Charming 1 Bedroom | Newbury Street

Perfect apartment and brilliant location. Especially during the World Cup. Owner extremely friend and quick to sort any Positive: Perfect apartment and brilliant location. Especially during the World Cup. Negative: No toaster.

Negative: I have been using Booking.com for nearly a decade, and I have NEVER left a bad review, until now.  My stay was to have been for 12 nights. Upon arrival at the unit, an intense surge of hot air was released when I opened the door.  As if opening an oven door.  Considering most of the windows had fire escapes/grills, I only opened those which did not have any (for safety reasons). I located a small fan in the closet. The temperature on it read 87 degrees, by the window!  I immediately contacted the rental agent.  I must say the response was almost immediate. It was suggested that I adjust the radiator with the knobs.  There are no knobs on any of the radiators. They were going to send someone the next day to adjust them.  This went on for two days and nights.  Can you imagine... winter in Boston, sleeping with windows open, AND a fan on? The hissing of the radiators waking you at 5AM?  By coincidence, a fire alarm went off in the building and we all had to evacuate. During that time, I had an opportunity to speak with residents in the building. I asked if anyone has had issues with the heat. They all said it has been an ongoing issue in the entire building. In that moment I decided to book a hotel and I notified the agent.  While I was offered a different location ½ mile away, I refused it, as it was further from my daughter's college.  I asked for a partial refund. At first, I was told no.  In the end, I was offered only 30% of only the affected nights.  My entire stay was to have been $2113. and I was only given a refund of $226. So, I was responsible for the rest AND I paid for the new hotel. The location is great.  While the unit is darling and has potential, it is very old and needs updating. The carpet shows significant signs of age.  The radiator in the bathroom is leaking, causing the wood riser to rot and the floor to rust. The kitchen and bathroom are not only dated but are run-down and have seen better days. 

Do not go there. You’ll be disappointed and disgusted. Positive: Nothing Negative: Everything. Old, broken handles, shower did not work. I had to check into another hotel. The worst experience ever. I have requested a refund and all I got was that they have forwarded to management with no more follow up. Unlivable.

Great apartment in a great location. Positive: Fabulous location and spacious apartment. Negative: No hand towel in the bathroom and no tea towel even though there was a kitchen.

Living museum Positive: Comfortable bed, great location, quiet (overlooking alley instead of Newbury Street), spacious. Free laundry and a working large jacuzzi in the bathroom. Overall an interesting experience staying in an (almost untouched) back bay brownstone. Negative: After staying in the same house a year ago—during major renovation work on the façade and ground floor—I expected that the apartments would have been updated as well. “Charming” turned out to be a polite way of saying that only superficial renovations had been done over the past decades. The wiring was odd, with some lamps not working, and at one point part of the apartment lost electricity altogether. The gas stove had a burner that wouldn’t ignite (but release gas), and the steam heater, after being inactive for three days, suddenly turned the entire apartment into a sauna on the fourth day, complete with a shrill noise coming from the heater next to the bed. Because no service could be arranged, I was offered a move to a different house—at 10 p.m., on my last night there. Not accepting the offer left me with a mostly sleepless night, something I certainly hadn’t anticipated.