DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Boston - Cambridge

Pros: Recognized Hilton Gold status at check-in with a room upgrade. Good quality breakfast on-site. Cons: Unhonored Elite Benefits: At check-in, I was explicitly informed that as a Hilton Gold member I would receive an $18/person/day food & beverage credit ($72 total over our 2-night stay for two guests). However, upon checkout, the hotel refused to apply the $72 credit to our nearly $200 breakfast bill. When I raised this with both the receptionist and the manager, they hid behind the policy that third-party bookings (via Delta Stays) don't qualify for Gold benefits—completely ignoring the fact that their own front desk staff recognized my status and explicitly promised the credit at check-in. Exorbitant Parking Fees: On-site parking was an extra $47 per night, adding significant unexpected cost. Poor Value for Money: Between the unhonored credit, expensive breakfast, and steep parking fees, this basic 3-star property ended up costing well over $500 for two nights—despite not even being close to downtown Boston. Summary: While the hotel staff gladly recognized my Gold status at check-in by upgrading my room and promising the daily food credit, they completely backtracked at checkout. Leaving guests to foot a inflated bill due to miscommunication by their own staff is unacceptable customer service. I am left with no choice but to dispute the charge on my credit card. I would not recommend staying here if you expect elite benefits to be honored or want reasonable value for your money.

We booked a one bedroom suite and it was fine, at first. It was on the third floor, which had more foot traffic than other floors and near the elevators (although we did not hear much noise). The real issue we had was a smoke detector that was mounted outside of the bathroom that would go off anytime someone showered (no idea why). The bathroom was also not vented (at all) which exacerbated the smoke detector issue and lead to other smelly situations. I informed management about this when we checked out and I do not know if it was remedied. The roof top bar is a hidden gem and has a lovely view of the city. The hotel is in an awkward location, but is great for walking across the river to Harvard.

Let me start off my review by saying that this hotel is overall fantastic. It has a colorful-yet-modern lobby, comfortable rooms, and somewhat friendly staff (shoutout to Patricia in the breakfast area). The riverview suite was a fantastic location to watch the 4th of July fireworks from the bedroom window and was super spacious, with a good-sized bedroom and a living room with a large couch and a television. The couch also had a pullout bed that could accommodate two additional people. Rooms were quiet, there's parking (for a price), and it's near the Harvard Business School (not to be confused with Harvard's main campus in Cambridge). The AC also worked very well in the lobby, which we appreciated, as we were staying here during a major heatwave. The elevator was also really cool - the back wall was glass, so we got to look out and watch the floors pass by. Now on to the downside. We went to have dinner in the hotel before the fireworks, and they were slammed because everyone was here to watch the fireworks and avoid the thunderstorms. There was one waitress plus someone behind the bar, so it took a long time to order and receive our food (not the waitress's fault!), and there was a line of people waiting for a table. It looked like the dinner restaurant was in the bar, which was puzzling - I don't know why they didn't offer dinner in the same place as breakfast and lunch, since that place could accommodate more people. We ordered dinner, everything eventually arrived, and we ate. My husband's buffalo wings were not originally brought out, and he had to remind our waitress that he had ordered them. At the end of the meal, we decided to order dessert to go and eat it in our room while watching the fireworks, and this was a saga. We ordered dessert at 9:30 PM (the kitchen closed at 10:00 PM, and at 10:00 PM, we still hadn't gotten our dessert. We had already paid, since we wanted to make it back to our room for the fireworks, so we were just waiting. Our waitress went to the kitchen twice to see what was going on, but didn't get a clear answer from them, either. After another ten minutes, they told us that they were out of dessert, which was surprising, since they had already charged us for three dishes. While we were talking to the manager, a server came out with dessert, except the ice cream was melted and the wrong flavor (they gave us vanilla even though we asked for chocolate). They offered to take the desserts off our bill but ended up charging us twice: once for the full amount, and once for the amount without the dessert. The entire experience was baffling - if you run out of dessert, then just say so and don't charge us for it. If you do have dessert, then why would it take forty minutes to be delivered? The manager also called my father-in-law rude.