Our column "The Best Room At" offers a glimpse inside some of the most charming, luxurious, and iconic properties around the world.
Few cities in the United States (or even, arguably the world) have a sports culture so vibrant as Boston's. And if the Red Sox are your team, the experience of spending the night at Hotel Commonwealth in the city's Kenmore Square neighborhood is worthy of a spot on your bucket list.
Located just minutes away from the stadium, which happens to be the oldest ball park in the country, Hotel Commonwealth leans in to its official partnership with the team. There's memorabilia in the lobby, players' signatures in the elevator, and even baseball-esque stitching on the room curtains. Not to mention legends like David Ortiz, Carlton Fisk, and Fred Lynn have all stayed at the property.
And then there's the Fenway Park Suite, a spacious room that's been decorated with historic items related to the stadium (think framed World Series tickets, rare Ted Williams baseball cards, and pieces from Johnny Pesky's personal collection) and looks out straight onto the field. Here, Adam Sperling, the property's general manager, gives T&C the inside scoop on what guests can expect.
Tell me a bit about the Fenway Park Suite at Hotel Commonwealth.
We're an independent hotel, so we feel like one of our main competitive advantages is to be able to do unique experiential things. The Fenway Park Suite was created as part of our expansion in 2015, and standing up there during construction, we were really taken with the fact that you felt like you could step into the park from that last room on the fifth floor. Half the people that go to Fenway Park go to see the Red Sox and half the people go just to sit at Fenway Park and be there. It's a beloved ballpark.
So we really wanted to try and bring the park into one guest room. We partnered with the Red Sox and were able to use some really cool pieces of memorabilia in the space. I love the fact that there are some things you would almost consider museum-quality artifacts, but they're just there in the room. It's almost as if you went to a Red Sox museum and got to take a nap.
What is the standard rate for the Fenway Park Suite?
It fluctuates with the time of year, roughly $799 to $1,499.
What's your favorite thing about the hotel?
My favorite thing about hotel is really how there's a great energy in Kenmore Square, on game days especially. And that energy seems to come into the hotel from the time you arrive. I think that's a really unique thing.
If someone's coming to Boston for the first time, what's your one recommendation?
Fenway Park is an amazing destination, whether you're going for Red Sox game or not. So I do think that if you come to Boston, even if there isn't a game [you should go to Fenway Park], they give tours every day but Christmas Day. The tour is fantastic.
Besides Fenway Park, there's such great history here. I would certainly go to the North End and see the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house. It's like history coming to life. It always impresses me every time I go down to the North End, and see those things that are such a huge part of this country's history.
For someone who is coming to Boston who maybe isn't so interested in sports, what are some highlights that they would also enjoy at the hotel?
I'd say start with the restaurants in the hotel: Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar, and then the Hawthorne, which is sort of a sophisticated cocktail bar. These are really sought after local restaurants that are here. So it's almost possible to not leave the building, which in the winter is something we talk about. You can come for the weekend and eat in these great restaurants and have a nightcap at Hawthorne and not have to go out in a snow storm. It's a great thing that we really have amazing culinary options within the hotel.
And then, even if you're not into baseball, Boston is such a vibrant city with so much going on, and the T is right below the hotel. You couldn't ask for a more convenient location.
As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects
