Concierge.com's insider take:

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 restaurant, Bristol Lounge, serves "upscale comfort food," and does a traditional afternoon tea. 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 new business center with free Wi-Fi was added off the lobby in 2010, there's a 15-minute delivery guarantee for "quick bite" items from room service, and kids can join the pastry chef on Saturdays for cookie-baking.—updated by Jon Marcus