The rooms at the Intercontinental Boston Hotel are on a par with the best luxury class hotel rooms, such as Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton. The only thing this hotel lacks is the level/quality of service and attention to the "little things".

The rooms are fantastic. Spacious, well designed and very comfortable. The bathrooms are even better. Great tub and a separate shower; both with great fixtures. The sliding window between the bath and room is an innovative design that we enjoyed. But here is an example of a "little thing" that separates the great hotels from the very good. The IC linens are a 60/40 cotton/poly blend. Why not spend a few extra bucks on fine quality 100% cotton sheets?

Other reviewers have made points about there not being a coffee maker in the room. I can live with that....Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons don't have coffee makers in their rooms either. I was glad to find complimentary coffee available in the lobby on Saturday (between 5:00 am and 7:00 am). However, when I went down on Sunday morning, I was told "we don't put the coffee out on Sunday". Why not? Another "little thing" that separates the great from the very good.

Some other pros and cons.

Pro: Nice outdoor area on Boston Harbor with an outdoor restaurant and benches for relaxing. Con: Music from outdoor restaurant was annoyingly loud.

Pro: Great Location: Close to South Station MBTA, easy walk to North End.

Con: $39 overnight parking. Tip: If you are there on a weekend and don't need your car, skip parking at the hotel. Drive cater-corner to the hotel to International Place. $9.00/day covered parking on the weekend and after 4:30 on Friday.

Con: Most (not all) of the front desk and just about everyone else we encountered were not overly friendly. Not rude, but certainly not warm. Just sort of disinterested.

Bottom Line: We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at our Priceline rate. Had I paid rack rate, I might not feel the same way.

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights in June, my husband and I and 2 children and experienced some hiccups. Although We got a good rate through their own website for a harbour view room and had pre paid. I expected it to be the highlight of our holiday not the bad experience it turned out to be.
On arrival we were told a harbour view was not available as they had all gone and we could have a deluxe room ( all rooms are classed as deluxe ! so they were hardly offering an apology) and complimentary breakfast for 2 the following morning so two of us missed!! After complaining strongly and refusing to budge, miraculously a room became available even though it was after 7.00pm.

We encountered problems with the internet connection it disconnected several times each time resulting in a long telephone conversation with the IT people to be reconnected. We were re-imbursed 1 days internet use but it was very annoying. As I had paid the rediculous price I at least expected to be able to use it.

On the first full day on return to the room after sightseeing all day ,it had not been serviced. As we arrived the turn down maid was entering the room she seemed surprised but did not speak enough english to offer an explanation, she changed the towels and gave me 3 chocolates ( there were 4 of us!!!) but it was the best she could do.
When I rang the front desk they said I must have had the "do not disturb" sign on , which I didn't.
We were consistantly only towels for 2 and we only had 1 robe and although they were supplied on request how hard can it be to see that there are 4 people in the room.
One the last day they sent up a basket of fruit and a bottle of water, by way of apology. they needn't have bothered as I could have finished off the half eaten apple I found under the bed assumably from the apology fruit for the previous guests.

we did use the pool and it was nice but odd there were no showers or proper changing facilities, only a communal toilet
( another demand on the scant bedroom towels!!) You had to walk through the hotel wet or share the one bath robe!!
We ate in the restaurant on the first night it was OK but quite pricey and barely anyone in it, sadly lacking in atmosphere.

There were the other niggles others have mentioned around the valet parking thats not ,dealing with your own luggage on arrival and the coffee facilities. A couple more - I thought the beds were small 4ft 6ins at best and our curtains didn't meet by about 8 inches so at about 5.00am our room was bathed in sunlight.
We asked the Concierge to book a table at a restaurant one night but when we turned up they had no record, which by now ,was part of the course.

I have extensively travelled in the States and this hotel was one of 5 this particular trip and I have never had reason to complain. I know you get what you pay for but I Ihave paid a lot less and got a whole lot more!!

…however, if you pay the full price it does come up a little short.

I spent 4 nights here over the 4th of July weekend and overall, I was very pleased with this hotel. I got a great rate of $203 on the hotel’s Web site (compared to earlier rate postings of $415 a night). For $203 a night, this hotel is a five-star gem and an excellent value. The room and bathroom were quite spacious, with tasteful, contemporary design. The gym, pool and spa are excellent. The staff – from the front desk, to the spa, to housekeeping, to the bar - was professional, pleasant and accommodating. No complaints.

Previous postings mention criticisms about the lobby design being too cold and stark. I found the lobby warm, elegant and inviting. I had cocktails at Rumba (the hotel bar) with friends and it was quite crowded with young, hip people. The cocktails were great and the atmosphere fun.

Also, some reviewers mention that the hotel is noisy with paper thin walls. My experience was entirely different – my room was extremely quiet, not hearing hardly anything outside or inside the hotel. It was very peaceful and relaxing. And there were people in the room next door.

So, for $203 a night, I would highly recommend this hotel. However, if I paid the original going rate of $415, I would have been a little disappointed. There were a couple of minor hiccups that I was willing to overlook given the rate I paid.

First of all, our room was on the harbor side as opposed to the city side. When I reserved it, it was marketed as a harbor view room. When I checked in, the front desk person indicated this was a room with a nice view of the harbor. Well….not exactly. The hotel has a sort-of U-shape design. My room was on the harbor side of the hotel but my view was of the rooms on the other side of the “U”. Only if you were standing right at the window and peering to the side did you see the “harbor”. And the view was not of the harbor but rather a canal and the buildings on the other side. So, it was misleading to say the room had a harbor view. Again – for $203, the room and view were fine. However, if I paid $415, I would have been annoyed.

One other misstep was that I called the hotel prior to arriving to ask if the rooms had IPod docking stations. I was told yes. I arrived to discover that no rooms have IPod docking stations. When I mentioned this to the concierge, Marc Simoneau, he apologized profusely for the miscommunication and thanked me for bringing it to his attention.

Lastly, a couple of reviewers mentioned that the lack of a coffee maker in the room was a mark against the hotel. I agree. At the very least, the hotel should have coffee in the lobby, preferably complimentary. It would have been nice to just be able to go downstairs and either have coffee there or bring it back to the room. Instead I had to walk 5-7 minutes outside the hotel in the Financial District to locate a place (which I did – a Dunkin Donuts). Otherwise, you have to go to Miel, a rather fancy hotel restaurant – too fancy if you just want to have coffee. Or, order coffee through room service, which would have cost $20 for a pot of coffee (cost plus delivery charge and gratuity included).

These issues were minor because of the very reasonable rate that I paid. All-in-all, my experience at the Intercontinental was very positive. Given that I would obtain around the same rate in the future, I would not hesitate to stay here again.

We stayed here over the 4th of July weekend after booking it on Hotwire.
Good news: We saved over $100 a night. The hotel is new and has spacious rooms and bathrooms. The front desk and concierge were friendly and helpful.
The pool was warm and perfect for the kids. The workout room is well equipped and user friendly.
Bad news: The only problem during our stay was when we found no toiletries replenished in our room. When we called for the same and for some towels, it took over 25 minutes to get to our room. I think if you are calling yourself a luxury 4/5 star hotel, you need to be up to speed on little things like these.
Breakfast: Do not eat the buffet, it is not worth the price; you are better off ordering a la carte or going outside.

lastly, why do hotels insist on charging for internet access? If they made if free, people would appreciate it. Why nickel and dime over $10 a day?