The 10 Best Hotels in Boston, According to Travel + Leisure Readers

There’s a magical dichotomy about Boston. As one of the nation’s oldest cities, founded in 1630, the Massachusetts capital is deeply rooted in historical essence, proudly showing off its famed landmarks along the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail from Boston Common to Bunker Hill. But scratch the surface a bit deeper and there’s a bubbling elegance to its newcomers, from shiny new buildings in the West End to the hottest waterfront neighborhood at the Seaport. That same mentality goes for its trending hotels.

How Voting Works

Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Over 186,000 T+L readers completed the 2024 survey. A total of more than 700,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.)

Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, inn, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below:

Rooms/facilities
Location
Service
Food
Value

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

Courtesy of Raffles Boston

What Readers Loved

Tried-and-true global luxury brands putting their own spin on the Bostonian experience proved to be a winning formula, with Raffles and Four Seasons sweeping the top two spots. Making its North American debut with Raffles Boston in September 2023, the Singaporean chain strategically chose the sophisticated district of Back Bay, the same area as Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street Boston, the Four Seasons’ second Boston outpost, which opened in May 2019. Another favorite of the neighborhood, The Newbury, which was last year’s No. 1, fell to No. 7, but retains buzz even among locals, especially for its rooftop restaurant, the beloved Contessa — still one of the hardest-to-get reservations in town for favorites like its squash carpaccio with a side of Boston skyline view. All together, Back Bay cements its reputation as the most coveted area to stay.

But all around town, Boston’s hospitable spirit stands out. As one guest said of The Whitney Hotel Boston (No. 3), the “entire staff make you feel as if this is your home away from home and go beyond what is normal in any hotel to accommodate any needs you may have.” Others raved about The Eliot Hotel (No. 4). Whether you’re “a single woman who felt very safe there” or enjoying a “great stay” with the “whole family, including our French bulldog,” the boutique hotel, also in the Back Bay, “does everything they can do to make you feel special and welcomed.”

The Winner

Raffles Boston

Courtesy of Raffles Boston

There’s an intangible kind of allure that the Raffles brand has established, ever since it opened its first hotel back in 1887, that seemed unattainable for the American market — until the brand set its sights on the 35-story tower at 40 Trinity Place in Boston’s most prestigious neighborhood. Location is key here, as readers have called the address everything from “fantastic” to a “bucket list location.” The experience is elevated (literally) from the start with its 17th-floor Sky Lobby, which one reader noted for its bar and terrace. Overall, another called this first North American Raffles an “amazing new luxury experience Boston was lacking!”