Review: Canopy by Hilton Boston Downtown hotel – a superb city centre location

This is our review of the Canopy Boston Downtown hotel in Boston.

Almost by accident, I’ve found myself staying at a number of Canopy hotels recently. This includes Canopy San Francisco SoMa (review) and more recently Canopy Cannes (review). This is partly driven by a rapid expansion of the brand, launched in 2016 and now with over 40 hotels to its name.

There seems to be a particular expansion in the United States where new Canopy hotels – including Canopy Boston – have opened in the past couple of years. One of the benefits of such a new brand is that you’re pretty much guaranteed to stay at a modern hotel.

After a little research on the hotel scene in Boston, which if I am honest isn’t particularly exciting, Canopy Boston seemed like the best option with a good location with a modern and characterful interior.

HfP paid cash for the hotel albeit at a slightly discounted media rate. The reason for my trip to Boston will become clear next week!

The hotel website is here.

Canopy by Hilton Boston Downtown location

As the name suggests, the Canopy is located in downtown Boston. This is an interesting area – right next to tourist attractions such as Quincy Market and Fanneuil Hall but also embedded in the city’s central business district.

This puts it in an interesting position, with one of the most touristy areas on the doorstep but with little residential development around, except in the North End. Once the tourists leave it is generally very quiet.

The airport is exceptionally close – around 15 minutes by car – and Boston has a decent albeit not amazing public transport system as well.

Inside the Canopy Boston Downtown hotel

The six-storey new build is flanked by the Carolyn Lynch Gardens to the North and a collection of 19th Century buildings (including the Union Oyster House) to the south. The main entrance is on the park side.

Step inside and you’ll find a dual height atrium with a feature staircase leading up to the hotel bar and ROSE Town restaurant on the first floor and the hotel reception on the ground floor:

Unfortunately, my room was not ready when I checked in with the lovely staff around 11am (rooms are only guaranteed from 3pm onwards) so I sat myself upstairs in the restaurant/lounge area, which was very quiet after finishing the breakfast service, and spent a few hours working.

My room was ready around 1:30pm and I finished my check-in.

Rooms at the Canopy by Hilton Boston Downtown

As a Hilton Honors Diamond member I was upgraded to a King City View Room on the top (6th) floor. There are just a handful of room types, with the biggest differences being the number and type of beds (twin, queen, king etc) as well as the view.

The Hilton website advises that King City View rooms are 26 square meters. It was perfectly comfortably for my two-night stay and there was plenty of space for more luggage than the cabin bag I was with.

First up was an open wardrobe, standard in Canopy hotels, with a dedicated luggage rack, hanging rail and drawers featuring safe and a clothes steamer.

Next to this is the mini bar, with a Nespresso machine and six pods, including two decaf.

Opposite was a spacious bathroom with chunky-looking sliding door. This was decked out in white subway tiles and featured a toilet, shower and single wash basin.

The shower featured Victorian-style hardware with a rainfall and handheld shower head, although I found the water pressure on the rainfall head a little weak.

Toiletries are the usual Canopy ‘thankyou’ brand with extra-lemony scent.

The bedroom featured a comfortably, king size bed.

True to the hotel’s name, it featured a fabric canopy with a playful print of historic and modern Boston locals and activities, including the first First Lady Abigail Adams watching the Patriots play on TV and George Washington running the Boston Marathon. The famous ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ sculpture is also featured:

I think this is the first Canopy I’ve stayed at with an obvious canopy over the bed ….

Each side featured bedside lamps with integrated mains sockets plus a USB-A and USB-C port. There was also an alarm clock.

Opposite the bed is a large TV and desk, although the black veneer on the desk was already showing extensive chipping and clearly not up to the hard-wearing standards required.

An empty ice bucket and empty glass bottle were on the desk. Canopy doesn’t provide bottled water but instead has filter taps in the corridor on every floor. Whilst I like this idea, it’s not quite as convenient as having my own filter tap in the room as I did at the EAST Hotel in Hong Kong. In fact, it was quite far down the lengthy corridor.

My view was across rooftops towards Boston City Hall with the famous Union Oyster House sign front and centre:

Gym at Canopy Boston

As a four-star hotel, there are relatively few amenities in the Canopy but you will find a gym in the basement. This was larger than I expected with high ceilings giving it a sense of space and airiness.

Breakfast at the Canopy by Hilton Boston Downtown

Breakfast is served in the ROSE Town Kitchen and Bar on the first floor. This is a pleasant space with windows along one side overlooking the gardens and lots of spring sunshine beaming in.

Unlike elsewhere, Hilton Honors has an ungenerous breakfast policy for Gold and Diamond Elites in the USA, which meant I was only entitled to a credit of $18 per day. Annoyingly, despite my 3am checkout the following day, I was not allowed to rollover my second day’s credit. They did allow me to select some items from the grab and go section, although I realised two bags of M&Ms were out of date when I opened them ….

$18 doesn’t get you very far in the US these days. Fresh orange juice was $8 whilst tea was $5. My admittedly very good croque madame was $25:

Add on taxes and tip and you quickly find yourself spending more than double your credit.

Conclusion

All things considered, Hilton’s Canopy Boston hotel delivers a functional and convenient stay with just enough design flares to keep it from being boring. The playful corridor and canopy bed prints are particularly charming.

In terms of location, I’ve realised that I personally prefer Cambridge for its low-rise residential neighbourhoods, but you really can’t argue with how well placed the Canopy is, with all of the key tourist attractions within walking distance. The North End, with all its Italian restaurants, is a stone’s throw away whilst you can walk a little further to reach Sea Port. Best of all, it’s just 15 minutes from Boston Logan Airport.

Staff throughout my stay were exceptionally friendly and helpful. You really do notice a real difference between Boston and New York ….

Prices start from $250 per night or 55,000 Hilton Honors points. You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.