Mandarin Oriental Boston ★★★★★

Boylston Street, with a back door into the Prudential

Mandarin Oriental, Boston sits on Boylston Street in the heart of Back Bay, a low granite building set into the Prudential Center complex, with a canopied entrance where doormen wait under the flags. The position is the first argument: a private entrance opens directly into the shops of the Prudential Center, Newbury Street and its boutiques and galleries are one block north, Copley Square with Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library is a ten-minute walk, and the Public Garden and Beacon Hill lie a little further along the same axis. The lobby follows feng shui principles, with the front door aligned on the Charles River, local stone underfoot and a fireplace framed in black marble.

One hundred and forty-eight rooms in silk and chinoiserie

With 148 rooms and suites, the hotel is small for its category, and the rooms are among the largest in Back Bay. The decoration is quiet and residential: chinoiserie wallpaper of flowering branches, pale silk and velvet seating, dark four-poster beds in the best rooms, and floor-to-ceiling windows over Boylston Street or the brownstone rooftops behind. Bathrooms are done in marble with deep soaking tubs, separate rain showers and Diptyque products. The suites climb from junior to a royal suite with a dining room, a sitting room under a golden ceiling installation and a kitchen for private chefs; several categories connect for families.

Ramsay's Kitchen

The restaurant is Ramsay's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay's first table in Boston, open from breakfast through dinner and for brunch at weekends, with a menu of upscale American cooking given a New England accent: local seafood, steaks and the chef's signature dishes. A bar and lounge serve cocktails through the evening, room service follows the same kitchen around the clock, and a spa cafe handles juices and light lunches for guests coming out of a treatment.

The spa: 16,000 square feet and five stars

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental is the largest single reason to book here. It occupies 16,000 square feet with treatment suites, a heated vitality pool, a crystal steam room, separate relaxation lounges for men and women and the Asian-inspired treatments the group is known for, from signature massages to beauty rituals. The fitness centre next to it works around the clock with Peloton bikes, a Kinesis wall and private yoga or Pilates on request. Forbes Travel Guide awards the spa five stars, the same rating as the hotel.

Why we selected it

Back Bay has several grand addresses, but Mandarin Oriental, Boston is the one built around shopping, dining and the spa in equal measure, with the discretion of a small house and the standards of a five-star group. Families are welcome, dogs are accepted, a house car covers short trips, and for a stay that mixes Newbury Street with serious wellness it has no equal on this side of the Public Garden.