First Look: Raffles Boston
Boston’s Back Bay neighbourhood has a new attraction: Raffles Boston, the Singapore group’s first hotel in North America. Inspired by the city’s Emerald Necklace, an 1,100-acre chain of parks designed by noted 19th-century American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, this elegant hotel infuses its interiors with botanicals and foliage, as well as copper accents, a nod to famous Bostonian Paul Revere and his copper-plating company.
Designed by Stonehill Taylor president Paul Taylor and principal Sara Duffy, Raffles Boston welcomes guests to its city lobby with an eye-catching Czech glass installation from Lasvit, hand-blown pieces resembling flower petals suspended from the ceiling, sparkling with accents of gold leaf. Behind the nero marquino marble reception desk are custom floral fabric panels. The public spaces display historical illustrations, while the abundant greenery is reminiscent of Back Bay’s eponymous window boxes.
Each of the 147 guest rooms, including 30 suites, features the Raffles touch of fresh orchids. A metal screen behind the bed defines the sleeping zone, which has a hand-embellished mural, pendant lighting, and sconces. Midcentury influences appear in the streamlined furniture, case goods, and palette of calming dark grey and brown. Some of the black-and-white-marble bathrooms have soaker tubs surrounded by a botanical mural.
In one-bedroom suites, notable design pieces are the curved sofa, colourful abstract round rug, marble coffee tables, and teal-leather shell chair. Some rooms have a minibar in a case similar to a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk, while the minibar in queen and king rooms is housed in a vitrine.
Raffles Butler service is available to all guests, and the Sky Lobby, a 17th-floor reception area with dramatic pendant lights, a floral carpet, and a pair of curved desks, is accessible to guests and condominium residents.
A three-storey atrium provides access to Amar Restaurant, serving Portuguese cuisine, and the Long Bar & Terrace, with New England classics (including a remake of a Singapore sling, a Boston sling with cranberry) and Raffles Afternoon Tea. Chef Jody Adams, winner of a James Beard Award, oversees the modern Italian dining at La Padrona, and guests can get cozy in the Writer’s Lounge on velvet and houndstooth seating for a coffee break.
Opening soon, Café Pastel will be an all-day patisserie with crafted cocktails and small plates from Blind Duck, and Raffles Spa will offer three treatment rooms, a couples’ treatment room, hydrotherapy, a 20-metre pool, and a fitness centre.
Photography by Brandon Barré.
