This small boutique hotel is located next to the Mass. State House in a very good location to the Freedom Trail, etc. It is also part of the AmEx preferred hotel program, however, we were unable to recevive many of the benefits of this program during our stay. Part of the program is to receive an automatic room upgrade, if available. We checked into the hotel at about 7:30 PM after our flight from the West Coast for a two night stay. We were told that no upgrades were available that night but would be available the next night. No effort was made in day two to upgrade our room. Additionally, part of the program was to give us an $85 credit for dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. When we went to the restaurant for dinner and told them we were hotel guests, we were told that there were no tables available for us for the entire evening but we could sit at the bar and eat. Breakfast was included as part of the program and available. My wife and I had to share a rather smallish queen bed. In the room, which faced the side of an adjacent building, was only one rack to place our luggage. We had to remove a rather large, clunky fax machine from its stand to be used as the second luggage stand. The bathroom was quite small with only one sink and a shower. In my opinion this hotel is certainly not worth the $500 per night price.

I was excited to stay at XV Beacon, but that quickly dwindled once I settled in. Yes, the staff, except for one incident, was very pleasant and attentive, but my expectations were not met. The hotel is beautiful and in a great neighborhood, but here are my issues: I was told that, with the exception of two rooms, there are no king sized beds at this hotel. When I requested a king bed, I was told king beds are not available in my rate category. Excuse me, but for $400+/night, I can get a king bed at plenty of four star hotels without being told "it's not available in my price category." I'm 6'2" and my wife isn't short, so we prefer a king bed. To deal with the situation, we ordered a rollaway bed so that we wouldn't end up kicking each other at night. I couldn't believe the rollaway. In my opinion, it was ridiculously uncomfortable, so we it taken away. In addition, the hotel wanted to charge us $35/night for the rollaway. I thought that was pretty hilarious given that we couldn't be accommodated with a king bed. Lest I forget, when one of the staff members entered the room to stock the minibar, or bring in the rollaway, they didn't pull the door entirely shut when they exited. Hence our room was left open for anyone to enter. To add to my disappointment, the room was dirty (see photos). There was a substantial amount of dust on the television shelf and in the bathroom, not to mention a grimy build-up of gross material toward the bottom of the shower door seal. The HVAC vent is located above the sleeping area so that air was constantly blowing on us as we tried to sleep. We ordered a blanket, but none were available. A couple of sheets were given to us instead. Evidently the HVAC is not a climate-controlled system that shuts off once the room reaches a specific temperature. Perhaps the system in our room wasn't working properly, but I finally turned it off so that we didn't have a constant draft blowing on us. This, however, created a whole other issue. Food odors from the restaurant started to come through the vent.

The four-poster bed is positioned in such a way that one's view of the television is impeded, it's absolutely absurd.

We had to call to ask for tissue and toilet paper as it wasn't replenished, nor did anyone think to store any of these extra necessities under the rather ample sized bathroom vanity.

There was no hot water in the shower one morning, evidently there were plumbing problems that day. I realize that unexpected issues arise, but this certainly didn't make me any happier, nor did the excessively loud music that permeated from the adjoining room. To sum things up: great location, beautiful boutique hotel, but housekeeping could do a better job. In my opinion, you should add king sized mattresses -- there's certainly enough room to do so. Eliminate the four-poster bed or install a plasma above the fireplace so that one can see the entire television screen.

Given the four and five star hotels that are under construction in Boston, I think XV Beacon needs to focus on making some changes if they are going to effectively compete in the marketplace. What I had hoped would be a restful vacation was disturbed by issues that I encountered at XV Beacon.

Stayed at XV Beacon recently. Loved the style, location, service and amenities. Was upgraded to a Studio room which was a nice size although a bit odd that it has only a Queen bed. While we only ate breakfast and some appetizers in the hotel, it was a great looking room and the service and food was amazing. Went to dinner around the corner at No 9 Park, which I highly recommend. One of the best meals I have had. My only complaint was the noise at the back of the hotel due to the loading docks of the bulding directly behind. Therefore, request a front facing room. They made it up to us by comping our breakfasts (nice touch). XV Beacon is a nice alternative to other luxury hotels (Four Seasons, Taj) in Boston which are nice, but boring.

My wife, 1 year old and I stayed at the XV Beacon in a Studio room to support friends running the Boston Marathon. We paid for the more spacious Studio room because our daughter came with us on this family trip.

First of all, I found the hotel to be even more beautiful and well decorated than it looks in the candid photos or the website photos. The comments about worn furniture certainly was not true with our room or our friend's room. They are currently exchanging the old CRT tvs for wall mounted LCDs too which will make the rooms that more like your own apartment.

The location can not be beat if you ask me. The hotel is literally 250 meters from the edge of Boston Common. The service was over the top and never felt pretentious at all. The Lexus service was a nice touch too. Given the small nature of the hotel, the location and the georgous design on the rooms (looks very "old world" and modern at the same time) we felt almost like we had our own flat in the middle of Boston.

Overall, this was a fantastic hotel, and definately worth the money. We will stay here on any future trips to the Boston area for sure.