Sheraton Commander Hotel

On the plus side: the rooms were clean, and the restaurant staff and reception couldn’t have been nicer. We got a larger room than we expected and they didn’t charge us for the rollaway our son used. Loved the location, since our kid lives in The Quad.
The one negative? A strange and misleading Be Green housekeeping policy. You have to see this informational card to believe it, and even then you won’t understand what game is being played. It reads like some insane legislation written by 3 competing factions: management, the unionized housekeepers, and the Green Party. Sum is, if you want to be green and forego full laundry service, you must forego ALL HOUSEKEEPING. And it’s quite hard to do that: leaving the card on the doorknob is not sufficient. You must also call housekeeping (why?!? No good reason) prior to 2 a.m. Finally, if you’re my age you must buy some reading glasses so you can see the teeny tiny font at bottom of card, which is a necessary green pledge of some sort. (JK, but only re: last part!)
Management: It Is Not Nice to Trick Your Patrons. Make a simple «low laundry» policy and make it easy to select, like other good hotels do. You can do this.

Enjoyed our stay at the Sheraton Commander, while in the Boston area. Very nice staff, especially Adriana in Nubar. Our room was lovely, very spacious, and clean with comfy beds. Found the hotel to be in a quiet neighbourhood and in a good location to Harvard Square. Would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Boston.

Overpriced and poor customer service. I was very disappointed in it taking two full days for a call from management regarding a complaint. There was no resolution. This hotel is not the quality I’ve encountered at other Starwood properties.

I was completely exhausted by the time I reached this hotel. Traveling from Northern Maine from a funeral left me with no energy. When I found the hotel (I’m not from New England — and I’m a girl, so I tend to get lost… a lot) I was excited to check in. Staff is VERY friendly, so they must have made some changes after reading some previous reviews.
Wi-​fi is free which is a nice change of pace from other Starwood hotels I have stayed at in the past.
While the décor is pinned from others to be outdated, I felt that it worked really well for the area considering they are literally next to Harvard. Room service was quick, and simple — though expensive which is to be expected. The beds are very comfortable, and the room was clean and perfect.
We traveled out of our room in search of candy but too sore to walk a quarter mile, and the friendly gentlemen at the front desk retrieved it for us even though the gift shop had closed.
For the people complaining about how outdated the hotel looks… consider that the building is older than you are, and the historic district you’re sleeping in.

Only reason people stay here is proximity to Harvard. They should offer free breakfast to make up for the outdated building and cramped room. If you don’t have to be near Harvard stay at Marriott by Kendall Square (train stop by hotel and Starbucks inside the premises).
Called front desk to ask for late checkout the following day. Guy said «call front desk» then abruptly hangs up. Called again and same guy answers «call tomorrow morning» click.
Also received 2 wake up calls we didn’t ask for. Called front desk and lady was courteous and gave us late checkout and apologized for the wake up calls. We understand one person’s action doesn’t reflect the hotel’s but just because your hotel is in a good location doesn’t mean you stop trying.

Overall great experience on our recent stay at the Commander. The staff was very accommodating, helpful and extremely courteous despite being part of a rather large and rambunctious group. Thanks again from all of us, you guys were great.

This hotel is great example of not sweating the details and being average at best.
Rooms are clean, decent sized and the location is very convenient to the Harvard campus and restaurants by walking.
Because of the age they still have mini elevators but they are prompt and always worked. Our room had a coffee maker that didn’t work, a bathroom door that wouldn’t latch, an iron that spit water when using and a delaminated bathtub that popped and creaked as you stood in it. They brought a new coffee maker, fixed the door and we just lived with the iron as I was tired of calling the desk. When I asked in person how they could rent a room with a bathtub that had a giant bubble in the floor front to back, they asked if they could send someone up to look at it? I said no, unless your planning on putting a new bathtub in while I wait, another room was not offered. Tried room service, took an hour + instead of 30 minutes as estimated by the order taker but the food was ok but over priced even for room service.
About on par with a Residence inn or Holiday Inn Express for way more money. Location is it’s saving attribute with no other compelling reason to stay here.

I recently stayed five nights at the Sheraton Commander and was quite impressed with the cleanliness and attention to detail of the property. It’s about a five minute walk to Harvard Square. My room had all the comforts of home and the bed/​pillow was very comfortable. I used the gym several times in the morning which allowed me to keep up my workout regimen. Most of all, the staff, particularly Katelyn and Heidi, we’re so professional and courteous. They knew my name by the second day and always asked how my day was going. Kudos to this team as it’s evident how well managed this property is.

