We stayed at the Onxy for 3 nights over Superbowl weekend (go Giants!). The rooms are nice, quite spacious and well decorated, bathroom roomy and well fitted but the overall feeling in the hotel is that it's a converted office block (not least as it overlooks office buildings opposite). The reception area has a bar & restaurant (the Ruby room) which has a very low ceiling and they've tried to compensate for the squareness of the space by adding curves - which sound great but actually take away a lot of space and you feel like you're falling over people to get from the bar to a table.

As with all Kimptons, it's a pet friendly hotel which is fine (and hasn't been an issue in any of the other Kimptons we've stayed in) but on Sat eve there were about 4 dogs and 3 cats in and out of the lifts and one man sat with his cats on his lap in both the reception and the bar. Would be a nightmare if you have pet allergies!

The other disappointing thing was the breakfast - on Sat & Sun there's no room service until 8.30am which is late, and when we did order one hot breakfast and one cereal breakfast, we got one bowl between us (which had yoghurt in) and one set of cutlery. We managed, but it wasn't very sensible of them as they knew there were two of us in the room!

I saw a previous review which said this was a good location - I wouldn't totally agree with that, it's a little out of the way (although it only takes 10 mins to get into the centre of things on foot) but is round the corner from the Bruins ice hockey stadium so gets very busy when there's a game on.

A big positive for this hotel - as with a lot of Kimptons - is that the staff are very nice, and we found the Spanish receptionist (who I think was called Cecile) extremely helpful and accommodating.

They also have a wine hour from 5pm which was a nice addition.

All in all not bad, but not as good as we were hoping.

One thing to watch for as a general point - we got ripped off by the taxi driver from the airport who took us the scenic route and charged us $35. On the way back, the hotel got a limo for us which arrived early, was very comfortable and we got to the airport in 10 mins in comparison with 30 mins on the earlier trip and it was only $25! The first taxi driver said he didn't know where the hotel was, put the address in his sat nav and then didn't ask it for the route - and we went via Fenway Park which is out of the way. Something to watch for as they don't have a set rate into town from the airport as they do in New York.

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.