Give us an establishing shot. What will we first notice here?
The street for which Four Seasons One Dalton is named is only a couple of blocks long and has only a couple of buildings, so you couldn’t miss the brand-new property if you wanted to—even if it weren’t the third-tallest building in Boston. The glassy skyscraper juts upward from an area that’s persistently under construction—attached residences are still being completed—yet the lobby, with floor-to-ceiling windows, is serene. A mosaic by Duke Riley covers every inch of space behind the mahogany check-in desk; the swirls of browns and tans are meant to evoke the Great Molasses Flood, which ravaged Boston’s North End in 1919. Just around a curved hallway are three colorful displays of books wrapped in African textiles by the British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, each presiding over a cluster of seating.
Is there an interesting backstory here?
The 724-foot-high, 61-story One Dalton was designed by architect Henry Cobb, the architect behind Boston’s seminal John Hancock Tower (now called 200 Clarendon Street). With the property's May 2019 opening, Boston joined New York City, San Francisco, Miami, and Beverly Hills as the fifth city with two Four Seasons (the older Boston Four Seasons is located on Boston's Boylston Street). In addition to 215 hotel rooms and suites designed by Bill Rooney, who also did Boston’s Liberty Hotel, Four Seasons One Dalton will house 160 private residences.
Tell us about your room. What type was it? How did it look, and what was it like to be there? Configured as a living room and ensuite bedroom conjoined by a central dressing area, our Executive One Bedroom Suite carried many of the design details found throughout the lobby and public spaces: a neutral palette of grays and browns, mahogany furniture with polished nickel accents, and fabrics that call to mind men’s suiting, from the wallpaper to the carpets. The bathroom, basically a block of marble, featured a freestanding MTI tub, a TV built into the lighted vanity mirror, and a separate shower stall stocked with Frederic Malle toiletries. Solo travelers (or those without modesty hang-ups) can slide open the doors that connect the bathroom to the dressing area and bedroom to create an even larger, flow-through space. The lighting panels were well placed and easy to use, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows offered the full range of Boston highlights: a tree-lined street with tidy brick townhouses, the Italian Renaissance–style dome of the Christian Science church complex, a straight-on shot into the brand-new 30 Dalton apartment building, and, in the distance, the Green Monster of Fenway Park.
Is there a charge for Wi-Fi—and is the quality good?
The free Wi-fi works perfectly.
What's on for food and drinks here? Would you eat here if you weren't staying here?
One + One, which does upscale American food with a New England bent, probably isn’t a draw in itself, although one glance at the besuited 8 a.m. crowd and it’s clear the restaurant is already a power-breakfast hot-spot.
Zuma, on the other hand—the 12th location worldwide for the contemporary izakaya chain, which was founded in London in 2002—is a real destination. It’s loud and clubby, with women posing for selfies in tight dresses and spiked heels, but the food is great and the service is convivial. The vast menu, which includes sushi and sashimi, various skewers, snacks, tempura, and cooked mains, might feel daunting, but you can’t go wrong with the duo of salmon and tuna tartare (dramatically presented and accompanied by crackers and a metal spatula for DIY spreading) and the miso-marinated cod. And Trifecta, an elegant ground-floor lobby bar specializing in mixology, is a fantastic place for a nightcap.
Did anything stand out about the service?
Staffers are mannerly and buttoned-up; you’ll never hear your first name, even if you insist on being called by it. But perhaps because the hotel is still so new—or perhaps just because it's "Boston,” as several local friends and family members have insisted, referencing the city’s somewhat gruff, blunt culture—service at times felt transactional and a bit ungenerous. Those looking for rarefied, seamless hospitality will certainly be disappointed—if not wholly baffled—to be quoted a $10 “runner’s fee” for emergency toiletries (say, contact lens solution) not kept onsite, or to be told—direct quote—“I’ll have to get back to you” in response to a request that the suite be serviced at a specific time. Our best encounters occurred when staff went off-script, whether it was Angel, one of the bellhops, who tickled our kid to the point of belly-laughs; the whole team of servers at Zuma, which made this somewhat self-conscious solo diner feel welcome and well cared for; or Olivia, in the concierge department, who advance-emailed a floor-by-floor breakdown of the infant- and toddler-friendly spaces at the Boston Children’s Museum.
Who are your fellow hotel guests?
Jet-setting Four Seasons loyalists with Bentley SUVs, Gucci T-shirts, and Louis Vuitton luggage; guys in suits making deals over eggs and fresh-pressed juice; solo business travelers catching some shuteye before their morning meeting around the corner; sexily clad 20-somethings posing for Instagram photos outside Zuma; and wealthy parents taking their high schoolers to visit Harvard and Tufts.
What else is in the neighborhood? Is this a place you'd want to hang out?
The new Four Seasons is in the middle of Back Bay, an enormous tourism hub (and Boston’s convention-center epicenter). It’s directly across the street from a Hilton and Sheraton (and, thankfully, a Flour Bakery), just around the corner from a Mandarin Oriental, and about a mile from a cluster of ultra-top-tier luxury hotels near Boston Common; specifically, Taj, The Ritz-Carlton, and its sibling Four Season. Newbury and Boylston streets, both within a five-minute walk, have ample shopping and dining. And some of the city’s largest cultural destinations—the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Symphony Hall, and the Boston Public Library—are also within reach.
Is there anything you'd change?
The service needs work and the lobby could loosen its tie a bit; much like the lobby in an upscale condo building, it’s a space you would pass through but not necessarily settle into.
Anything we missed worthy of a call-out?
Four Seasons as a brand is famously family-friendly, and here that means various things: kid-size robes (which, along with other extras, you can request via an in-room iPad), baby bath toiletries, an in-room teepee with its own down comforter, books and toys, furniture edged with foam baby-proofing tape, and a Playtex Diaper Genie. The latter two are nearly unheard of, but the cherry on top was our one-year-old son’s name spelled out in letter decals inside the tub. Meanwhile, The Wellness Floor at One Dalton includes a spa with five treatment rooms, each with a name that might otherwise be neon Instagram signage in a trendy juice shop (“Be Here Now,” “Wake Your Dreams”). But no matter; the services (particularly the customizable deep-tissue massage) are great; the products are from ultra-deluxe brands like EviDenS de Beauté; and a user-friendly iPad check-in allows you to choose among several types of background music, including “Symphony.” On the other side of the floor, past a massive, tiled cherry-blossom mosaic, is a 64-foot-long heated indoor lap pool; the bathroom is thoughtfully stocked with a Suitmate Swimsuit Water Extractor (not to mention excellent Gloss Moderne hair products).
Bottom line: Worth it?
Luxury seekers and Four Seasons fans will flock to One Dalton without even questioning it. Half-unpack in one of the large, well-laid-out rooms, kick back with a Suntory whisky Old Fashioned at the city’s dining destination du jour, and nurse the hangover the next day, fresh juice in-hand, at the pool and spa. If you’re looking for a deluxe urban stay and an upscale Boston home base—rather than a fully transportive escape—you won’t be disappointed.
1 Dalton Street, Boston, Massachusetts
United States
https://www.fourseasons.com/onedalton/