A Friendly Inn At Harvard

We had a great time at A Friendly Inn. Amazing location — walking distance to food, drink, pastries, a drug store, Harvard, and right on the bus line. Great staff, nice breakfast. Perfect base for exploring Cambridge and greater Boston.

This place is great and the lady that manages it is very sweet.

Nope, never again. This review is long overdue.
My best friend and I went to Boston a couple of years ago and were booked here by my friends, mom’s boyfriend. What a huge mistake. We knew he was cheap, but this, this was just mean. First off, finding it was a nightmare, due to construction that we were not informed of, we had to walk down the street with out luggage in the rain.
When we walked in, it felt like we were in a horror movie. The woman at the front desk barely spoke English and we could hardly understand here. Our room was on the second floor, and we had to lug our suitcases up rickety old stairs that could barely fit our luggage. My suitcase scraped against the wall and the older Asian woman shushed me and then told me not to scratch the wall. REALLY? How is that my fault the staircase is narrow? I didn’t build it that way, I’m just an innocent bystander!
When we get into the room, it was was far worse than the downstairs. It was tiny room, with a twin bed in one room and «queen» (barely a full) in the other room. And by the way, there was a mirror in between each room that was positioned perfectly so you could see the other person while lying in bed. SUPER CREEPY.
There was a «TV» but I’m pretty sure it was an old computer monitor, that didn’t even work. While in the room we barely felt comfortable talking above a whisper because we were so nervous to bother the other guests because the walls were paper thin.
There was wifi, but that barely worked as well and required a twenty letter/​number pass code.
The bathroom look like it was straight of Psycho/​medical horror film. It wasn’t a real shower, it was one of those weird plastic showers that looked like it was just stuck into the room.
The rooms didn’t have central heat, but one of those old metal heaters, and that’s fine and dandy until they turned it off in the middle of the night. This was also in the middle of November, so it was pretty cold in the room.
It’s safe to say, my friend and I barely slept that night.
«Breakfast» was a mix of stale cereals, cut of pastries from Costco and some white bread and jam. Not really the «bed and BREAKFAST» experience I was hoping for.
We checked out the next morning and moved to a hotel in Boston called the Commonwealth which was much better. I would avoid at all costs. Seriously. STEER CLEAR.

It’s not bad. It’s not good. It is perfectly located. The rooms are clean and small and pokey. The price is absolutely high but relatively-​speaking almost moderate. The shower is nice. The food is bad. The wifi is free. The staff are fine. But the location is great. I would probably stay here again and neither enjoy it nor resent it. I guess it works.

No doubt about it, the staff are very friendly. Which would be great if I just needed to chat with them, but it turns out I need to actually stay at their hotel.
The rooms are tiny and dank. The heat is centrally controlled requiring me to open the window so I don’t suffocate from the heat. This last point wouldn’t be a big deal, except for the fact that at 7am, the garbage trucks come to pick up the trash right outside the hotel. For breakfast, they offer hard boiled eggs and stale pastries. Overall, everything in this hotel just feels cheap. It certainly convenient if you have some business at Harvard (which I did), but otherwise, pass on this place.

I stayed here for two weeks over the course of a June and July while traveling on business. (Bear in mind, my stay was during the summer when school was out.) Rates were very reasonable considering the close proximity to Harvard Square and the free parking behind the building (about 6 spaces — first come, first served but I never had a problem).
Rooms are fairly basic. Tabletop ironing board was a bit frustrating, but it got the job done. Breakfast is sparse but enough to get you going (cereals, oatmeal, pastries, fresh fruit, boiled eggs). The coffee is strong and available ²⁴⁄₇. Some private bathrooms only have showers. If you need a tub, ask for it. Front door to the building is secure which I didn’t mind.
If you want to be pampered, go pay twice as much for a hotel. If you just need a reasonably-​priced place to stay in a great location, this B&B will serve you well.

Very close to Harvard, free wi-​fi and breakfast. A great place for visiting Harvard. My room was fine, fairly large with lots of desk space. There is some variability, though, with some rooms even in the basement.

We booked this place late afternoon the day of arrival so we got room 107 instead with 1 queen/​1 twin/​private bath down in the basement. For a basement, I expected a bargain but the price was a little higher than expected but still lower than what’s available around this time and very close to Harvard.
The shower was great (pressure + heat). The bedding was okay though being in the basement, you can hear loud footsteps above. So if you’re a light sleeper-​I would not recommend that room. Overall it was a decent place for an overnight stay.

The best part of the inn is its location. It is very close to the Harvard Yard and 7 – 8 minutes walk to the Harvard Square T-​station. Recently, I needed a place to shower and relax for a few hours while visiting Cambridge for a very short trip. I had booked the room for $ 90 for the 3 – 4 hours I was planing to be there but when I reached there, the kid at the office gave me the room for $ 70 including taxes. The room and the linen were clean. I felt the wash-​basin taps could be upgraded, overall I would say that it was an okay experience, not impressed but no complains either.

This place is fairly bare bones. But you pay for what you get.
I was at a conference for Harvard and was lucky to make a reservation the day of. When you arrive, you have to ring the door and wait out in the cold until the proprietor comes downstairs and opens the door for you. Waiting for 5 minutes in the cold is no fun!
Then my friend and I got put in room 101. Make sure you are not given this room. Room 101 is right next to the inn’s office, which is right next to the stairwell/​entrance/​pseudo kitchen. So basically you go to bed when the last person gets back to the inn, and you wake up when the first person runs down the stairs nosily or talks w/​the Inn proprietor.
Also, just FYI: they don’t have an iron or ironing board.
Good shower, though.