The Royal Sonesta Boston

I booked the Royal Sonesta Cambridge expecting a true 4-star experience, but this stay has been nothing short of disappointing. Check-in took over 45 minutes. See attached picture. No valet service despite being marketed as an upscale property. The garage was full during 2 nights of my stay. I was still charged even though I couldn't even park in the garage. There's also "Valet Only" spots and I was told I would be towed if I parked there. Again, there's NO VALET. Room cleanliness was unacceptable — a ton of dust on surfaces and about 2 inches of caked on dust on the vents. Housekeeping came once during a 4 day stay. Paper-thin walls — I could clearly hear conversations from the room next to me. No 24-hour market, no mini-fridge, and zero attention to small details that make a hotel convenient. Staff seemed burnt out and indifferent, as if they could care less about your stay. The whole operation feels robotic — management responds to every negative review with the same canned “Your feedback is important” line, but offer zero customer support. For the price, this property is all about taking your money and delivering the bare minimum. This is not a 4-star hotel by any stretch — it’s a 2-star at best with a fancy address. I won’t ever be staying here again.

Enjoyed our stay at Royal Sonesta. We were there on a family trip and don’t think that is their “typical” booking, but it was good nonetheless. Particularly, service was good. They were able to accommodate us adjoining rooms and held our luggage hours early. The room cleaning was attentive. It deserves mention there were some things that could’ve been updated. The window blinds were broken off the track and because they were near the air vent they slightly swayed. The bathroom was well kept but slightly dated. The location was just over quarter mile to Lechmere station on the green line and a longer(.5 mile) but more straight shot to science park station Overall, would definitely stay again

We stayed 4 nights in a spacious river-view suite at The Royal Sonesta Boston, and it was an absolute joy from start to finish! The room was large, super quiet (perfect with a baby!), and had two comfy beds plus a huge TV that our kids loved. The internet was strong and reliable, which made working remotely a breeze. Breakfast was delicious every morning, the pool was amazing, and the hotel’s location—just steps from CambridgeSide mall—was incredibly convenient. Housekeeping was so thoughtful, always checking in only when our baby was awake, and generously giving us more towels than we needed for our group of five. Every staff member we met was friendly, helpful, and made us feel right at home. This hotel was a true lifesaver and gave our work-holiday the perfect ending. Highly recommend for families, business travelers, or anyone looking for a peaceful stay in a prime Boston location!

We stayed at the Royal Sonesta for a week and paid holding fees that on check out the reception informed us had been refunded and would be in our bank account in around 15 days. We have called to check up severally and they stated that some times it takes about 30 days. It is now heading to month 2 and we haven't received our refund!!!

I stayed here for a night last week and my experience was not good. I was originally booked for two nights and then the reservation was changed to one night only. We had an acknowledgment from the hotel of this change. When I arrived, the front desk person said the reservation was still showing for two nights and she did not know how to check me in and that she would get a supervisor to help and would I mind waiting in the lobby. I did, and no one came to get me. They were busy this point and I'm guessing they forgot about me. So I went back to the check-in desk after 20-30 minutes and ultimately they were able to check me in. The room itself was bare bones. I had a small window that had a limited view of the Charles river. However, this window received a lot of sun, which I normally would've liked, except that the air-conditioning was weak and it could not bring the temperature down in the room. so, I basically had a very uncomfortable night. As I was tired after my travel, I had both dinner and breakfast at the art bar restaurant in the hotel. Neither meal was any good. I will say that the staff was very polite and friendly overall. Common spaces are nice, but the guest rooms are old and tired. I guess this is Boston/Cambridge and there's plenty of demand for these hotels, especially given their location close to MIT and Harvard. I would not choose this hotel again.