When a storied hotel brand and a historic city come together, you know it’s going to be a marriage made in heaven for those who crave a sublime hotel experience. Enter Raffles Boston, the first North American property for the ultra-luxury brand. Here, butlers know your name, the culinary experience is inimitable, the accommodations are divine and the lovely meeting spaces come with unparalleled views.
Director of sales and marketing Simon Rodrigues tells Prevue, “Several things make Raffles Boston the new ‘it’ spot including the incredible views throughout, event spaces with lots of natural lighting, our culinary program headed by Michelin-star chef George Mendes, and the design of the hotel itself, inspired by the historic brownstone homes of Boston.”
Entering via street level, attendees will immediately be whisked away to the hotel’s 3-story Sky Lobby located on the 17th, 18th and 19th floors. Here, guests check-in while sitting comfortably in the Writer’s Lounge, enveloped by that natural light that Rodrigues mentions and awed by the mesmerizing views. The Sky Lobby is also where one finds one of the property’s most striking architectural features—the 3-story Grand Stair. It leads up to two floors of meeting spaces, including the Ballroom, unique among Boston hotel event spaces because it sits on the building’s 19th floor with views spanning from the Financial District to Cambridge. There’s also a spacious pre-function space and a variety of meeting rooms, including a board room and smaller breakout rooms. Says Rodrigues, “[Groups have] the ability to easily take over an entire floor and all events/meetings are tailored to the specific group needs.” He notes that the hotel is ideal for a group size of 75 to 100 people. When it comes to the property’s unique offerings, Rodrigues says that it “starts with the culinary program overseen by chef Mendes. Inspired by his Portuguese heritage, menus include items that are not easily found on other catering menus in the area.”
During our visit, we dined at the hotel’s signature restaurant Amar and got a taste of what this menu can look like. Think such singular items like Portuguese Carabinero shrimp, croquettes, Rohan duck and pasteis de nata. After a long day of meetings, attendees can head to Long Bar & Terrace to sample crafted cocktails, including the brand’s signature Singapore Sling or the Boston Sling, created as an homage to the new destination. —Paloma Villaverde de Rico [ON LOCATION]
raffles.com/boston