Encore Boston Harbor ★★★★★

Bronze Glass Above the Mystic River

Encore Boston Harbor opened in June 2019 on a 33-acre parcel in Everett that had spent a century as industrial ground. Wynn Resorts put 2.6 billion dollars into the site, the largest private single-phase construction project in the history of the Commonwealth. What rose afterwards is a curved bronze-glass tower of 27 floors and 319 feet, with a harborwalk at its feet: parks, bike and pedestrian paths, waterfront dining and retail, performance space and boat docks, open to anyone, on a stretch of the Mystic River that had been closed to the public for over a hundred years.

Why It Works

We kept it for the reach of the thing. A resort at this scale usually thins out at the edges; here the finish holds from the lobby, where a 21-foot floral Ferris wheel carries 102,000 flowers, 12,000 jewels and 1,156 lights, through public rooms hung with tens of millions of dollars of original painting, sculpture and mosaic, all the way to a 26,000 square foot spa with sixteen treatment rooms. The rooms are the second argument: 650 square feet as standard, which is larger than most Boston suites. The third is the Forbes Five Star rating.

Why This Location

Everett sits five miles north of downtown Boston, across the Mystic, and the distance is the proposition rather than a compromise. Logan is fourteen to twenty-six minutes away depending on whether you take the water taxi or the road, and free shuttles run from the transit stations, so the car is optional. The harborwalk gives the address something no downtown hotel has: water at the door, and a public promenade to walk it off on, with the skyline in view across the river.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Resort-scale, polished, waterfront

• Rooms: 671 rooms and suites, 650 square feet as standard, Signature Harbor View Suites to 1,350

• Best For: couples on a resort weekend, spa travellers, groups who want everything under one roof

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the harborwalk, which reopened this stretch of the Mystic River to the public after a century

• Dining: Rare Steakhouse and its Japanese wagyu, Red 8 for Cantonese, Mystique for sushi, casual counters at the sportsbook, and waterfront tables along the harborwalk

• Amenities: 26,000 square foot spa with sixteen treatment rooms and a couples suite, fitness centre, hot tub and sauna, casino floor, luxury retail, meeting and event space, free parking and valet

• Attractions: the harborwalk and boat docks at the door, downtown Boston five miles south, Logan reachable by water taxi

Rooms That Start at 650 Square Feet

Six hundred and fifty square feet is the standard here, which in Boston terms is a suite, and the Signature Harbor View Suites run to 1,350. Floor-to-ceiling windows take the tower's height and make it the main event, with the river on one side and the skyline on the other. Bathrooms are marble with dual sinks, a separate shower and a soaking tub. The beds are the house Encore Dream Beds, and the room controls answer to voice.

Where to Eat Without Leaving

The dining floor is deep enough that a three-night stay need not repeat itself. Rare Steakhouse anchors it with Japanese wagyu, Red 8 cooks Cantonese, Mystique handles sushi, and there are casual counters at the sportsbook for a quick lunch. Waterfront restaurants sit along the harborwalk outside, which changes the register again in summer. For a resort of this size the useful detail is that the good tables are in the building rather than a drive away.

The Spa and the Ground Floor

The spa covers 26,000 square feet with sixteen treatment rooms and a couples suite, and it keeps its own signature ritual. Around it sit the fitness centre, the hot tub and sauna, the retail arcade, the casino floor and a meeting and events operation sized for conferences. Check-in runs from four in the afternoon and check-out is at eleven. Parking is free on site, with valet, which is a rarity this close to Boston.