Don't forget that even if you use points for a hotel stay at the W Boston or another hotel during No

This W Boston Hotel Review is from a friend who recently stayed there, using my Starpoints. A few days ago my friend mentioned she was hoping to surprise her boyfriend with a special aspen colorado vacation rentals trip to Boston for his birthday. Last-minute hotel rates for the better hotels were expensive, so I opted to use 16,000 Starpoints for a free night at the W Boston, which is a Category 5 hotel. At lower season times, a free night is 12,000 points, but in the few searches I've done, there are no Cash Points rates offered at the W Boston.
My friend and her boyfriend arrived at the W Boston, and first impressions were good. They loved the convenient location, right by Boston Common and the Public Garden, and walking distance aspen colorado vacation rentals to Back Bay dining and shopping. They were welcomed and checked in efficiently at reception:
And enjoyed the lobby, with the adjacent bar, although they did think the lobby was a bit cramped and on the small side. As you'd expect, there's a huge variety of cocktails on offer, and prices are average.
Their Wonderful Room was on the 15th floor and quiet (which I'd specifically requested, since weekend evenings are busy and lower floor rooms sometimes are noisy from all the DJ music at Descent). Wonderful Rooms vary quite a bit in size, anywhere from 280-370 square feet, and have either a King bed (which my friend had) or two doubles. They loved how comfortable the bed and linens were, and found everything aspen colorado vacation rentals to be immaculate and in great condition.
I was hoping that any card or message would be for my friend and her boyfriend, since I'd given the hotel their names and mentioned it was my friend's aspen colorado vacation rentals boyfriend's birthday, but instead the welcome message was addressed to me. It came with a yummy looking P2 C2 treat of Belgian chocolate with peanut butter, aspen colorado vacation rentals caramel and salted potato crunch:
The nice thing when booking for others is that they inherit your SPG status. I'm SPG Gold, so my friend and her boyfriend received complimentary Internet, although they could have opted instead aspen colorado vacation rentals for 250 bonus Starpoints or a complimentary aspen colorado vacation rentals beverage. See Starwood Preferred Guest New Elite Amenities and Benefits aspen colorado vacation rentals Per my friend, the in-room Internet was very fast. In-room technology in terms of the flat screen aspen colorado vacation rentals TV and iPod dock was great, although my friend found the lighting not intuitive and a bit too dark (common for W Hotels). They also wished there had been an in-room tea/coffee machine, which again is a common gripe with higher end hotels, which generally want you to order room service.
The Verdict: Overall, my friend and her boyfriend had a great stay and were pleased with the W Boston's location, room, amenities and service. They found the mini bar prices too high, but that's aspen colorado vacation rentals common for most upscale hotels these days. The key things they would like to see improved are the shower aspen colorado vacation rentals temperature control, better lighting, faster valet service, and prompt refills of complimentary coffee in the lobby. Since the hotel price for their night would have been about $500, it worked out to about 3 cents per SPG point--not great, but not horrible either, especially given the pricey Boston hotel alternatives for their night.
Don't forget that even if you use points for a hotel stay at the W Boston or another hotel during November-December, don't forget to put incidental spend on your Chase Freedom Visa since it offers 5X points on hotels (and also airlines, Best Buy and Kohl's spend) through end of 2012.