First time staying at the Commander. It is next door to Harvard Square but we were in town visiting someone else in Cambridge. The front desk staff were welcoming and helpful. Being a platinum, I scored a nice suite upgrade here. The room was extra large, had a comfy four poster bed, had a nice bathroom with a jacuzzi like tub but suffered from some street noise. For such a small road outside, there can be some loud traffic out there. Didn’t really bother me though.
We arrived by car and were surprised by how small the valet lot was. They found a parking spot for us though and that’s what matters. You are a short walk from lots of shops and restaurants nearby. Walking back at night is easy as they have a giant red lit sign on their roof spelling out their name.
I will definitely return the next time I have business in Cambridge.

Nice big room. Very clean. Johannes was very helpful. Staff was very friendly.
My wife was running her 4^th Boston Marathon during our stay. When we arrived back at the hotel there was fresh hot coffee/​tea and food. They had a chair masseuse wait for runners (or spectators!)…they literally had a person standing in front of the check-​in desk congratulating every runner that came through the door. Nice touch.
My wife is not sure if she’ll be running a 5^th Boston Marathon but if she does we will be staying here!

Wow.
I travel and do events for a living, so I’ve stayed in hotels in pretty much every major city in America.
This hotel is, by far, the absolute worst hotel. I’ve stayed here three times (why do I come back? I have to because of an event and the location, otherwise I would not ever stay here again).
Here are some things you can look forward to:
Room service? Fuhgeddaboudit. As I write this, I’m sitting in my room waiting for a Seamless order because I spend 20 minutes trying to track down someone, anyone, who could take a room service order. The room service number just rings through to the restaurants, where 1. they won’t take my order because I don’t have a menu (there wasn’t one in my room) and 2. the room service menu is different (um…it’s the same hotel) but they don’t have one and can’t tell me what’s on it (I’m trying to order a steak. A steak. Any kind of steak. In a box, with a fox, I don’t care.) The girl on the phone advises me to try calling room service every couple minutes. Nice.
When I give up and call back trying to place a pick-​up order, she tells me the bar is too loud to take my order. Awesome.
Other things this hotel will do:
If you reserve a certain type of room, you can call twice and have the person the room is for call, and speak directly to the booking manager, and when they show up, it will be the wrong type of room, and the front desk will give exactly zero fucks.
They will deliver a cheese plate to the wrong room, let it mold overnight, then put it in the right room during the day, and let you find it six hours later. Covered in blue mold. And not the cheese-​type of blue mold, but the mold type of blue mold.
They will lose every package you leave with them.
Their A/​V systems and house sound will not work. Again, zero fucks. You might luck out and get one worker who is actually willing to do the job you are paying them for, but that usually just means they’re not from Boston or they haven’t worked at the hotel for very long.
None of the computers in their quote unquote business center work, and neither does the printer. Wondering where to print? The staff will grudgingly direct you to a Kinko’s a half mile away.
Anyway, I have several more of these stories, but you get the idea. This is, by far, the worst hotel with the worst service I have ever stayed in. And I’m ever so grateful to be paying about $ 300 a night for the privilege.
The hotel itself is dingy, outdated, and has those horrible tiny one-​person elevators with the half-​doors, none of which I would care about if they had a staff who gave even a partial fuck about their customer service.

An update on previous experience: The management of the hotel reached out to me and were happy to provide me with a face-​to-​face with the manager to go over the video footage. Although no conclusive evidence was found, I greatly appreciated them doing all they could after the incident!

The location of the Sheraton is fantastic. Literally minutes from Harvard square with a vast suite of dining options.
The hotel itself is average. The room was tiny, albeit clean, but forgettable and my «view» was awful enough that I left the drapes shut.
All of this would have been fine if it weren’t for the premium rate of $ 350/​night.
I might be back, but I’ll be looking for other options first.

Location, location, location.
Conveniently located in the heart of Harvard activities — the Sheraton Commander is a great place to stay if you have any business with MIT or Harvard. Minutes walk from Harvard Square and a plethora of restaurants (as well as a T stop) means you’re never far from sustenance or entertainment.
As noted in other posts, the hotel is a bit old. Heck, we’re in New England — every decent building is old. The staff at the Commander are fantastic and offer first class customer service.
On top of the customer service and fantastic location — the Commander has one of the best Club lounges around.

