Has any one been in it yet? I just CANNOT believe that rooms START at $675 a night - that's a couple of hundred dollars more than the four seasons , the Taj, Nine zero or XV - what can the rooms possibly have that justify that price (as my husband stated 'for over $700 a night a room has got to be someplace more interesting than a mall in boston's backbay'.)

Well, I guess it keeps out the riffraff.

It's an exclusive hotel, that's the price they charge. They do it because they can get it. Not sure what's so hard to understand.

I guess - I mean I assume they know what they are doing - but its the several hundred dollars more than any other hotel in the city coupled with the fact that the MO in Bermuda - on a really great beach or Miami which is also exclusive, doesn't charge nearly that much - and seriously , the MO's boston location is basically in a mall - a nice mall - but a mall ...

No, it is on Boylston Street in Back Bay....no mall. However, when I googled, I noticed that the first hit is the google min-map that shows it as being on Boylston Street in Chestnut Hill!! That is to say on Route 9 near the intersection of Hammond Street for those who know the local geography. I wonder who is responsible for that blunder?

It's not in the mall, it's next to the Pru.

I would probably pay more to stay on the beach in Miami, rather in the Back Bay, but I live in Boston so that doesn't really count.

Boston is a world class city with a lot of tourism and business travelers. IMO, it needed a first class hotel. Now with the economy being what it is, we'll see how rates are affected.

LOL, and that isn't even the right number, on Boylston Street! Can you imagine somebody thinking they're heading for a super-fancy hotel and ending up at Finagle a Bagel?

Have any of you priced the various OTHER Mandarin Oriental hotels in other cities?

This doesn't surprise me at all, especially in a city like Boston.

wyatt 92 wrote: "It's an exclusive hotel, that's the price they charge."

True, but the only thing about it that is exclusive is the price. If Whitey Bulger showed up with $675 plus tax, they would rent him a room, ditto Puffy Combs.

If you want exclusive in Boston, try checking into the Somerset Club. It is exclusive. The Mandarin is merely expensive.

Mandarin Orientals are truly class hotels. The rooms are large, decor wondrful and service sublime. And they charge for what they provide. (In NYC at Christmas the basic rooms are over $1000 per night - more for views of the Park).

I've stayed at several and they are always worth it - IMHO not in the same class as Four Seasons or Ritz Carltons - which can be very uneven. (The Ritz Carlton in NO is abut a 3* hotel, although service is OK.)