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The Colonnade is home to Boston ’s only roof-top hotel pool and during the summer, it is the place to be for the city ’s most stylish and satisfying lounge-chair sight-seeing.Guests and VIPs get free entry while the hoi polloi pay exorbitant fees for access,and are only given the privilege of\ndoing so,when space allows.Outfitted in European style,the hotel ’s location across the street from the Prudential Centre and its wireless and high-speed internet access, make it a favourite with business travellers. Brasserie Joe serves French classics such as steak frites beneath its mural-decorated\nwalls,and the property boasts 15 function rooms in all sizes.
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The mostly-suite Eliot Hotel is meant to evoke a residential feel for those who believe that but for some strange twist of fate,they could well reside in a decadently appointed Neo-Georgian mansion in the Back Bay.The chocolate cookies awaiting each guest in his room is just part of the fantasy.But modernistas be warned.Chintz predominates and marble bathrooms are a bit small – although guest rooms were slated to be renovated this year. Nonetheless,the Eliot houses one of the chicest restaurants in town in celebrity chef Ken Oringer ’s Clio,and despite its small size the Eliot boasts more than 20,000-square-feet of meeting space through its partnership with the exclusive Harvard Club next door.
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A joint venture with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,this ultra-modern hotel near the famed technology school reflects the institution ’s spirit of innovation. It is to be expected the hotel would feature every type of technological convenience to travellers,including T-1 lines in guest rooms.More surprising is the extension of the innovation theme to the hotel ’s decor. That includes the moving sculptures and occasional robot-on-loan,in the lobby,to\nthe exposed circuitry and neon blue lights of its elevators.The entire third-floor and the roof-deck garden are available for meetings,and Sidney ’s Grille serves contemporary American cuisine with an Asian influence.
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A few years ago,the Lenox gutted the meeting room off its lobby and built the ultra-sleek City Bar.The gamble paid off handsomely,and now the bar is one of the hottest places that hoist a martini in town. Be mindful,however,the dark,sultry bar stands in marked contrast to the hotel ’s European-style lobby.The Lenox ’s guest rooms are likewise more traditional,although they do have Internet modems,and the hotel offers six meeting rooms including an oak-panelled boardroom for smaller business gatherings.Azure restaurant,a playground for locally renowned chef Robert Fathman,serves contemporary American cuisine with an emphasis on seafood.The hotel also houses a traditional Irish pub.
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The sleeker upstart to its sister property in the Back Bay,the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common should take full credit for reviving its once-seedy environs.While to be sure, the location is still a bit edgy,it ’s also now bustling with club-goers and patrons of the Ritz ’s adjacent 19-screen cinema. In addition to the luxurious fabrics and amenities one would expect from the upscale chain,including fax machines in select rooms,guests of the ‘new ’Ritz enjoy free access to the 100,000-square-foot Sports Club/LA,and not-infrequent celebrity sightings.The property offers more than 5,000-square-feet of meeting space,including four theatres,and Jer-ne restaurant serves Mediterranean cuisine in a contemporary setting.
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