Highlights: Taj Boston

•Traditional elegance at the Taj Boston property in the United States

•Prestigious Newbury Street location with views over the Boston Public Garden, the oldest botanical garden in the United States

•Hotel offers superior levels of service, including bath, technology, and fireplace butlers

•Luxurious rooms and suites feature a refined décor

•The Bar has been a celebrated spot for cocktails since Prohibition ended in the 1930s

•Fantastic amenities for children, including etiquette programs, special events, and a children’s suite designed by FAO Schwartz and BB Kids

Amenities: Taj Boston

• 273 rooms, 17 story. Pets accepted; fee. Check-in 3 pm, check-out Noon. High-speed Internet access. Restaurant, two bars. Fitness room. Business center. Credit cards accepted.

General Impressions: Taj Boston

The Taj Boston, the grandest of Boston’s hotels, is a landmark and a treasure. This lovely hotel built in the late 1920s is in a prime location overlooking the tranquil Boston Public Garden, America’s oldest botanical garden.

The Taj Boston looks exactly as you would imagine with its refined furnishings and priceless art and antiques. This hotel’s service is legendary, and guests staying here are treated to pampering services including bath, technology, and fireplace butlers among other luxuries. The accommodations are as princely as the public spaces, and a recent renovation ensures that all of the traditional rooms and suites are fitted with the most up-to-date amenities possible. The Taj Boston dining venues are as popular with Bostonians as they are with out-of-towners. The Bar has been quenching thirsts since the 1930s, and The Café has attracted well-heeled diners for more than 50 years.

The Taj Boston is a perfect hotel for travelers who enjoy history and tradition. Located on Newbury Street, where boutiques and sidewalk cafés abound, the hotel is a natural choice for leisure travelers. Its proximity to the Public Garden’s lagoon, with its famous swan boats, makes the hotel a popular choice for couples seeking a romantic urban escape. Business travelers also find themselves wooed by the charms of the Taj Boston. Its central location, prestigious address, excellent service, and business amenities make it a popular choice among discerning professionals with business in Boston.

While most people would think that the hotel’s sophistication and formal style would not be the best pick for those with children, the Taj Boston defies that thinking with exceptional family-friendly amenities and a generous spirit. Children are never an afterthought at this hotel, where pint-sized guests can participate in etiquette programs, enjoy special events based on E.B. White’s children’s classic, “Trumpet of the Swan,” and even hang out in style in the children’s suite, designed by BB Kids and FAO Schwartz.

(+) Grand historic hotel with refined, traditional style, first-class service, and welcoming attitude

Guest Services: Taj Boston

The Taj Boston makes each and every guest feel like a true lady or gentleman. Boston’s pedigreed society is legendary, and this hotel manages to uphold that tradition without every feeling fussy or overdone. This hotel offers the standard services found in other Mobil Four-Star hotels, such as twice-daily housekeeping, complimentary overnight shoeshine, and overnight laundry service, but it also turns up the notch on pampering with unique services such as its bath butler, technology butler, and fireplace butler service.

If the mood strikes for a relaxing soak, ring for one of the hotel’s bath butlers who deliver one of the themed baths from a menu of intriguing selections. There is nothing as frustrating as a computer glitch when you’re away from home or the office, but the hotel’s technology butlers are on hand to assist with virtually any technical difficulty. Many of the suites have wood-burning fireplaces, but guests need not get their hands dirty building a fire at this hotel, where fireplace butlers are ready to tend to the fires.

(+) Wonderful service delivered by a talented, well-trained staff

Guest Rooms: Taj Boston

The hotel has 273 guest rooms, including 45 suites. Similar to many other Taj hotels, the Boston location maintains a club level, where guests are entitled to extra privacy, a dedicated concierge, and private lounge with five food and beverage presentations offered daily.

The accommodations, defined by gorgeous fabrics, soft colors, refined furnishings, and antiques, are sumptuous. Both guest rooms and suites have an elegant sophistication, but the suites boast charming, residential touches, such as wood-burning fireplaces. The interiors recall the proper style found in many distinguished London townhomes, yet the accommodations are as comfortable as they are sophisticated. Spacious marble bathrooms and large closets are among the well-planned amenities, and luxurious linens and towels are among the high-end accoutrements found in the rooms and suites.

