In Back Bay, convenient to Fenway, Symphony Hall, Newbury Street, and especially the Harvard Club, which is next door, the neo-Georgian Eliot is named after Harvard President (1869–1909) Charles Eliot, even though he didn't live to see the building finished. Still belonging to the family that bought it during the Depression, the place goes for traditional comfort with either taupe toile and frills or raw brown silk accented by leopard prints, and framed prints in its suites—yes, suites—there are 79 of them, plus only 16 rooms. The hotel is distinguished by its world-class restaurant, Clio, and its sashimi bar, Uni, plus its uncommon kid-friendliness: Under-18s share your room free, in a crib if required, and there's babysitting on demand (for a fee).

Sitting on perhaps the most coveted piece of the city's real estate, the Four Seasons Boston overlooks the Public Garden and is within walking distance of Newbury Street's couture boutiques. The red-brick exterior is unassuming, and after a $43 million overhaul, belies the contemporary lobby swathed in black polished marble. The spacious rooms are now stripped of heavy drapery in favor of a sunny Beacon Hill–inspired disposition (bright color scheme, striped wallpaper, antique writing desks). The hotel's genteel new American restaurant, Aujourd'hui, has also been infused with new life, thanks to the addition of the young and talented William Kovel as chef. Perhaps what makes this and all Four Seasons so popular, though, is the highly personal, professional, and courteous service, appreciated by both leisure and business travelers alike. Managers make themselves available in the lobby each morning to assist guests, the concierge doles out boxes stocked with cuff links, socks, and belts to forgetful travelers, and a chauffeur will convey guests anywhere within a two-mile radius, free of charge.

A shiny entry into the city's growing hotel scene, this soaring blue glass–sheathed tower is a stone's throw from South Station. Like many modern buildings, it has a contemporary mahogany-and-marble design scheme, but in an effort to stand out, the 424-room Intercontinental has adopted some thoughtful touches. Sliding wooden-shuttered windows behind the king-size bed open the sleeping area to the bathroom, which is equipped with a sunken tub and glass-enclosed shower. The ergonomic furniture makes working on the road more bearable. And phones have caller ID to give you the option of privacy. The downstairs spa and gym, with an infinity edge lap pool, looks out onto a park, while the 24/7 restaurant Miel, fashioned after a Provençal brasserie with matching decor, has fantastic views of the Fort Point Channel. If you're up for a stiff Caipirinha or an even stiffer rum, RumBa (RumBar, but with a Boston accent—get it?) is handsome and perpetually humming with hotel visitors and well-to-do Bostonians. Sushi-Teq serves up an unlikely combo, sushi and tequila, until 2 a.m. Guest rooms occupy only eight of the 22 floors (the rest are taken up by condominiums, public spaces, and function rooms). Be sure to request a room in the north tower, so as to overlook the harbor.

Once home to Boston's most feared and reviled citizens, this remarkable granite structure on the Charles River is now populated by executives and trendsetters. The mid-19th-century jailhouse was deemed unfit for habitation in the early 1970s, eventually shuttered, and reopened in 2007 by hotel developer Richard Friedman, of Charles Hotel fame. Elements of the building's previous life remain, such as the 90-foot-high central rotunda (now the lobby), catwalks linking public spaces, and wrought-iron bars in the hallways. Most of the "inmates" now reside in a 16-story addition, where the rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, streamlined mahogany furniture, and granite-and-glass bathrooms stocked with Molton Brown toiletries. Of the 298 rooms, 18 are in the jail building—they have the same amenities as the new Tower rooms, but with dramatic arched windows and exposed brick. The food is also much improved, thanks to Lydia Shire's upscale trattoria, Scampo (derived from the Italian for "escape"). Even though lockdown is voluntary and Champagne is served upon arrival, there is one thing about the place that hasn't changed—you still have to pay a hefty "bail" to get out.

