Courtyard by Marriott Boston Brookline

For two days so far, the women's restroom in the lobby has been out of order, so the men's is being used as unisex. Both paper towel dispensers in the men's room have also been empty the whole time. This has nothing to do with construction on the new front desk.

I stay strictly at Marriott’s when I travel for business, and I can’t believe I’ve only just found this gem. The location is great, and parking is convenient for a city hotel, but the people made the place special. I arrived late and wanted a quick bite, and Jacquelyn made me feel incredibly welcome while serving and bartending. Then chef Osama made an amazing rice bowl. It might be a standard dish at a big chain, but he said proudly that he makes his food with love, and you could tell it was next level. I couldn’t wait to come back for dinner the next night. They both went the extra mile for me and everyone I saw left smiling. They deserve a big shout out for taking things to another level. I can’t wait to return.

We paid a lot for a stay that felt gloomy and cramped. The facilities are clearly dated, and the staff seemed very disorganized with our reservation. Both the hallway and room felt old, and the low ceiling made the room feel oppressive. There was almost no natural light, and the artificial lighting was so weak that my companion and I had to use our phone flashlights to find things in our luggage. Even in the morning it stayed dim. There were visible mold stains in the bathroom. Clothes we washed by hand were still damp the next day, which hadn’t happened to us at other U.S. accommodations. The whole stay felt oppressive and completely out of line with the price.

The location is the main thing this hotel has going for it, with shops, restaurants, and public transit nearby. The rooms are dark, though, with poor natural light and just a couple of bedside lights. We ended up using our phones to find things in our suitcases. The hotel itself feels gloomy, the service is inadequate, and breakfast is low quality and expensive. Their avocado toast was two slices of bread with a thin layer of commercial guacamole that had very little avocado. With tax and tip it came to nearly $20. We had no soap in the shower, and it took an hour and a half and several reminders to get liquid soap brought to the room while we waited to shower. The shampoo and conditioner containers were empty too, and we didn’t bother telling them. Our bedsheet was also inside-out. When we asked them to replace it, we got a long explanation that sheets are changed only every three days, though they eventually did replace it. I don’t understand why it was like that, or why getting it fixed took negotiation.