The Best Hotels in Boston, by the Record

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Common from nearly every room, which is a solid reason to book a higher floor at this sleek downtown hotel on Tremont Street. The building is a quiet contemporary amid Boston's colonial streetscape, but the interiors go louder: bold patterns, rich materials, and lighting someone clearly thought hard about. Beds come with ten pillow varieties, which is either thoughtful or a decision you'll regret making at midnight.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Transparent igloos on the roof keep the cocktail hour going through a Boston winter, which tells you something about the attitude of this Seaport hotel. Rooms are contemporary with a wry streak, TV stands welded from old bike frames included, and floor-to-ceiling windows pull in harbor views. It's a Marriott Autograph Collection property, the chain's boutique arm, so the personality is deliberate and the service runs smooth.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

A converted 1895 firehouse standing alone in a neighborhood otherwise paved over by MIT and the global tech industry, The Kendall Hotel is a boutique stay where the Queen Anne facade and twin cupolas do most of the talking. Rooms are snug and characterful in the way only old firehouses can manage, and the Black Sheep Lounge downstairs leans Iberian for small plates when you need a reason not to walk anywhere.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Murals of Boston song lyrics cover the bedroom walls, which sets the tone for this affordable boutique hotel in the South End's mostly brick landscape. The building is mid-century modernist, the palette is muted blues and reds, and the pop art references in the common areas are oversized enough to make the point. Conspire, the multi-purpose ground-floor space, runs breakfast, all-day coffee, and evening drinks, drawing a younger crowd not angling for Back Bay luxury.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels