After months of anticipation, The Whitney Hotel – a 66-room, luxury, boutique hotel – has opened in the former location of the John Jeffries House at 170 Charles St.
The hotel, developed by Boston-based Related Beal and operated by Hersha Hospitality Management (HHM) of Harrisburg, Pa., is named for Henry Melville Whitney, an American industrialist who once owned the site and was the founder of the MBTA’s forerunner, the West End Street Railway Company. To honor Whitney, who died at age 83 in 1923 in Brookline, a London train station clock is prominently displayed in the hotel lobby, and each guest room is adorned with artwork celebrating Whitney and the West End Street Railway Company.
Subzero refrigerators and freezers stocked with complimentary seltzer and water for guests can be found on each floor, and unlike many other hotels, The Whitney doesn’t charge a destination fee, which can typically cost between $20 and $30 per night.
Each bedroom, which ranges from 280 to 495 square feet, boasts Wright mattresses, Frette Italian linens and a 55-inch HDTV equipped with cable and state-of-the-art video streaming, as well as a handpicked selection of books that vary from room to room.
Each room also has a safe, as well as a minibar stocked with locally sourced snacks and beverages, including Bully Boy libations, nuts from Charles Street’s Fastachi, complimentary coffee and chocolates from Beacon Hill Chocolates that come in a special custom box designed by the hotel’s architect David Hussain.
Wardrobes, rather than traditional closets, are located in each room that comes replete with Frette robes and slippers, along with a standard iron and ironing board. And in keeping with Boston’s recent ban on plastic bans, each wardrobe contains a recyclable shopping bag while other guest perks include turndown service upon request, a choice of morning newspaper, seven-day laundry and valet, and an overnight shoeshine service.
Adjacent to the hotel lobby and its coastal Mediterranean-style restaurant Peregrine, visitors can enjoy the courtyard designed by Boston-based Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design and surrounded by multi-seasonal plants, and outdoor amenities that include a cozy fire pit and a tranquil fountain.
“We wanted the hotel to look residential…so guests feel more at home,” said Kim Lowthers, The Whitney Hotel’s director of sales and marketing, “We don’t want it to feel like a regular hotel. “Some people don’t have accommodations for their families, so we hope this will be their home away from home.”
Besides offering guests a bike for the day via its Whitney Bike Program or the option to rent a sailboat or yacht to sail along the Charles River through Whitney on the Water, the hotel also has a state-of-the-art fitness room featuring a treadmill, a stationary bicycle, an elliptical trainer and a Hydrow rowing machine. (The Whitney also has a second machine that guest with rear-facing rowing rooms can borrow, allowing them to “row” while looking out on the Charles River, Lowthers said.)
The Whiney Hotel is also pet-friendly, and guests can take advantage of the Whitney Wags program, which for a rate of $100 per pet per stay, offers a dog bed, food and water bowls and gourmet pet treats.
Meanwhile, The Whitney Hotel welcomed its first guests – a Houston businessman and his extended family – on June 29, and according to a review he left on the Trip Advisor website, he was thoroughly impressed with the hotel and all of its amenities.
“The Whitney Boston scored a perfect 10 with me, and my family,” wrote the reviewer who discovered the hotel via the American Express Travel program. “As a frequent business traveler, I am very particular when it comes to comfort being away from home so often. So when I stayed at The Whitney Boston with family, it was a perfect choice….incredibly professional and helpful staff, wonderful atmosphere and a heavenly large room with what felt like a bed floating in the clouds.”
View The Whitney Hotel’s rates and availability at www.whitneyhotelboston.com.