I recently stayed for 3 days at the Charlesmark and was very pleased. I was attending a conference at a very formal nearby luxury hotel. Not only do I not feel very comfortable in luxury hotels (I like to dress casually), but the price at that hotel and most of the others nearby was very high. The Charlesmark's rooms ARE small and if I had been traveling with my family, this might not have worked. However, for a single traveler, it was great. The rooms were pleasantly decorated. Beds were very comfortable. Shower was tiled slate, has good water pressure/spray, and the room had wall mounted speakers with an additional speaker in the bathroom. The hair dryer was powerful. Another reviewer complained a lot about the TV channels and lack of DVD player for movies. I did not want to spend my free time in the Back Bay of Boston watching TV--there was plenty to do and lots of shopping and dining in easy walking distance. The location was ideal for me. The breakfast was not expansive, but as a light breakfast eater, it suited me fine. Good coffee. The martini bar downstairs was a bit too trendy for my tastes, but there were plenty of other places nearby that were great (I'm more of an Irish pub type of girl). Unlike the previous reviewer, I did not hear any noise from adjacent rooms--I was there on a weekend when it appeared to be quite full, too. I would definitely stay here again.

We booked the Charlesmark on what was available on the web. It's a nice looking hotel, with nice wood touches and accents. I also understand that in Boston's back bay area, particularly, rooms tend to be small and pricey.

These rooms are very cramped and the beds are small. Staying with another person in the smaller rooms with a double bed, had us tripping over each other constantly. They are very poorly laid out and nothing is really all that ergonomic. Very illogical. Everything looked nice, but the experience of staying there was far from pleasant.

Since I was in Boston to run the marathon, sleep was important. The walls and ceiling were very poorly soundproofed and every time someone above us walked around the joists creaked like crazy. Light music or TV in adjoining rooms was very audible and normal level talking out in the tiny hallway came through the door loud and clear.

You have satellite TV, but in the smaller rooms it was 8 feet up in the air to your side so you had to wrench your head to watch it. There wasn't a particularly good selection of movies or sports that came by default and ordering PPV was not allowed. I've never experienced that before. The DVD player in our room only played CDs. So we couldn't rent movies or order them.

Lastly, they actually billed our credit card in the morning prior to our checking out and before we could sign and confirm the charges. A very poor customer service practice in my opinion.

Just 1 block from Copley Square, and 1 block from Newbury Street, there's plenty to do within walking distance of the hotel. The thumping music and nightclub decor on the lobby level cater to a younger crowd, but upstairs the rooms are well-appointed and clean. The free breakfast was essentially instant oatmeal and bananas but there's plenty of food to be found outside the hotel.

Location and price are probable unbeatable. Room decore was old, the draws where stiff and noisy. Some staff members where wonderful, others lacking interested and a little bit to much interest in talking with coworkers.... Our room view was a brickwall....

Breakfast was really good, and overall I liked the experience. Room was really clean and bathroom good, Hairdryer worked very well and shower was a great experience with good towels. Needs a little bit updateing in rooms tho.