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Grand New England
After 16 tours and 40+ years with Tauck , this was a huge disappointment. On the bus, off the bus. One or 2 nights at each hotel, some of which were definitely sub-par Stowflake in VT, extremely shabby, dirty and without any services. The Fairmont in Boston should be gutted. I've stayed at approximately 6 Fairmonts over the years and this was by far the worst. Tauck used to be better. This was my last trip with them. Their customer service is also deplorable. I could go on, but you get the picture. They will probably delete this post as they do with all unfavorable comments.
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Cpasjr: The Fairmont in Boston is a grand hotel with an incredible amount of history, and I’m on the younger side than some of you and have very fine taste in hotels. I don’t know what was expected.
Let me try this. New England is not Paris. I’m guessing you went to New England to see the leaves or the country … which is beautiful. They don’t have ‘fancy’ hotels and restaurants outside of the major cities. So if that’s what you require or expect, don’t go there.
My wife and I just returned from the Grand New England tour, our 24th Tauck tour, and we very much enjoyed the tour. I agree that the Stoweflake Inn had some food issues, but the Fairmont in Boston is a very good hotel, and the Equinox, the Mount Washington Resort and the Bar Harbor Inn are all fine resorts. Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor are beautiful, and we had some wonderful meals. lobsters, crabcakes, blue berries, maple scones. All wonderful. fall color everywhere. The Clark Institute has a world class collection of art. The Shellburne Museum is a quirky collection but very interesting. We had a safe driver and the Tour Director added value to the tour several times. We recommend this tour.
We returned two weeks ago from the Grand New England tour. On the upside, we had the best bus driver we have ever had in our 17 Tauck trips. Our tour director was a young, energetic ball of fire and absolutely delightful.
The Clark volunteer guide, Kathleen, was the best museum guide we have ever had. The excursions and demonstrations were all enjoyable.
We took the GOT in Boston. We scheduled a walking food tour that was fantastic.
I was disappointed in the Boston Copley. The lobby of the hotel is magnificent which set the expectation for the room. However, the room was a disappointment. It was an interior room that looked over the mechanicals. There were no vanity kits, only 4 hangers in the closet, and just one chair. Other guests had 2 chairs and a desk chair. I don't plan to spend a lot of time in the room, but at that price point, I do expect it to be comfortable. All minor issues but collectively it just wasn't impressive. Every single hotel was a tub/shower combination with a fabric shower curtain instead of glass enclosure. I didn't expect that in higher end hotels. (Fabric shower curtains give me the heebie jeebies.)
The Stoweflake Inn has certainly seen better days. We loved the Bar Harbor Inn and had a beautiful view of the Harbor.
I think Tauck is using the best hotels in the location but are accepting the less than stellar rooms. Maybe it's a combination of lost revenues during Covid and the staff shortages that result in these hotels not updating.
My favorite hotel in Boston is the Parker House (Omni). Hotel has a huge history, and mostly small rooms … but a great location near Faneuil Hall. For those who like history look it up … John Kennedy … John Wilkes booth, etc. You can walk out the door and join the freedom trail. I once had a beer there with Dorothy Hamell in the downstairs bar that is now the health club.
And Ho Chi Minh, who worked as a pastry chef at the Parker House.
“Uncle Ho” died before I ever went to the Parker House, or Vietnam. The Parker House has said they have no recored of him ever working there. My wife an I stayed there during my last flight sequence prior to retirement. They treated us very well.
Maybe it's a Boston urban legend -- but I've heard it all my life.
He may have worked there under an different name. He claimed in a postcard in 1913 that he was working there in the bakery dept. He was 23 in 1913 (born 1890).
In his younger life, he was known as Nguyễn Tất Thành. Vietnamese names and spelling are "strange" to Americans so Ho may have just called himself "Sam" or some other American name. 1913 was definitely not a "woke" time.
As someone who has lived and worked in Boston for the past 30 years, I'd like to share some thoughts about the Copley Plaza Hotel. Yes, it's old. It was build before all of the skyscrapers with newer technology. It's in the Back Bay area which was a bay before it was filled in. As a result, it has a very high water table. Buildings such as the Copley were build upon wooden piers sunk into the the fill. They need to be kept submerged. If not, they will rot and cause the buildings to fail. This was an issue when they built the adjacent Hancock Tower. The Hancock actually bought the hotel in case their construction caused problems.
The Copley is relatively short and takes up most of a full city block. It is built in the form of a capital E. This means that more than half of the rooms face into courtyards looking at the next arm across the courtyard. As a result, little sun gets into those rooms. For the three outside walls, one faces the Hancock building (again little sun), another faces Dartmouth Street which is quite busy and only the front faces Copley Square. Nothing faces south.
Given the logistics of the building, it is unlikely that Tauck could get all rooms facing Copley Square, even if they would pay the premium price.
We have used this hotel for business meetings and found it OK. I've also been to a wedding reception in one of the rooms on the first floor. It was very nice and my impression probably concurs with the comments made above.
Location is important when visiting a city. The Back Bay is a great place to be. An alternative that Tauck could consider is the Westin which is across Dartmouth Street. It is a modern hotel with larger rooms and generally more views of the city. A little bit farther away is a Marriott which is a contemporary of the Westin. Even those hotels have interior facing rooms and could be considered cookie cutter.
Tauck probably chose this hotel because it is part of the Fairmont chain and because it gives a quirkiness similar to what you will see in Europe. Service is important and if it is lacking, this is something that Tauck should be made aware of and endeavor to improve.
I am a lifelong Bostonian and believe the location in Copley Square is the best for a visit to Boston. It is close to excellent restaurants and a short walk to many of the sites. It is set on historic Copley Square, site of Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library. The Library features Gustavino tiles in its architecture and John Singer Sargent, Edwn Austin Abbey and Chavannes murals on its walls. A short walk away is Newbury Street, the Esplanade, the Public Garden, the Boston Common, Beacon Hill and Freedom Trail. Keep walking and you are in the Norh End. See the murals at:[ https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:sq87dv033]. The Gardener Museum and Museum of Fine Arts are a short ride away.
As Kathy M. stated, I think Tauck chose the Fairmont because they have contractual relationship with the chain. It used to use the Lenox. I have experienced simiilar "quirkiness" in Europe with Tauck and it was part of the experience and a clean place to rest. I heard comments about the size of the rooms at the Copley Plaza, etc., 30 years ago. Back then it had at least 3 great dining rooms. Now just the so-so Long Bar.
Loves2travel2, I learned when the hotel put us in a room as you described to go to the desk to get reassigned. It happened to us in the Tauck tour in Siracusa - A tiny basement room that was noisy. I had to walk sideways to get into the bed, the space between the dresser, the foot of the bed was 3 feet and the bathroom involved a trick to use! We got reassigned to a typical - quirky room - that was far better. It is at least worth a try.
Mike: Who knows? Ho Chi Minh might have been the original creator of the Parker House Rolls.