Just the Longfellow's Bridge away from Boston, is one of the newest
in the Kimpton chain of boutique hotels, the Hotel Marlowe.

Located near 17 miles of parkland and the Charles River, it has been
built from the ground up. The Kimpton Hotels are usually redesigned from historic, landmark buildings, but the Marlow is different for it's brand new.

It is a bridge away from that vital hub, Boston, had only a few miles
from Harvard and Radcliffe, beautiful homes, historic museums and 15
minutes from Logan Airport.

I first saw it in the distance, red brick, eight stories, and 226 guest
rooms. The historic clock on the building's façade looked inviting. Still I
wasn't quite prepared for the walk inside. It didn't look like the usual hotel. It seemed welcoming and friendly with its deep couches and chairs around the fireplace.

There were about 20 people there enjoying an author reading a
chapter from his soon to be published book. A few steps away was the front desk, where we checked it. They explained it wise to familiarize yourself with the lobby for in the morning you could enjoy coffee, and in the evening you could relax with a class of wine, complimentary of course.

Handsome Boston native, Rick Colangelo, the general manager,
greeted us and showed us around. There were meeting rooms, everything
full service and a ballroom.

The rooms, where the guests stayed, were a delight. Floor to ceiling
windows, original art, historic themes, and a blend of neoclassic designs
made each room a treasure. The beds and the pillows were out of this world, for that first night it was lights out when sleep time came.

Colangelo said the hotel's theme was "discovery" since they wanted
to reflect its location near the world's top universities and high tech
operations. There are 9,000 feet of meeting space, an on-site business center complete with high speed Internet access and video conferencing as well as a spacious fitness room featuring state-of-the-art cardiovascular equipment. The Hotel Marlow lacked nothing.

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Bombara Restaurant

This 170 seat restaurant and bar features charming water views and
what is equally important a yummy-sounding menu. Executive chef Tom
Berry help me select from their fine menu.

I started off with Maine Crab Cakes with baby arugula salad. That
name sold me, after all we were close to Maine, and let me tell you they
were delicious, none of that filler, bread crumbs, etc., but the real McCoy.
Here was a chef after my own heart.

For the main course, I settled on crab-crusted Atlantic Halibut, golden
Marine Clams, fingerling potatoes and wilted spinach. It was as good as it
sounds.

Chef Berry lived up to his name and reputation by topping the fare
with berries, big, luscious, and delicious. If you liked you could have warm
blueberry pound cake with house-made sweet basil ice cream. He changes the menus with the seasons.