I stayed at the Charlesmark while attending a conference at the nearby convention center. We arrived early Saturday morning, and our room was unfortunately not ready yet, but it was perfect time to take the time to go around. By the time we got back, our bags were in our room, and music greeted us as we entered the room (very nice!)

If you're looking for a regular hotel room, this is NOT FOR YOU! I've only stayed in one boutique hotel (not by choice) in NYC, and this hotel room was so much better!

Even though it's a boutique hotel, the room was pretty spacious. And the bathroom was really nice. Unfortunately, there aren't any closets so if you have to hang anything up, you have use the door knobs (bring hangers).

The room also had direct tv-so if you're looking to spend some time in your room, you'll definitely have something to keep you entertained.

I spent a little bit of time at the bar-which I thought was nice-nothing special. The hotel also had a small internet cafe with only two computers.

The hotel also provides a small breakfast: bagels, muffins, coffee, tea, water, oatmeal.

Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at the Charlesmark Hotel. The hotel was very comfortable, I felt like I was home! Also, the hotel is located near a lot of different restaurants and the "T"- we took public transportation to all our destinations.

Have fun in Beantown!

Stayed at the Charlesmark in May 2008 for 2 nights, and I had a mixed experience.

I arrived early (my fault) and my room wasn't ready. The receptionist checked for any available rooms but said the only one she had was near the bar and I had asked for a quiet one - top marks for knowing my request and acting on it. She said she'd ring me when my room was ready and took my mobile phone number - great. Unfortunately she never did ring, so that was a shame and left me wandering around the city for longer than I needed to, but not a big deal and she did store my luggage.

I returned later that afternoon and they'd already moved my bags from their store up to my room - fantastic service! The room was very nice, wonderfully clean & beautifully decorated, with great attention to detail. Not a massive room, but perfectly fine - don't listen to the people whining about tiny tiny rooms and poor decoration, unless you're planning on bringing more than a couple of suitcases when it might get crowded.

However, despite being given a "quiet" room overlooking an outdoor void / shaft surrounded by brick walls, I was repeatedly woken all night by a huge fan at the bottom of this void that kept starting up, running for 10 minutes and then shutting down again. Every time it restarted (regularly, roughly every 30 minutes) there was a large bang before the loud whirring started. I could have slept through the whirring, but the bang woke me up every time all night. There are several other rooms overlooking this fan, so I can't see how anybody in any of them could have got much sleep either.

I complained the next morning and got moved to another room, which was actually bigger and nicer than the first, but at the front of the hotel. This was a bit noisier than I would have liked (you overlook the main road) but at least it quietened down later at night, unlike the fan.

So what to conclude? I really liked the style of the hotel, the food downstairs from the Thai restaurant was excellent, the rooms were great and it's very good value. I was slightly annoyed that I ordered a gin and tonic from the bar and it was completely flat - when I called the waitress over she immediately asked if it was flat...so why did she give it to me? She replaced it very politely, with a fractionally less flat G&T, but it was still far from sparkling.

So I'm giving the Charlesmark an average rating because I really wouldn't go back there because I couldn't be sure I'd get any sleep. It's a real shame, as someone has obviously put a lot of effort into making it a stylish place to stay and the location is pretty good.

My husband and I stayed at the Charlesmark for one night. It was easy to find, quick to check into, quiet and nicely decorated. The bed was comfortable, and the room had everything we needed. The decor was European classy. While the room was small, it had a great view overlooking a bustling city street and the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The staff was helpful and friendly on several occasions. I would eagerly stay there again. And oh yes, they had a coffeemaker in the room.

Very nicely designed hotel in the beautiful Boston Back Bay. I especially loved the view from my 6th floor room out onto Boylston street and the Boston Public Library.