I can't say enough about how great this hotel is. After a very disappointing stay at nearby hotel, we checked out and moved here and immediately felt like we had made the right decision. From the moment we walked in, everything felt clean, beautiful, and welcoming. The hotel has a wonderful balance of being modern and stylish while still feeling warm and cozy. Our room was spotless, comfortable, and beautifully decorated. The bed was so comfortable, which was especially appreciated after our previous experience!The entire property was well maintained and had a relaxing, inviting atmosphere. It felt like a place where you actually wanted to spend time rather than just somewhere to sleep.And the restaurant was fantastic! Great food, a beautiful setting, and a perfect place to enjoy a meal without having to leave the hotel.After our first hotel experience, this place felt like a breath of fresh air. It reminded me what a hotel stay is supposed to feel like: clean, comfortable, beautiful, welcoming, and enjoyable. Also a friendly staff.We would absolutely stay here again and would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a wonderful hotel experience.Also perfectly located for visiting the nearby universities.

The Cambria Hotel Boston Somerville is officially a three-star hotel. Management corrected me on this point, and I am happy to correct my original review.Unfortunately, three stars still feels generous.This hotel is a masterclass in contemporary hospitality's obsession with looking upscale while eliminating many of the things that actually make a hotel comfortable. It photographs well. It has fashionable interiors. It has the visual vocabulary of sophistication.What it lacks is the substance.Let's start with the room.No slippers. No kettle. You cannot even boil a simple cup of hot water—something routinely available in considerably humbler hotels. Instead, you get a coffee maker, because apparently wanting hot water without coffee is an unreasonable request.There is no central light switch, so going to bed involves touring the room switching off lamps individually. The beds are mediocre and insufficiently comfortable, which is particularly impressive considering that providing a comfortable bed is arguably the single most fundamental purpose of a hotel.Then we reach breakfast, where inconvenience becomes farce.During my stay I found no adequate gluten-free/coeliac breakfast provision, on weekdays or weekends.So I attempted to solve the problem myself. I went to the à la carte breakfast and offered to pay separately for some cooked eggs.Not Eggs Benedict. Not a soufflé. Not truffles.Eggs.At the weekend, they didn't have any.A hotel. Serving breakfast. Without eggs.I can only assume that every chicken in Massachusetts clocks off on Friday afternoon and returns refreshed on Monday morning.Funny as that sounds, the underlying coeliac issue is not funny at all. A guest with a genuine dietary requirement should not have to negotiate for basic food simply to have breakfast.Even more extraordinary was management's subsequent response to my complaint: they pointed out that Somerville, Union Square, Porter Square and Harvard Square contain restaurants where additional options are available.In other words, I complained that their hotel could not adequately accommodate me for breakfast, and their answer was essentially:Boston has restaurants.Thank you. I had noticed.That is not hospitality. It is outsourcing hospitality to the surrounding neighbourhood.The bathroom continues the theme: no bathtub, no detachable shower head and inadequate ventilation. After a shower, the room becomes its own small tropical ecosystem.Even the toilet paper and tissues are remarkably thin and cheap. The toilet paper is so insubstantial you can practically see tomorrow through it.Then there is the location. If you're expecting convenient subway access, check the map carefully. In my experience, reaching a useful MBTA/subway station involved a good twenty-minute walk. Buses are nearby, but rail transport certainly isn't on the doorstep.Bring walking shoes. Or rent a car.The fundamental problem is that the Cambria Hotel Boston Somerville seems to understand the aesthetics of an upscale hotel far better than the substance of one.There is something profoundly nouveau riche about the whole experience: sophistication reduced to fashionable furniture, contemporary surfaces and visual styling. It is hospitality designed for the photograph.Everything says:“Look how sophisticated we are.”The details whisper:“Please don't look too closely.”Genuine quality works in precisely the opposite way. You experience it through an excellent bed, thoughtful lighting, a properly designed bathroom, decent materials, competent service and food provision that recognises guests have different needs.Management's defence is that the hotel is three-star and its amenities are described online.Fair enough.But guests don't normally search a hotel's website for:“Does the bathroom ventilate properly?”“Is the bed comfortable?”“Is the toilet paper decent?”“Can I boil water?”“Will a hotel serving breakfast actually have eggs?”And most importantly:“If I'm coeliac, will I actually be able to eat?”The Cambria Hotel Boston Somerville may satisfy whatever checklist is required for its category. My experience was nevertheless of a hotel where branding consistently outruns substance.If fashionable interiors are your priority, perhaps you'll love it.If you value thoughtful hospitality, comfort, practical amenities, convenient rail transport or reliable coeliac/gluten-free breakfast provision, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere.And if you do decide to stay at the weekend, my packing list is simple:Walking shoes.A kettle.And, if you'd like an egg for breakfast, apparently a chicken.

Spent two nights in the city and one night here and this place was better by far. Next time we'll stay here and just metro or Uber into Boston. Beautiful decor, clean, well appointed and with a fantastic staff! Special callout to Allison who was kindness personified when we realized I'd accidentally booked for the wrong night. She coulda been a stickler and instead she was nice. Makes ALL the difference, no?

Clean, friendly, laundry facilities, play room (pool, dart), even the fire station is close by, it is quiet, it is a very safe neighborhood, in the lobby a nice little spot, where you can by chocolate, crisps, drinks of various types. Even if you are not downtown, I’d prefer it here any time.

Wonderful gem in very nice walkable area. Dunkin right next door. Less than a mile's walk to Union Square and much, much more. The hotel staff couldn't have been nicer. I used the gym two mornings. Everything is clean, neat and modern. The restaurant looks like a simple pizza place but the food is elevated italian, really delicious. Can't say enough and very reasonably priced.