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The XV Beacon Hotel has a long-standing partnership with Lexus, which supplies house cars to the hotel (upgrading the cars each year to the newest models). Guests can take advantage of this car service to go anywhere within a 2-mile radius at no cost. The hotel also offers a flat-rate service ($40) for drop-offs to Logan International Airport in the town cars.
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The elevators and marble staircase in the lobby are original features dating back to 1903. When the owner of the hotel was renovating this Beaux Arts building, he kept these two elements to preserve a bit of history. The building itself is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has had some notable occupants over the years, such as the Boston Transit Commission (1905) and Boston School Committee (1923 to 1999).
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Each room comes with a cozy Frette robe and slippers for guest use. But a special amenity for frequently returning guests (the hotel has a 96% return rate) are the Frette robes embroidered with their initials on them. Guests can elect to keep the robes at the hotel or take them home as a gift to keep.
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Rooms ooze luxury thanks to sumptuous fabrics and careful consideration to guest comfort. Cozy beds with Frette linens and cashmere throws from Milan are the focal point in every room, but other details certainly shouldn’t be ignored. Pillow menus that allow you to choose exactly how you want to sleep, nightly turndown service and an in-room safe that can hold your laptop are all things you may have never realized you needed in a hotel stay.
5/15
Aside from being luxurious, every room’s Italian marble bathroom includes unique features you won’t find in any other Boston hotel, such as heated towel racks (always welcome during the chilly months). Additionally, the XV Beacon Hotel is the first U.S. hotel to partner with Culti Milano. To be environmentally friendly, full-sized dispensers of their products are provided in the showers.
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We found the Beacon Hill studios to be spacious, with plenty of room to work and relax. And the gas fireplaces in every category of room are an especially nice touch for the cold New England winters. A bonus? The windows have the ability to open for fresh air when you need it.
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Each room features a fully stocked minibar with premium spirits, such as Bombay Sapphire, and an Illy espresso machine. Here, a Harman Kardon surround sound system is located above the amenity area.
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Each floor has only seven guest rooms, which gives this boutique hotel a very intimate, residential feel. Every floor’s elevator landing also displays original art, such as this canvas of George Washington by artist Gilbert Stuart. Between the art and the privacy of having so few rooms per floor, we felt like we were touring a private Beacon Hill brownstone rather than a hotel.
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Although a separate entity from the hotel, Mooo…. (an American steakhouse) is available to XV Beacon guests 24/7 for in-room dining orders. Or if you’d prefer to leave your guest room, you can always dine in the restaurant. Quirky cow portraits and oversized wrapped chandeliers adorn the dining space.
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Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Mooo…. offers a range of dishes, from classics like prime sirloin carpaccio (pictured above) to specialties like Faroe Island salmon and Maine lobster mac and cheese.
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The wine cellar below Mooo…. serves as the hotel’s primary event space. As the only public wine cellar in Boston, it also has one of the most extensive wine collections in the city. By the bar, you can see the date 1722 stamped into the concrete slab – it’s part of the original foundation as the cellar is built on the site of a mansion that was owned by Edward Bromfield.
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The XV Beacon Hotel is unique as it is the only hotel with an outdoor space overlooking Beacon Hill. Located on the 12th floor, guests can book the roof deck for events or simply take in a gorgeous day from one of the loungers. During the warmer months, it’s open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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There are actually two levels to this roof deck. The lower level is adjacent to the fitness center and is surrounded by plenty of greenery, which we felt gave it an even more secluded feeling.
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With views like this, why anyone would want to sit anywhere else on a nice day is a mystery. The roof deck gives a bird’s-eye view of Beacon Hill and Back Bay. And if you’re in town for the Fourth of July, you’ll have prime seating to watch the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular over the Charles River Esplanade (provided you’re lucky enough to snag an access wristband in advance, as those are limited).
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