Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston

Character and identity

Rising 61 stories above Back Bay, this 2019-opened Four Seasons occupies the third-tallest building in Boston, a glassy Henry Cobb tower with a serene, floor-to-ceiling-windowed lobby anchored by a Duke Riley mosaic referencing the 1919 Molasses Flood. The 215 rooms, designed by Bill Rooney, run in a palette of grays, browns and mahogany with men's-suiting fabrics and marble bathrooms stocked with Frederic Malle. Zuma, the contemporary izakaya, is a genuine scene; Trifecta handles cocktails; One + One does power breakfasts. The seventh-floor Wellness Floor brings a five-room spa and a 64-foot indoor lap pool. Service is mannerly and buttoned-up.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The defining tension here is a spectacular hardware-and-amenity package paired with service that doesn't yet hit the brand's top register. If you want a deluxe Boston home base rather than a cocooning retreat, it delivers. Book an Executive One Bedroom Suite for the flow-through bathroom and Fenway views, and angle for a Zuma reservation the night you arrive.