This unobtrusive new high-rise right off Newbury Street is steps from the T (Boston's subway) and many of the best restaurants and attractions—although a dedicated hotel car will take you anywhere within two miles. From the moment you enter the gleaming lobby, with its lovely Asian-style paintings, sculptures, and tapestries, you're attended to by a platoon of employees. With almost preternatural skill, they handle everything from getting shoes resoled within an hour to tracking down a lost glove. The spacious rooms blend an Art Deco aesthetic with Asian flair: burnished gold and seafoam green textiles set against glossy wood furnishings with black inlay. Every detail has been carefully considered, from the desk stocked with paperclips to the soft leather boxes that keep the hair dryer and other toiletries tucked away. At times, the minimalism can be a bit much: It took a few tries to find the light switches, and the phones are appealingly simple but would benefit from a direct line to the front desk. The buzzy lounge, M Bar, does a brisk business with young professionals, and Asana serves refined Asian-inspired dishes in a gorgeous dining room with picture windows framing the street. At the rear of the hotel, a corridor links it to the Prudential Center and a handful of exceptional restaurants.

Five minutes on foot to the financial district, this 190-room Kimpton property is a business hotel—as long as you're in tech stocks or A&R or the creative department. Rooms in three categories ("deluxe," "premier," and "premier with view"—the latter with giant windows on high floors) have ergonomic leather desk chairs, Wi-Fi, and customized minibars. Yoga, Pilates, meditation, and core-strengthening fitness programs are on-demand on the TV. Snazzy decor in an array of metals—nickel, chrome, steel—is accented with glass and stripes and dramatic lighting. Opened in May 2007, KO Prime restaurant sates diners with hearty steaks and chops, as well as a number of lighter dishes (such as king salmon and Dover sole).

This 193-room Ritz-Carlton was brand-new in fall 2001—and it shows. All is crisp and clean and right-angled, with floor-to-ceiling windows. A $11 million upgrade in early 2008 replaced the guest rooms' sober all-beige color scheme with cheerier hues of apricot, blue, and yellow (flat-screen high-definition TVs and hardwood furniture are new as well), expanded the Club Lounge, and refreshed the lobby. The place also is a veritable museum of contemporary New England art, complete with self-guided exhibition brochures in the rooms. And it's in the arty Ladder District, thick with theaters, including the Opera House (reopened in July 2004), and a 19-screen Loews multiplex connected to the hotel. Also connected, by hotel elevator, though at extra charge (when are top-rate hotels going to quit charging for their gyms?) is the vast Sports Club/LA, complete with junior Olympic pool, spa, and beauty salon. The restaurant, bizarrely named JER-NE (pronounced "journey") is a likeable romp through glammed-up retro Americana that serves seafood and steaks.

India-based Taj Hotel Group has been snatching up iconic American hotels for a few years now—New York's Pierre, Campton Place in San Francisco—but its 2007 acquisition of the 1927 Boston Ritz-Carlton, the very first property in the chain, raised eyebrows. The hotel was as famous for its prime location at the edge of the Public Garden and Newbury Street and its illustrious history (past guests have included Tennessee Williams and Winston Churchill) as for its steadfast traditionalism. (The newer Ritz-Carlton Boston Common, across the park, is much more contemporary.) Despite a 2002 restoration, the 273-room grande dame is still traditional, though not in the best way: Furnishings are grandmotherly, televisions are still cathode-ray, and the interiors overall could use a facelift. Taj is quietly modernizing—adding flat-screen TVs, overhauling the roof deck, and refurbishing the fitness center—but is retaining the property's sense of classic charm. The public spaces are gilded, service is genteel, and the dimly lit, leather-studded bar overlooking the park is still a favorite with Boston Brahmins.

A 60-room Beaux Arts beauty high up on Beacon Hill, this place generally gets top billing in the Boston boutique stakes. It's rich on detail, from its black-walled lobby to rooms with open (gas) fires, printer/scanner/fax machines, five-disc CD players with library, Deco-esque four-poster beds, and furniture of dark wood, brushed steel, and leather. Mooo—a steakhouse, clearly—opened in August 2007 with a modern design, a notable wine cellar, and rare scotches to pair with your six ounces of Kobe-style beef flown in from Gunma Prefecture. Best of all—or so it will strike you after a long day of meetings, sightseeing, shopping, or offspring-visiting—the hotel puts its two Lexus LS 460 sedans at the disposal of its guests for their entire stay, gratis (with the Dav El Sedan Service as backup).