Stay here when I go to Harvard for work. It’s an incredible hotel with even more potential, but only downer is snobbiness and could be more clean.
Rooms are small, but quiet and very good location — depending on what you are in MA for.
Awesome that the park is right out your front door, beautiful churches and architecture all within ½ mile of hotel.
Nice fitness room, but like everything, just need a bit of an upgrade to get to 4.5−5 stars.

It’s in a really good location. Steps away from Harvard yard and the «T» (Boston’s train system if you are not from the area. I initially thought one of the elevators was broken because it only opened halfway but it turns out it was just a really small one: p. The drain in our bathroom was kind of clogged which was a little gross. Also would have been cool if there were more hangers. For almost $ 400 a night and being on the club level I was expecting a bit more. They do give you a free pouf for shower gel but what is that worth like 1 dollar?

Came to Boston for a conference and decided it would be nice to stay in Cambridge for the weekend. After a very long journey from the west coast by the time I arrived at the Sheraton my phone was dead. This wouldn’t have been a big deal except my friend forgot to put me on the reservation. Janelly at the front desk was extremely courteous, patient and professional. She allowed me to charge my phone behind the desk for a few minutes then called my friend to square things away. In the meantime she gave me a map of Boston with some great tips on where to go and how to get around. To top it all off she have me her train pass to help get me started!
My stay at the Sheraton was top notch as always, clean comfy rooms, a great selection of complimentary in room beverages (bottled water, Starbucks coffee, teas), and with Janelly’s great service to top it all off my experience was fantastic!

It certainly has the historic vibe going on, but most aspects of the hotel are in need of a major facelift. Bathrooms are circa 1940, half the lights don’t work, and I’m not even sure if the windows exist. However, the staff is incredibly friendly, and as SPG platinum the sheraton club has an average assortment of foods and drink.
If this place ever went through renovations, I would stay here in a heartbeat. The location is perfect and they go out of their way to ensure that all of your needs are satisfied. I will stay here again, but have seconds thoughts the first time I open the door and get that musty smell or every time I weak into the bathroom and realize that it’s a far cry from the standard SPG quality
Also, their toilet paper is one-​ply… I’m not even sure that such a thing should exist, let alone at a respectable hotel

I stayed here for 5 days this August while attending a course at Harvard. This was the «host» hotel, and several events related to the course were based out of the hotel…
I arrived around 9AM. The front staff was polite and I was upgraded to a «Jr. Suite» that was very nice sized. It had a good sized bathroom (with a jet tub), a large bedroom that had some nice chairs and a couch and a separate office area.
Here are the «pro’s» of this hotel:
–Location– just a few minutes walk to most of the Harvard campus and a 5 minute walk to the closest subway station (Harvard on the Red Line).
–Staff was very polite and helpful.
–They upgraded me as a Platinum for 5 days. I’ve noticed in other places the longer you stay, the less likely they are to upgrade you.
–Each room had an umbrella… that proved to be very handy as It rained a few times.
–Fitness center was brand new. All the equipment was clean and in good working order. The fitness center was always stocked with fresh towels and was open 24 hours.
–Wi-​Fi worked great in the room/​lobby.
Here is what the hotel could work on:
–Although my room was very clean, it had a «musty» smell to it. Others staying at the hotel reported the same. It was something you immediately noticed when you first walked in, but didn’t smell it anymore after a minute or so.
–My suite was a corner suite on the 3^rd floor to the front of the building. Street noises were noticeable and might bother some people who are light sleepers. I would think an upgrade to the windows would help here.
–The elevators are small and slow.
–Although I didn’t park a car, I believe it was around 30 per night. I’ve seen worse (Westin in San Francisco comes to mind), but it still seemed kind of steep for a registered guest.
If I find myself in the Cambridge area I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again… I would even consider it for a trip to Boston as it is close to the Redline stop.

I stayed here three nights while on a recent business trip.
The hotel is certainly an older property. The lobby nice, but the rest of the hotel shows its age. Slowest elevator on the planet! I was lucky enough to get upgraded to a suite — a nice thing, but I didn’t need the extra space.
The room was freezing when I arrived. I don’t think the heat had been turned on! The room had nice linens.
The lounge breakfast was normal, a little disappointing and they didn’t have a bag to take to-​go for those of us in a morning rush.
I will credit the staff however. The young gentleman at the desk did everything he could to get me a room when my flight was cancelled and needed to stay an extra night. Despite a long wait list he got me that room!