While the look is old-world, the technology is decidedly 21st century, and the rooms are easily transformed into offices for on-the-go busy executives. The views are equally lovely, with windows looking out over bustling Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue, or the leafy trees and shimmering lagoon of the Public Garden.

(+) Beautiful rooms and suites with sophisticated, residential ambience

Facilities & Activities: Taj Boston

It’s all about location at Taj Boston. This hotel is perfectly situated to take advantage of Boston’s fine shopping and dining, theater, and historical attractions. Area attractions just a short walk from the hotel include Boston Common, the Public Garden, the Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall, and Quincy Market.

There is a fitness center at the hotel, but for true fitness enthusiasts, the Taj Boston provides privileges at The Sports Club/LA Boston, one of the city’s premier gyms. Though a fee is required for entry, this 100,000-square-foot fitness, sports, and spa complex is well worth the price of admission.

The hotel really caters to its youngest visitors with fantastic children’s amenities and programming. Etiquette programs, which cover everything from ballroom dancing and telephone etiquette to social correspondence and table manners, are offered at special times throughout the year. One of the most unique features of this hotel is its “Trumpet of the Swan”-themed events. Since the hotel is near the famous swan boats that ply the lagoon at the Public Garden, it pays homage to the beloved children’s book with a variety of themed events, including birthday and holiday parties and annual brunches. The children’s suite is the realization of a child’s fantasy. Designed by BB Kids and FAO Schwartz, the suite has an arts and crafts center, toys, books, games, tot-sized furniture, and a miniature refrigerator filled with snacks and beverages. Children staying in the suite are also treated to a book of passes to area museums to enjoy with their families.

(+) Hotel offers wonderful children’s activities, while adults will find the neighborhood teeming with shopping, dining, and cultural opportunities

Dining & Lounge: Taj Boston

The Taj Boston’s reputation for excellence continues at its dining venues. For a taste of history, head to The Bar, which first opened in the 1930s after Prohibition was repealed. This elegant spot’s wood-paneled walls, book-lined shelves, and roaring fireplace are just right for cocktails and conversation.

For more than 50 years, The Café has served breakfast, lunch, and dinner to a fashionable crowd who come here for fine service and delicious continental cuisine. The Café’s windowed walls look out over Newbury Street, and the people-watching is unbeatable. The hotel’s proximity to the Theater District makes The Café a popular pre- or post-theater stop. Be sure to order a cup or bowl of the clam chowder--it’s a restaurant specialty.

The Lounge, with its glittering chandeliers, soft yellow walls lined with oil paintings, and refined furnishings, looks like it was scripted straight from a Henry James novel. Afternoon tea is a tradition at The Lounge, and it is a rite of passage for many young Boston girls to come to tea at the Taj Boston. The hotel’s traditional tea invites guests to sample delicate finger sandwiches, scones with Devonshire Cream, and scrumptious desserts. Guests may choose from a wide selection of teas, or indulge in a glass of champagne. There’s even a tea designed for little ones, with miniature peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot chocolate, and cookies shaped like Louis the Swan from the E.B. White classic, “Trumpet of the Swan.”

(+) Fine dining at historic venues, as well as legendary afternoon tea

Business Services: Taj Boston

The Taj Boston is an elegant place for business meetings, retreats, or conferences. Its meeting rooms are complete with wood-burning fireplaces, and the refined setting is inspiring. There are 16 private function rooms available to serve 10 to 300 people. The conference concierge will assist with all plans, and the hotel can also arrange for security services, as well as entertainment for larger groups.

The hotel is also well-suited to the individual business traveler. The business center helps travelers take care of their needs while away from the office, and the rooms are equipped with high-tech amenities to make working in-room convenient and comfortable. The distinguished lobby and dining venues are also perfect for meeting clients or celebrating new deals.

(+) Great hotel for single business travelers and groups