Entry into the space went pretty much as planned. There are two doors to gain entry. The lock on the first door, which was kind of an outside storm door, was very difficult to open, but worked more smoothly as air temperatures increased.
There is no heat control that guests have access to while staying in this room. We arrived on Thanksgivings afternoon at around 3pm. The temperature in the Boston area was in the teens. The wind chill dropped that to below zero. Our hosts had left for the day and had not turned the heat on. It was COLD! I emailed about an hour after our arrival asking about the heat. They emailed back apologizing for the heat situation and saying that they would be back, “very soon.” It’s obviously subjective, but very soon to me means in an hour or less. At about 8:15pm there was still no heat so I called and left a voicemail asking for an update and a call back. At roughly 9pm I received an email saying that they were on their way home and to hold tight. About a half-hour after that the heat came on, but by this time we had a lot of catching up to do with respect to the temperature of the room. My wife and I like a cool bedroom while sleeping but this was too much. We went to bed fully clothed, wearing parka, hat, and mittens. With the heat finally on the room slowly warmed so that we could shed layers as the night progressed. By morning the room was much better but still cool. The floor was frigid and I think part of the problem with the room still feeling cool. Since we didn’t have control over the thermostat, I was reluctant to ask for further temperature increases for fear that night time temperatures would be too warm for us to comfortably sleep. Temperatures in Boston increased each day we were there and with each day’s increase our room became more comfortable.
Otherwise, the room was as advertised with a private entrance and bathroom. There were many other things that we appreciated with our stay: real glasses to drink out of, microwave, refrigerator, Wifi, good quality throw away eating utensils and plates for the leftovers, and a TV. The room looked and felt good, furnished with quality pieces. The bed was comfortable. A well supplied bathroom cannot be underestimated and that’s what we had. The porch leading into the space with a small table and chairs was nice to take advantage of as temperatures moderated. The neighborhood was nice and offered multiple options for walking and eateries located literally at the end of the block. Onsite parking for a small extra fee was worth it for us so that we didn’t have to worry about the availability of street parking. We were literally across a narrow one-way street from the T, which made our trips into downtown easy. With the trains rolling in and out of station all day the noise was a little louder than I had expected, but not a huge problem. The trains stop running around 12:30am and don’t start again until around 5am.
Other highlights of our weekend included a play at the Huntington Theatre, a show at City Winery, and a walking food tour of the Old North End. Aside from the first night we had a great weekend in Boston.