Omni Parker House

Really cool historic hotel in a GREAT location. Central to just about everything you'd want to do in Boston. Parking is challenge, so either valet park (expensive) or find the lot around the corner through SpotHero.com. Be careful which room you book. If you book a regular room, you'll get a broom closest. We booked a King deluxe and our room was lovely and sufficiently large. The bathroom was a bit cramped - no a lot! I've seen bigger showers in an RV. But the bed was incredibly comfortable. Beautiful flowers in the lobby; folks at the counter were helpful and the bell-men were very accommodating. Watch the elevator doors as I had one close hard on my arm despite the bell-man's attempt to prevent it. As other reviews have said, the decor is dated and needs an update. Oh, and the Boston creme pie - eck. But I'll review food in the restaurant section. Overall, glad to have experienced it here. JFK announced his run here and proposed to Jackie in the restaurant. Read less

First the positives: The Omni Parker House has a great location right on the Freedom Trail. You can walk to most of the tourist sights and it is within 2 blocks of three different T stops that will get you anywhere in town. The lobby is beautiful. The staff was very pleasant and helpful. We had drinks at both bars; the Last Hurrah and Parker’s and we enjoyed both. I love Historic properties and expect some compromises in order to stay at one. The expected: Older properties typically have small rooms and small bathrooms. Our bathroom was small but the room was surprisingly spacious. The disappointments: Once you leave the lobby area, this hotel is in serious need of upgrading. There is a difference between quaint and dumpy, and the Parker House is at the tipping point. The halls and our room were in serious need of painting. Our sink had serious chips in it. This is not a budget property, they need to spruce up the guest floors at this price point. Last, and I understand this is the case with downtown properties sometimes, our room had a view of a blank concrete wall across the alley. We had a “deluxe” room that was an upgrade. I wonder what the standard view is? Omni has a gem in this property, and due to the location they probably keep it full most of the time. But there is an expectation as to what you get in an Omni branded property, and in this case I do not think the Parker House lives up to the brand promise. Read less

I’ve stayed here before and had a delightful experience and even got a complimentary small Boston cream pie as a welcome. When I brought my children to Boston, I thought they’d enjoy staying here as well because of the location and history and customer service. Boy, was I wrong. We had a red eye flight that put us In Boston at 5am. I called the hotel ahead of time to see if we could check In early due to this. The lady who answered the phone said she would note this on our reservation and that if there was availability, it shouldn’t be a problem. Fast forward to the day we arrived. We get to the hotel and no note had been made on our reservation. The lady at the front desk said there was no room available yet but that they had some early check outs. She said housekeeping would arrive at 8am and our room would be first priority. She took down my phone number to call when the room was ready. We left the hotel to walk around and go get some breakfast (at their hotel). We returned around 8:45am. My kids (who are 14 and 9) were wiped out. They sat down in some chairs in the lobby and ended up falling asleep. Around 9am, I inquired again about a room and this time, was told housekeeping didn’t arrive till 9am. They confirmed my phone number again and I sat back down in the lobby. About 45 min later, a man who worked for the Omni Parker house approached me and asked if I knew these girls (my children). I said yes, they are my daughters and that we were waiting on a room. He spoke into his radio saying “they’re waiting for a room.” And then turned around to me and said “I’m sorry, we can’t have anyone sleeping in the lobby,” waited for me to wake my daughter’s up and then he walked away. By this time, we just decided to take a trolley tour. We sat on that for about 1.5 hours before I called the hotel around noon to see if it was ready before we headed back. The lady who answered the phone said “oh yeah it’s ready.” I then explained my frustration over nobody calling when it was ready and about my experience in general. She only said “sorry about that.” Now, before management gets on here and says “you should’ve let us know,” let me tell you that I let no fewer than 3 people there at the hotel know my frustration. Not one of them offered to do anything. For the amount of money this place cost, this was unacceptable and I likely won’t be back. Read less

This is a beautiful, traditional and tasteful historic hotel set in the perfect downtown location right on the freedom trail and extremely close to the sights, bars, restaurants, shops and the harbour. The lobby is grand but welcoming and you feel like you have stepped back in time in to the 1940’s. The rooms are clean and spacious and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Ignore all the negative reviews. If you want modern go stay at the Marriott! We had a great stay for our first time in Boston and would definitely stay again. Read less