We stayed in the Custom House for three nights. We are 2 adults and 2 children. I asked for a high floor and we got it - right under the clock face. While the windows were small compared to the lower floors- there were only 2 suites on our floor as the floor plate is smaller at this level. The views stretched from a partial harbour view, North End/Charlestown, Cambridge, partial dowtown, government centre-so the views were good.

Overall the suite was small in size (but this is dictated by the floor plate and has to be expected given that this is a clock tower). When the sofa bed was pulled out there was little room to move about, mainly due to too many occasional tables in the living/dining/kitchen area. I had originally requested a rollaway bed (since the girls don't like sharing) but once I saw the size of the room I had to cancel it - it just wouldn't have fitted in.

Our room had a king size bed - which left little room for anything else, as this room was small as well. I am generally very fussy about matresses and I can say this one was fine - very firm.

The bathroom was off a lobby between both rooms. With four people travelling there was no space for all our bathroom stuff. A shelf over the wash basin would have been good for all that stuff. The extract did not work in the bathroom so one got a foggy mirror.

We are very concious about the background noise of air conditioning at night. It was quite noisy and kept switching on/off throughout the night. Another issue was the supply grilles were directly over the sofa bed - so one daughter was cold and we had to request extra blankets for the sofa bed.

The observation deck was very interesting as it is external and runs around all sides of the building. Also interesting was the rotunda lobby (with domed ceiling) and upper level (which was part of the original Custom House). The lower floors were all part of the original Custom House and the tower section was an addition about a century ago.

There is a laundry in part of the games room which would be very useful for those staying for a longer period or those travelling with small kids.

The kitchen was stocked with washing liquid, laundry powder and coffee. There was no stove - just a microwave and a undercounter fridge.

As others have mentioned the location is very handy for transportation (three lines are close by), food and shopping. We stayed over a weekend so many of the breakfast places were closed since they mainly serve the downtown office community. However there is a Starbucks just up the street on State.

The staff were very helpful and friendly, expecially the guys who take care of valet/bags/doors.

I choose this hotel because it was a hotel in an unusual architectural structure (not just an historic hotel- which can mean outdated facilities) and I wasn't disappointed. Expect an adapted reuse of the spaces and you won't be dissapointed.