East Coast Luxury at Four Seasons Hotel Boston with Kids

In addition to an ideal location within walking distance of the Boston’s main attractions, shopping, and dining, Four Seasons Hotel Boston strikes a perfect balance of luxury with amenities kids love. Our family vacation began with a flawless check-in, including a wagon full of stuffed animals to choose from and a kid backpack full of goodies, and ended without a single hitch—in true Four Seasons style.

Why Boston for a Family Vacation?

There really isn’t a better city in the world to explore the people and places responsible for the birth of America. With walkable and hands-on attractions like The Freedom Trail, Boston has a special knack for making history fun.

Not to mention, it’s a hip college town with some of the nation’s most prestigious universities—it can’t hurt for kids to fall in love with the city early—and home to hearty eats and seafood experiences that are hard to come by on the West Coast.

There’s theater, world-class museums, waterfront dining, ethnic neighborhoods to explore and plenty of things to do in Boston with kids.

Also, we hadn’t been to Boston in a while and San Diego has an easy direct flight on Alaska Airlines.

Four Seasons  Hotel Boston Location

Four Seasons Hotel Boston is an easy 15-minute car ride from Logan International Airport and located downtown directly across the street from Boston Public Gardens (where the Swan Boats are) and Boston Common, two pretty public parks full of space for kids to burn off steam.

The Freedom Trail starts in Boston Common and it is possible to walk to Faneuil Hall and beyond with young kids in a stroller. Boston’s compact size makes the city extremely walkable and easy to explore in spurts with young kids. Nothing is ever too far away.

Via subway (a stop is around the corner from the hotel), our journey to Cambridge took about 15 minutes. (See 5 things to do at Harvard University with kids.)

Comfortable, Contemporary Rooms

The Garden View Executive Suite slept our family of three quite comfortably. The posh living area closed off from the bedroom via French doors which is ever so convenient when traveling with kids who need to go to bed early. My daughter enjoyed a plush rollaway bed next to a pop-up tent provided by the hotel where her Monster High dolls slept.

The master bedroom had a huge walk-in closet and bathroom. My daughter’s name was written in bath crayons in the tub before we arrived. Apologies, she had already somersaulted across the bed and wrinkled it before I took this photo.

Huge bay windows flooded the suite with light and provided sweeping views over Boston Public Gardens and Boston Common to the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House, especially during sunset.

Also, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have the best VIP amenities. Here are some of the treats that wound up in our room.

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Dining at Four Seasons Hotel Boston

Having written for Taste by Four Seasons, I was already familiar with Executive Chef Brooke Vosika and The Bristol Lounge. We weren’t too hungry after a long day of flying but cocktails were definitely in order so we opted to unwind in The Bristol Lounge Bar on our first night in.

Except, the food was so good that we kept on ordering. Throughout several hours, we sampled shishito peppers, popcorn rock shrimp, blue crap dip and plenty of oysters pictured below. Not pictured is round two of an incredible duck entree, a (huge) kids’ hamburger for my daughter and truffle parmesan fries.

While every Four Seasons Hotel and Resort I’ve stayed in lately has complimentary coffee and pastries in the morning, usually in the lobby, my daughter and I love hotel breakfasts. Room service for any meal is always a hit, especially breakfast.

But, Green Monster juice and The Boston Common smoothie (strawberry, banana, yogurt) in The Bristol Lounge was a treat. She colored while I sipped coffee and read the paper. I couldn’t get over how large the child’s breakfast was and regret forgetting throughout our stay to photograph it untouched.

The Bristol Lounge also hosts a weekend afternoon tea that includes a Georgetown Cupcake set for the kids.

Hotel Amenities

I didn’t have to schedule a spa treatment (next time) but we did end our days of touring with a swim in the indoor pool, which has an amazing view of Boston Public Garden. Kickboards and pool noodles are available as is poolside room service. I noticed plenty of non-swimmers reading books in the lounge chairs near the windows while soaking up the tempered sunshine.

In addition to jogging maps provided by the concierge for a run along the Charles River, the fitness center has plenty of cardio and weight options.

More Kid Fun Than They Can Handle

In addition to the tent and backpack, part of the Superstar Kids Package, young jetsetters will love scouring the property during a scavenger hunt which also helps familiarize the rest of the family with points of interest around the hotel.

Weekends are especially kid-friendly. Donning mini chef hats and aprons, kids can learn how to bake cookies with the hotel pastry chef every Saturday afternoon. Not to mention, Fridays and Saturdays include secret invitations to raid the hotel fridge for bedtime treats including movie theater-style popcorn, milk, cookies, and candy. This was one of her trip highlights.

The funny thing is that she loved the room so much that she had me order the same rug (though we settled on brown to match the existing decor) and bean bags for her playroom, which needed a refresh anyway.

The seasonal Four Seasons Scoops pop-up ice cream cart made an appearance during our stay.

Getting to the hotel:  Four Seasons Hotel Boston can arrange transportation to and from the airport as well as anywhere else you need to go. We found Uber black to be an extremely quick and reasonably-priced way to get around Boston so that is what we did.

Nearby conveniences:  The hotel gift shop has things like contact lens solution and miscellaneous toiletries you forgot to pack as well as great souvenir gift items, including cute clothes. There are plenty of convenience stores and boutiques nearby.

Use the concierge desk: If you need advice prior to your stay, the concierge is available via email to answer questions and help coordinate an itinerary in advance so you don’t have to worry about anything after landing.

Things to do within walking distance: This is actually an incredibly long list and alone a huge selling point but here are a few highlights.

• Boston Public Garden, home to the famous Swan Boats
• Boston Common
• The Freedom Trail
• Luxe shopping on Newbury Street
• The theater district (I regret not booking Blue Man Group tickets because my daughter is obsessed.)
• Dunkin’ Donuts (of course, it’s Boston)
• Copley Mall and Prudential Center (maybe 20 minutes or so)

Seasons: We were incredibly lucky with temperate SoCal-like weather in the middle of July. Sure, winters can be cold, but don’t let that stop you. Boston Common frog pond changes with the season from the ice rink in the winter to water play area in the summer for the kids and there’s a lot to explore indoors.

Overall vibe: Though there are 273 guest rooms (including 77 suites), the hotel feels rather intimate likely due to layout and incredibly attentive, flawless service—nothing went wrong during our stay. Ambient noise is rarely an issue in a Four Seasons room or suite and this hotel is no exception so once we were in our room, we felt at home.

Of, course the lobby flowers were stunning. We can’t wait to return.

(Four Seasons Hotel Boston is one of the hotels I can book for you with agent-exclusive amenities that will enhance and add value to your stay. Please send me your dates and I’ll tell you what’s on offer.)

Four Seasons Hotel Boston
200 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 338-4400