Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston ★★★★★

Boston’s Tallest Curve, and the Hotel at Its Base

One Dalton is neither a conversion nor a restoration. It is a 724 foot ellipse drawn by Henry Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the third tallest building in Boston and the tallest residential tower in New England, and the Four Seasons occupies its lower floors while private residences rise above. What the geometry does to a hotel is the interesting part. Corridors bend, window walls curve, and almost every room looks out at an angle rather than straight ahead. Bill Rooney Studio handled the interiors and kept them warm where the structure is severe, and the art collection assembled by Kate Chertavian Fine Art carries Alex Katz, Louise Nevelson, Yinka Shonibare, Tacita Dean and Duke Riley through the public rooms.

Why It Works

Three things decided it for us. The building is a piece of architecture you can book a night inside, which is rare in a city that mostly sells brownstone charm. The service floor plan is unusually complete for a tower of this size: valet parking, private check in, a concierge desk that works, babysitting, and a wellness floor that is not an afterthought. And the food is not hotel food, because Zuma is a destination in its own right. Dogs and children are both genuinely welcome, so the address covers more kinds of trip than most hotels at this level.

Why This Location

Dalton Street sits in the working heart of Back Bay, beside the Prudential Center and the Hynes Convention Center, which puts shops, meeting halls and the Green Line at the foot of the tower. Walk one way and you are on Newbury Street among the boutiques, heading toward the Public Garden. Walk the other and you cross into the Fenway, with Symphony Hall, the long reflecting pool of the Christian Science Plaza and the ballpark beyond. It is a corner of the city that works at nine in the morning and again at nine at night.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxe

• Vibe: vertical, contemporary, art filled, composed

• Rooms: 215 rooms and suites, including Back Bay Corner, Executive, Cambridge, Charles and Presidential suites

• Best For: travellers who care about architecture, spa weekends, families and dog owners

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the 64 foot lap pool on the seventh floor, curved to follow the tower’s ellipse

• Dining: Zuma, the Japanese izakaya, with interiors by Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Studio Glitt; One + One for breakfast and brunch; room service and breakfast in the room

• Amenities: wellness floor with spa and fitness centre, heated indoor pool open all year, valet and private parking, private check in and check out, concierge, babysitting, family rooms, facilities for disabled guests, pets allowed

• Attractions: Prudential Center and Hynes Convention Center at the foot of the tower, Newbury Street, Symphony Hall, Christian Science Plaza, Fenway Park

Rooms That Follow the Ellipse

The 215 rooms and suites are laid out along the curve, so the glass leans away from you and the city arrives at an angle: the Charles on one side, the Back Bay roofline on another. Rooney’s palette is soft and deliberately unfussy, which lets the windows do the work. The suites carry vintage New England quilts hung as wall pieces, a piece of curation that says more about Boston than any print of a clipper ship. Family rooms and connecting arrangements exist, and the hotel is non smoking throughout.

Zuma Downstairs, and Breakfast Worth Staying In For

Zuma is the reason locals walk into the building. The izakaya format means robata, sushi and a long bar rather than a hushed dining room, and Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Studio Glitt gave it interiors that hold their own under a Cobb tower. One + One handles breakfast and brunch on a lighter register. Room service runs alongside, breakfast can be taken in the room, and there are meals for children, which matters more than it sounds on a family trip.

The Wellness Floor, and When It Earns Its Keep

The seventh floor is given over to the spa and fitness centre, and its centrepiece is the 64 foot indoor lap pool, curved to the building’s shape and open all year. Treatment rooms and massage sit alongside, with a full gym and a view that makes the swim feel like part of the trip. In a Boston January that is not a detail, it is the argument: arrive off a long flight, swim, and come back down to dinner without leaving the tower.