Amenities

I'm generally a no frills traveler and rarely have expectations of anything more than a basic hotel room when I travel for business. However, on this brief foray to Boston, I was placed in a storied old hotel with lovely old world amenities and a superior level of service. The hotel offers very specific services beyond what you would usually find in a hotel. For example, they offer a bath menu. If you select, for example, the Boston Tea Party bath, thirty dollars will buy you an infused lavender and sea salt bath, drawn and prepared for you by an attendant while you sip herb tea. For thirty dollars, I'd hope that would include having your back scrubbed too!

There's also a pillow menu which allows you to select the type of pillow you wish to have on your bed. However, the pieces de resistance has to be the room service menu. It offers a nice array of healthy dining choices and there is a children's menu. However, tucked in at the end of the menu is a page devoted to pet dining. Yes, you read that right. There is a "canine and feline friendly menu." Some of the choices include pureed seared scallops and shrimp for $36; fresh fish of the day with rice for $25; grilled ground beef for $32. They even offer your pet dessert: warm milk and biscuits for $20. I wonder how the room service staff keep a straight face when someone actually orders this.

Oy vey.