We had the most interesting fourth of July visit to Boston and were treated exceptionally well by the staff at the Onyx. From the great conversations during wine hour to the generousity of the staff for some unusual requests, we were greeted with friendliness, generosity and entertainment on all fronts.

Our room was clean and the special 4th of July duck was an exceptional touch. The bathroom was spotless.

The staff also made some great recommendations for off-the-beaten-path restaurants and activities.

We had some issues with Internet access, but they were remedied in a timely manner, and the staff even followed up after the visit.

All in all, it was one of the most pleasant hotel experiences we have had in Boston. We will most likely stay in the Onyx the next time we trek up to Boston.

Just returned 3 nights at The Onyx which included New Years Eve. First Night in Boston is a lot of fun.

Great service, clean, very dog friendly, walking distance to Freedom Trail and great North End Italian restaurants and cafes, close to the TD Banknorth aka new Boston Garden and North Station T stop, immediate neighborhood much improved since completion of Big Dig and new Garden.

Nice Kimpton touches like the evening wine/beer tasting with cheese and crackers. Knowledgable staff re restaurants etc. Had a delay in fetching car from parking garage at departure, but they volunteered to refund that day parking charge which you should know is a bit steep at $38/day, but thats not too unusual for city hotels.

We have stayed in the Onyx several times when visiting Boston and I really like it. It is situated in the North End so we would have to hop in a cab to go downtown. Really modern hotel with very friendly staff. Only down side is they dont have a restaurant you can get bar food in the evenings and they do a buffet style breakfast in the bar area.
When we arrived to check in, it was too early and our room wasnt ready they had a room on a smoking floor, which as we were so tired we agreed to take but i wish we had of just waited it stunk of stale smoke!
The hotel also has a courtsey car in the morning time which would bring you down to the financal district.
Overall I would recommend this hotel.

We stayed at the Onyx for two nights right before Christmas with our two teens (14 and 15). Since we were just passing through, we only rented a single room for the 4 of us (two double beds). The room was average-sized for a city hotel room (spacious by European standards). The beds were very comfortable - there was also a desk and sitting chair in the room, and a decent sized tv. We did not have wireless internet in the room. There was also a mini-bar/snack drawer. The room was perfectly clean.

The closet was weird enough to bear mentioning. It had an ironing board mounted in it and at least once the ironing board attacked us as we opened the closet door. It was odd because between the ironing board and the safe, there was almost nowhere to hang your clothes. This did not matter to us but it would matter to a business traveler I suspect.

The bathroom was quite spacious - a single room with commode, double sinks, and shower. There was no tub, just a walk-in shower. The shower had no door (just a curtain), its floor was just slightly slanted down and away from the bathroom floor so water drained naturally - but we still had a hard time keeping the water in the shower and so had a perpetual puddle on the tile outside the shower. Nothing a towel couldn't soak up. The main thing to note about the bathroom (besides the snappy leopard print chenille bathrobes, available for purchase) was that the floor was freezing. I mean c-o-l-d. Uncomfortably so. Bring slippers! We asked housekeeping for extra towels which she doled out generously so we had a little towel path running through the bathroom.

We went to the Ruby Room for breakfast on the first morning. It was $12 for only a moderately decent buffet. Only my daughter indulged and her review is: "meh". I had a cup of tea for $3. Right across the street from the hotel is an Au Bon Pain so the rest of us got our breakfast goodies there - but beware, for some reason that Au Bon Pain is only open Monday-Friday so when we walked over the second morning (Saturday) we were SOL. There is a complimentary wine hour in the Ruby Room late afternoons but we did not partake. Apparently dinner is served in the evenings but we were never there to check it out.

The hotel location is awesome. You are right down the street from the Garden (Fleet Center or whatever it is called these days) if you are there for a Celts or Bruins game you are in good shape. You are also easy walking distance to the North Station T stop. You can easily walk (4 blocks) to Fanueil Hall, Quincy Market - heck you're even closer to the North End where there is GREAT italian food (we ate at G'Vanni's and LOVED it). There had just been a snowstorm the day before we arrived and we're still calling these easy walks.

There are lots of cool bars and restaurants within a block of the hotel. We had a few pints at a pub just two doors down from the hotel - I can't remember the name! - but it had a nice atmosphere and good beer on tap and very friendly bartenders. Also, around the corner is a bar called The Fours on Canal Street (greatest sports bar for Boston fans - [--]) where we had lots of fun, good beer, good service, and all those friendly fans. We also grabbed some good old fashioned Boston pizza at Half-Time (also around the corner from the hotel).

All in all, we would definitely recommend the Onyx. We got the room through Hotwire and so the rate was decent considering the location and style of hotel ("boutique"). The staff at the hotel could not have been nicer. We fell in love with Boston all over again!!