Boston Harbor Hotel ★★★★★

An arch, a rotunda and a working wharf

The hotel occupies Rowes Wharf, the redevelopment that closed the gap between the Financial District and the water and gave the harbour front its most recognisable silhouette. The great brick arch and the domed rotunda beneath it borrow from Roman precedent, and they serve a practical purpose: the arch is the pedestrian route from Atlantic Avenue to the water, so the hotel sits on a public passage rather than behind a private gate. The wharf is still in service, with a ferry and water taxi dock a few steps from the lobby.

Rooms organised around the view

The room plan divides plainly into harbour view and city view, and the difference is the whole point of choosing this house. Above the lower floors the harbour rooms look east over the moorings, the airport and the outer islands, with arched windows on the upper levels echoing the facade. Suites run up to the John Adams Presidential Suite. Rooms are large by the standards of a historic city centre, a consequence of the building being purpose built rather than converted.

The Sea Grille and the wharf bar

Rowes Wharf Sea Grille is the main dining room, seafood led and set at water level, with a terrace on the wharf when the season allows. The Rowes Wharf Bar is the more sheltered option, panelled and quiet, the room where guests end an evening. Breakfast and room service run through the same kitchen, which matters on an early departure.

A sixty foot saltwater pool and a full spa

The health club holds a sixty foot heated saltwater lap pool, unusual in Boston both for its length and for the saltwater. Alongside it sit a full service spa and salon offering massage, hydrotherapy and facials. For a traveller who swims, this is one of the few hotels in the city where a proper morning length is possible without leaving the building.

Water taxis, Faneuil Hall and the North End on foot

The dock at the wharf is served by the Rowes Wharf water taxi, which crosses to Logan Airport and other harbour landings, so an arrival can bypass the tunnel entirely. On land, Long Wharf and the New England Aquarium are five to ten minutes away, Faneuil Hall and the North End about ten, and the Institute of Contemporary Art a similar walk in the other direction along the Seaport. The Financial District begins immediately across Atlantic Avenue.

Why this address is in our Boston selection

It is the waterfront entry in the selection, and it earns the place on substance rather than on frontage: Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond recognition, a pool and spa that carry a whole stay, a dock at the door, and a location that puts both the historic centre and the Seaport within walking range. Travellers who want a Back Bay townhouse atmosphere will prefer another address. Those who want the harbour as the view and the arrival will want this one, and dogs are welcome with them.