Luxurious Beacon Hotel Arrives In Boston

<B>Luxurious Beacon Hotel Arrives In Boston</B>

By Bob Curley

With just 61 rooms, the new luxury hotel XV Beacon hasn't done much to help Boston's lodging crunch, but this centrally located, European-style boutique property gives executive travelers a legitimate alternative to staying at the Four Seasons or the Boston Harbor Hotel.

Opened in December 1999, XV Beacon is a walls-out renovation of a 1903 Beaux Arts building (only the original cage elevator and a brass and marble staircase remain), not only giving designer Celeste Cooper a virtual blank slate to work with, but also facilitating the installation of a fiber optic-based, high-speed Ethernet network throughout the hotel. Cooper's modernist style is best realized in the oversize guest rooms and suites, where dark mahogany walls and Chippendale chairs seem right at home alongside a remote-controlled gas fireplace (standard in every room) outlined in stainless steel.

XV Beacon owner and manager Paul Roiff set out to capture the warmth and intimacy of a bed & breakfast in combination with the refinement of a five-star hotel. The hotel's 127-member staff strives to provide a personal touch, and with just five or six rooms per floor, it's rare to see or hear another guest. Amenities range from merely upscale--Kiehl's toiletries and heated towel racks in the bathroom, and Italian linen sheets on the beds--to high-tech extravagance, including a 27-inch television, a surround-sound CD stereo system, and even a four-inch TV in the bathroom. Business travelers especially will appreciate the standard cordless phone--one of three in each room--and the private phone number assigned to each guest during their stay (guests also receive personalized business cards with this number printed on them upon arrival).

For business meetings or private dinners, some of XV Beacon's expansive studio suites include meeting rooms with fireplaces and 15-ft. ceilings. Roiff, owner of Boston's Mistral restaurant, also has provided a pair of to-impress venues at XV Beacon: the street-level Federalist restaurant and a private dining room in the hotel's wine cellar. Led by executive chef Robert Fathman (late of Boston's acclaimed Grill 23 & Bar), the classy yet comfortable "Fed" is a fine choice for a business dinner.

If you really want to make a statement, bring a small group down to the cellar for a private dinner paired with some of the 1,288 wine selections, ranging from a 1795 Madiera to "cult" wines from such small-production vineyards as Screaming Eagle.