The Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Boston ★★★★★

From the Charles Street Jail to a hotel on Charles Street

The building went up in 1851 to a design by Gridley James Fox Bryant, in Boston granite, following the Auburn plan that treated light and ventilation as a matter of principle. Four wings radiate from a central octagonal rotunda, and thirty arched windows carry daylight deep into the structure. It served as the city jail until 1990, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and reopened as a hotel in 2007 after a conversion by Cambridge Seven Associates with Ann Beha Architects. Its former occupants are part of the record, from Malcolm X to a Boston mayor.

A ninety foot atrium as the lobby

The rotunda was kept, and it is the reason to walk in even without a reservation: a ninety foot atrium ringed by the original iron catwalks, with the granite arches and the barred windows left legible rather than plastered over. The conversion resisted the temptation to smooth the building out, so the drama of the volume survives, and the public rooms sit inside it rather than beside it.

Rooms in the jail and rooms in the addition

Around three hundred rooms are split between the historic structure and a purpose built wing, so guests can choose granite walls and arched windows or a straighter contemporary layout. Charles River suites look west over the water and the Esplanade, and the range runs up to a presidential suite. Ceiling heights and window shapes vary from room to room in the old building, which is what happens when the plan is inherited rather than drawn.

Four separate rooms for eating and drinking

CLINK. occupies the former cell block, serving modern American cooking under the original catwalks. Scampo is the Italian dining room, a Boston name in its own right. Alibi is installed in what was the drunk tank and runs as a late bar with a DJ. The Liberty Bar handles the quieter end of the evening. Four distinct venues in one hotel is unusual in Boston, and it means a long stay never repeats itself.

Beacon Hill, the Esplanade and the Red Line at the door

The hotel sits at the foot of Beacon Hill, so the antique shops and cafes of Charles Street begin a minute away and the brick streets climb from there towards the State House. Charles MGH station is directly across the road, which puts the Red Line and a single change to almost anywhere within reach. The Charles River Esplanade is a short walk for running or for the Hatch Shell, Boston Common is about ten minutes on foot, and Massachusetts General Hospital is immediately adjacent, which matters to some travellers.

Why this address is in our Boston selection

It is the strongest building in the selection and the most talked about arrival: a listed granite landmark with its rotunda intact, four places to eat and drink, and a Beacon Hill location with a subway station across the street. It suits travellers who want the story of the place to be part of the stay, and those who want a quiet garden facing room will prefer one of the Back Bay houses.