventually got some blankets to sleep on (they were out of pillows too), knocked off some of the price for the first night, and he put in a notice for us to get a room switch on Saturday.
I understand they were over capacity, but it seemed like management was not very interested in helping to fix a problem and was more interested in passing the buck hoping we'd just accept our lot. I know I should probably write to the Westin and OnPeak people, but I keep forgetting.
That said, the convenience of staying at the Westin was still such a bonus that I'll try to reserve there again for 2014.
I realize this is a real old post but I stayed here too, was pretty nice, good value, my roommates mostly kept to themselves but were polite. (I hope I didn't snore too loudly) But I didn't realize that the Marriott was a shuttle stop, I rode the T there and back the whole weekend. If I stay there again next year, and I very well might, (for longer too, didn't do enough sightseeing) I'll keep that in mind.
The shuttle trip was also quick each direction, and cab fair without a tip to the the convention centre was $10 incase I needed it.
All around I recommend the Hyatt (de Lafayette) for your stay during PAX East.
PAX Prime 2014 Preparations Complete
2013, we stayed at the Doubletree, which was more expensive for a smaller room, although being around the rest of the PAX crew is nice. If we've got a third again this year, we'll likely go with the Doubletree again since they have better availability for double queen rooms. If not, the Millennium is getting my business again.
We also stayed at the Colonnade. If you're planning on staying there again and want the key to the minibar, all you have to do is ask for it at the front desk. I think it saves them time. If they know you don't have the key, they don't bother taking inventory every day. I highly recommend Brasserie Jo. It's attached to the lobby and the food is great, we ate there every morning. Also, how much was the roll away bed?
PAX East 2018: Passes [X], Hotel [X], Airfare [], coin []