NEW HOTEL OPENING
The Atlas Hotel in Boston, for the nerd in you
Can a hotel be intellectual? Has it ever occurred to one to try?
With its provenance, The Atlas, which opened at the end of January in Allston, one of Boston’s most forward looking neighborhoods, may be such an example.
For starters, the area is named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. Adjacent to the hotel is Allstonway, a greenspace for community events and Harvard’s newly opened David Rubenstein Treehouse Convention Centre. And the hotel is walking distance to the Harvard Business School and John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, and generally close to a lot of Boston’s other prestigious academic and cultural institutions. So, a lot of brainiacs wandering around… Breathe that in.
The Atlas bills itself as Boston’s first-of-its-kind boutique lifestyle hotel. The architecture and interior design grew from the area’s academic legacy and creative culture, and the name is, to say the least, confident and bold and evocative of travel.
Sustainability is central to the design and, before you ask, yes, they’ve achieved LEED Gold and Fitwel certifications.
There are 234 guestrooms — which does slightly challenge the boutique bit. Some rooms have private terraces and most have great views. 12 suites are designed to give a residential and private feel. The Atlas Suite, bearing the expectation of being a namesake, is 982 square-feet with a dining room for six, a butler pantry (where they keep the butler? Or have we got that wrong? We’re confused…) and a soaking tub, which is not in the dining room, to be clear, but has views of the Charles River and the Boston skyline. Nice visuals for a bath.
The Compass Suite is 794 square-feet with views of the neighborhood. Throughout guestrooms and suites are a series of works from Edward Boches, a Boston photographer. Large scale watercolors from Massachusetts-based artist Jeff Perrott decorate the corridors.
Ama, the Nepali word for “mother”, is their restaurant on the ground floor. It’s so-named to honor those who nurture and feed us. Probably a frigging great place for Mother’s Day, FYI. The menu is filled with “underappreciated” ingredients, which inspires intrigue on many levels. Foxglove Terrace, a rooftop bar that intends to serve cocktails to go along with panoramic views of Boston, is slated to open imminently. Maybe it’s open now! Sip a martini and watch the sunset. Even if you don’t drink martinis.
The hotel lobby is designed like a living-room, and offers complimentary snacks and drinks and Wifi. Wait till the nearby brainy kids find out about that! The walls are decorated with works from Boston-affiliated artists such as Damien Hoar de Gelvan; Lily Stockman, Crystalle Lacouture, Cicely Carew, Katrina Sánchez and Laurel Sparks. The art definitely works throughout the property.
The sixth floor is where you want to be if you have a big meeting or an event — or just want to read a book — with floor to ceiling windows for the aptly christened Outlook Terrace.
The Atlas, 40 Western Avenue, Boston MA 02134
Tel: 1 (617) 214 3344
https://www.theatlashotel.com/
