Frankly, I was disappointed considering it’s supposed to be a 4-star hotel and has great reviews. This was a combo Valentine’s Day/my birthday/Mother’s Day trip, so I was really looking forward to something nicer than a hotel stay with the kids. Note: I didn’t tell the hotel that and wasn’t expecting any special treatment. I’ve never written a review like this; but I want people to be aware. At over six hundred per night, this just wasn’t worth it. The room was small. The air conditioner was erratic and unreliable. The refrigerator was warm. The rack that was supposed to warm the towels didn’t. The hair dryer was so old I couldn’t even tell what brand it is, all of the brand and lettering was worn off. The toiletries were minimal. There was no minibar. The Nespresso machine was nice; but we had to call for coffee, creamer and sugar because it wasn’t stocked. Room service was unavailable. And I know, based on the reviews I’ve read that I will probably get a scripted copy and paste response to this post. Positives: The location is great. It was very clean and the building’s history makes it interesting. There were some nice people working there. We especially liked the valet and I wish I’d gotten his name. Tall, thin, black curly hair and a great smile. So genuinely nice, helpful and always seemed happy to see us. Overall, not a bad stay; but not worth the price.

The hotel was lovely, super clean, and a wonderful stay for a couple of days. The location was fantastic – – easy to walk to the tea or to Newberry Street and all over. The food was delicious. And most importantly, the service was so friendly and professional. Lakeisha at the front desk was so gracious when there was a bit of a mixup with our reservation. She was swift and helping us resolve it super kind and friendly and professional. We would highly recommend staying at this hotel.

We had a great stay at Hotel AKA Back Bay. Rose checked us in and was incredibly kind and welcoming—she really set the tone from the start. The entire stay was smooth and comfortable. The room was excellent, especially the Nespresso machine (a nice touch we used every morning). All the soaps and shampoos were exceptional—felt like a premium experience. The bed and pillows were super comfortable, and the AC worked flawlessly, which made a big difference. Honestly, everything just worked the way you want it to when you travel. Only downside… we had to leave.

In early February, I had the opportunity to stay at the Back Bay hotel, and it proved to be a satisfying experience. The hotel is conveniently located within a short distance from the Amtrak station, making travel to and from the facility easy. The staff provided a high level of assistance, promptly handling my luggage and ensuring a smooth check-in. Throughout my stay, my room was consistently cleaned on schedule, and ample water was provided, which added to the comfort of my visit. Additionally, the staff was knowledgeable about the local area and offered recommendations for restaurants and businesses in the well-lit neighborhood—an important consideration for solo female travelers. Overall, my stay was both enjoyable and productive, as this trip was primarily for business purposes. Big shoutout to Chris, Rosie, Lakeisha, and Keisi for making my stay in Boston so pleasant. I will be recommending this location to everyone.

I walked into AKA Back Bay honestly a little stunned — the space is so classy. The vibe, the music, the aesthetic… it’s gorgeous without feeling stuffy. It immediately feels elevated but still warm. What really made the experience, though, was the people. From the moment I arrived, I felt like I’d found a home away from home. The staff were down-to-earth, welcoming, and genuinely attentive. A special shoutout to Nick— he went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable and taken care of. You can tell when someone takes pride in creating an experience, and it made all the difference. The bar and restaurant were also fantastic. Do yourself a favor and order the Lily Collins cocktail with the pomme frites — elite pairing. ? Beautiful space, great energy, incredible hospitality. I’ll absolutely be back.

We were very impressed with AKA, beginning and ending with the doormen — not only to valet the car, but carrying our bags up the entrance steps, and as we were leaving, they let us stay comfortably in the lobby until they came in and told the car was at the door. All other staff also very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant (a full and varied menu) and really appreciated having this in house. And our room was clean, well-appointed, and very comfortable. We originally chose to stay here as it is just a 2-minute walk to Mistral restaurant, but we came away very pleased with the hotel itself.

Very poor experience for our anniversary getaway and won’t be using AKA anymore. Bummer because we have had two prior trips that were great at the Commons Boston location. Please be cautious when booking at this property. We booked a premium king corner room that very clearly has an 4 piece bathroom, and the room we got assigned was not renovated, had a tub/shower combo and was clearly not a corner room. When we went back to the front desk to sort it out, and even show them pictures of the room we paid for with confirmation number, she apologized that the room is already booked for the night. In all my hotels stays in my life I’ve never encountered this. Deceptive and unprofessional. We didn’t get the room we paid for and basically offered nothing but an apology which was shocking because this hotel claims to be “luxury”. Terrible start to our night but we put it behind us. We didn’t realize until we got back to our room at 11pm that the AC wasn’t working and we had a terrible sleep. Because it was so late we didn’t bother with trying to change rooms for the third time in one night. Having a good location is the only thing this hotel has, everything else is disappointing and really put a damper on what was supposed to be a special night.

Want to preface this by saying I’m not a rich fancy person, we normally do a Hilton when traveling. For $300 a night, we got a hotel that was missing the most basic amenities- no place to purchase snacks drinks or essentials (was told to walk to CVS), no microwave in room, the tv was not working (they did come fix it). We tried to get dinner from the restaurant the first night but when attempting to get a table the host looked at us like it was the oddest request she’d ever heard and told us they were completely full. When we arrived a bellhop took our bags while we checked in, but then disappeared with them and we had to wait for him to come back at which point he still insisted on cramming into a stuffed elevator with us to bring the bags to our room (I tried to take them back), and when we got there he inserted himself into the room and made us take down his Zelle info after we said we didn’t have cash for a tip. He also walked into the room to give me props as if I were a child. We also requested a swap from two doubles to a king, and mind you, it’s okay that they couldn’t do it but they made us wait several hours before telling us no, so we were waiting to settle in. The second night we went down to the restaurant again and it was full again, so we tried the bar just to get a quick desert to bring upstairs and wound up wasting 45 minutes getting the servers attention each time we needed a menu, to order, to pay, and the ice cream sundae came back partially melted and it was clear that it had been sitting there waiting for the bartender to grab it. There weren’t that many people at the bar either. The sundae was $22, and the ice cream tasted like the most basic tub of chocolate you could get from a Walmart. This was a special weekend for us, we had just gotten married and while this wasn’t our honeymoon we had paid extra for a nicer stay in Boston than we normally could afford and the resulting stay was lacking, to stay the least. We did tell them at the front desk of our celebration and didn’t expect anything special or extra but the general customer service and attentiveness was disappointing. It felt like they were “too full and busy to deal with us” and like we were in the way or a bother. Location was great and room was nice but I would not recommend this hotel.

The hotel was amazing for my husband and I. It's centrally located, so we could walk to Fenway, the North End, and Chinatown with ease. Just a few blocks from Newbury St. with tons of food and shops. The doorman, Chris, was the best. Super friendly and spent extra time showing us around and answering all of our questions. Along with the front desk, I never was met with anything but a smile. The restaurant is also amazing! Lots of yummy gluten-free options. You will not regret staying here!

What a wonderful gem of a hotel. We spent a long weekend in Boston during frigid Feb 2026 and the AKA staff took very good care of us. The room was very pleasing - modern with all the amenities. The large lounge with fireplace was a cosy spot to kill a few hours between checkout and our flight. Chris, the Bellman, is the best: just so friendly. On our last day he offered to store our bags so we could grab lunch and when we returned, he checked in with us in the lounge room to see if we needed anything. Definitely will come back! ??