DoubleTree by Hilton Boston North Shore

The rooms are a bit dated, and the shower briefly ran rusty-looking water a couple of times when I first turned it on. It cleared up and didn’t happen again. The customer service was amazing. My family was celebrating my son’s fourth birthday, and they left a special note with a birthday surprise and gave us three free tickets to the connected water park. Mirsada was a sweetheart. She served us dinner in the lounge and then breakfast the next day, and made my son feel noticed and appreciated. I’d definitely book here again.

Our first night was awful. People in the family rooms next door drank and partied on the balcony from midnight until 3 a.m. We had adjoining doors we hadn’t chosen, and the noise was unbelievable. Even with two sound machines running, we could hear them clearly. I have videos. At 1:30 a.m. I went to the desk for help. The man working said he was alone and couldn’t do much, but would send someone up. Nobody came, and the screaming, drinking, and partying carried on for hours. In the morning I asked if those guests would be leaving because I couldn’t manage another sleepless night with little kids. I got an apology and an offer of free breakfast, which I declined, and asked for a supervisor to call. The supervisor said they couldn’t control who stayed in a family room. It makes no sense to let adults with no children stay in those rooms and disturb everyone all night. The front desk staff weren’t friendly either. We won’t be back. Do better, DoubleTree.

The arcade was a big hit with my family, and we also loved the clean, spacious pool and hot tub. Rooms were clean and roomy, beds comfortable, and the TV let me sign into Netflix. All the staff were friendly and professional. The hotel was great!

The staff were fine, though I wouldn’t call the service hospitable. The pool was okay, but its hours didn’t start early enough to work with the gym hours. Of the waterslides advertised, all but one were broken. Our room smelled musty, almost moldy, when the fan was running, and the queen beds were really full size. Parking was a long way from the door, with no luggage carts. Breakfast cost extra despite the high room rate, and a small bottle of water was $3. There has to be somewhere more welcoming.