I work in a school, and every school employee will tell you, February break is usually the time we pack our suitcases full of bathing suits and sunscreen, and as soon as that last bus leaves on Friday, it’s vacation time! New England is always cold in February, so a tropical vacation is usually in the works. But this year, given travel restrictions, safety precautions, tests, quarantines, traveling out of state didn’t make much sense.
But Elle and I will travel anywhere for a change of scenery, and so we packed our suitcases, bathing suits and all (sans the sunscreen) and set off for a staycation at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
When I was researching hotels in Boston to stay at for this mommy & daugther trip, I had a few criteria in mind. Must have an indoor pool, must be in a great location, must have room service, must be taking appropriate COVID-19 precautions. I didn’t have to look far to be honest, because Boston Harbor Hotel kept coming up on all my searches.
It has a gorgeous indoor pool, it is right near the Seaport/Aquarium/Faneuil Hall/North End. While their famous Seaport Grille restaurant was closed, they did offer room service, and they had enhanced health and safety guidelines in place.
On Tuesday, we checked into our Superior Double Room with Waterfront views. The room was spacious with two beds, a desk, lounge chair, a dresser/TV/Nespresso machine, a vanity area, and a marble tub/shower combo. The view of the Boston harbor was unbelievable. It was foggy, and the sailboats looked majestic gently rocking in the water.
Elle and I lounged for a while in the room, enjoying some very sweet treats brought to us by the hotel staff, then we decided to go walk around the harbor, and to the aquarium to say hi to the seals outside.
As I mentioned earlier, I was specifically looking for a hotel with room service, because I wanted to limit the amount of time we spent at restaurants with our masks off, so being able to order in was a major plus. We placed our room service order via their iPad (Elle was very excited about this), and it arrived promptly. The food was truly delicious. I can say that I have had more “blah” room service meals than “wow” room service meals, and without a doubt, Boston Harbor Hotel room service falls into the WOW range. Elle and I split clam chowder, then she had chicken nuggets and fries, and I had the roasted cod.
At 7pm, we headed down to the pool for our reservation. Side note: you have to make reservations in advance with the front desk, as they limit the number of parties/people in the pool. To our surprise, we were the only ones in the pool area for the full 45 minutes of our swim. Elle didn’t want to leave when the time was up, but alas we headed back to our room for hot showers, and bed.
The next day, we ordered room service once again for breakfast (it was equally amazing as dinner).
Then we headed to the aquarium for an IMAX movie about sharks. We had to make reservations in advance for this too, but again, to our surprise, there were about 15 people total in the theater that sits 300+. After the movie, we had a reservation for the Boston Aquarium, and headed there to look at all the sea creatures, big and small.
Normally, you couldn’t pay me to go to the aquarium over school vacation week, because it is SHENANIGANS. But the aquarium was almost empty, and it was the best experience. Some of the touch displays (e.g., starfish, stingrays) were closed, but we got to enjoy standing as long as we wanted to in front of different tanks and take it all in.
After the aquarium, we headed off to Legal Seafood across the street… the irony.. I know.. but we needed a little snack, and Elle loves chowder, and I love oysters.
Back in our room at Boston Harbor Hotel, we waited for my friend Christina and her daughter Isla to get back from their mommy & daughter lunch, so we could all hang out. The girls have met once before two summers ago, and Christina and I used to work together, but as soon as the girls saw each other, they were instantly bonded. We spent some time in the room, before heading out to walk along the Seaport, watch the sunset, and play at the Martin Richard playground over by the Boston Children’s Museum.
At 7pm, we once again had a pool reservation, and the girls had a blast together, swimming like little fishies. We scheduled room service before going to the pool, and it arrive promptly when we got back to the room. Christina’s room had a couch, so the girls had their mac & cheese there, while room service brought a table (tablecloth, flowers and all) for Christian and I. We laughed at how romantic we were. We capped our night off with two espresso martinis delivered to us through their Nightcap Trolley service.
The next day, Elle and I headed off to the Museum of Science (again with a reservation made in advance), and loved being able to walk around without the crowds. They were amazing at constantly cleaning displays, and making sure people were keeping social distance. We loved their temporary Pixar and Arctic Explorer exhibits.
We returned to the hotel, to relax on our last night, ordered room service again, and went for another swim in the pool.
The next morning, we relaxed to our fullest in the luxurious robes, on the most comfortable bed.
Elle proceeded to ‘help’ me pack….
And at last we said “see you again soon” to the Boston Harbor Hotel. Thanks for having us!
It started snowing heavily and we wandered through some of our favorite parts of Boston. I was able to take some of these photos, and they are my absolute favorite, because I don’t think there will ever be a time, the city will be so deserted. Which is a good thing I guess!
Anastasia
