CORRECTION: My previous review should have said "Walls (not walks) are thin." You have to speak in whisper after 10pm. Someone called the front desk on me when they heard me talking on phone to my husband just after 10pm (LOL) read more

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L. Reed A wonderfully QUIET and comfortable environment. An exceptional place to wind down and just relax. I was able to receive a very restful and comfortable sleep. GREAT for solo traveler. 15 minute walk to Harvard Yard. The Redline train is directly outside the yard. Healthy breakfast choices- including a great tasting oatmeal. Be prepared. My room was on the fourth level. There is NO elevator. However, staff will ask, and kindly offer assistance. read more

A terrible place. It should not exist. I could go on and list all the reasons why this is a hotel no one should ever visit but I'll limit myself by saying that it's drab, poorly ventilated, and what's worse, expensive. Never again. read more

Thank you grace! We have a good time! Love the scenery and the pasta! Gooooooooood!!!!!! read more

Irving House At Harvard - Pasta & crab chowder & fish & chips - Hotels Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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This was a beautiful and relaxing get away. The front dest was kind and accommodating and the room was comfortable. Breakfast was healthy and fresh and the proximity to everything is unbeatable. And Parking - HUGE! read more

Irving House At Harvard - Single bed with plenty of room. - Hotels Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

There is nothing wrong with this place, it just didn't have the upgrades that I typically look for. For somebody who is only looking for simple standards, this will do it. It will also appeal to you if you are interested in helping the environment, as many measures are taken for the cause. Everything here just felt old, like visiting grandma's house, and not in a charming way. Although nothing was dirty, the lack of modernness made me feel like things were. I missed elevators. I missed a real shower (ours was a converted closet with a shower curtain where the door would be). The room was very small, walls were thin, and I felt like I was on top of the people next to us. The breakfast was minimal. Also, when we arrived, we were not able to park in the free lot. It was a holiday and we got in very, very late, so it was partly our fault. And it turned out that, because of the holiday, we were able to park on the street, anyway, but we were nervous about it. They were working with what they had given the circumstances, but it was an inconvenience, and I wish that had had the foresight to alert people ahead of the holiday that the lot might not be available. It sucked to deal with after such a long drive. Lastly, if you're unfamiliar with the area, it is cute. The location is perfect if you're looking to visit Harvard. For our purposes, though, I wish we had stayed closer to downtown Boston. read more

Positives: awesome location for touring Harvard and close to the t so you can get elsewhere in Boston. Super sweet staff. Good breakfast items ( fruit, cereals, oatmeal, assorted dairy and non dairy milks, hot baked items and eggs, etc). Delicious coffee! Very cute house, quaint feel for the area. Really my only complaint is the size of the room... SUPER small for my husband and I... we both felt a bit claustrophobic. We did get the room with a private bath, so maybe those rooms are smaller? The bed was also very uncomfortable, which made for not a very restful vacation. If you want to tour Harvard, or stay in a good location that is not as expensive as I'm assuming most other B and B/ hotels are... then this is a good place for you! I always enjoy and am very thankful for free coffee and breakfast. Just be weary if you are on the larger side of life, are packing your house with you, or get anxious in small spaces. BONUS- check out my picture! This was the BEST part of the stay! read more

Irving House At Harvard - Yes I used it daily - Hotels Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Horrible. Closet sized room for almost $200 and no AC. They advertize AC, but when you ask for it a little cooler they offer you a fan. Outrageous. read more

Absolutely no attention paid to anyone with mobility issues. I understand it's a retrofitted older Cambridge house. But perhaps more could be said at the time of booking. Everything is only accessible through stairs, including breakfast read more

Location is amazing. So close to Harvard. And there's parking. But the bed is tiny and too firm and the rooms are small and need updating. We felt kinda bad, but we just couldn't do it, so we left at 11pm because we had used a gift certificate. Bed was too small for us to get comfy. I would give them 1 star for the room and the price we would've paid if it for the gift certificate, but the location is great, so three stars. read more

Everything is convenient, comfortable and makes accessing Harvard easy. The hotels in the area are super expensive, making Irving House a relative bargain. If the web site is all sold out you can still call and see if they have a room available. They don't post all their inventory online. read more

Simple, pleasant and comfy environment, safe and super friendly staff. Bed was so comfy. I recommend !

The Irving house is so nice. The people are so accommodating and really pleasant. I must have called them at least 3 times before our visit asking questions. With our flight being delayed I was able to rearrange our plans and on top of that they allowed us to check in early. You don't understand what it meant to us after not sleeping for more than 24 hours and never have been to Boston before. Definitely a place we'll visit in the future and I recommend them highly. read more

For the price I would not stay there again. It is a four story guest house very close to Harvard. However, the level of service is far below that of a hotel, a walk up, small rooms, limited TV, not much of a breakfast, limited service. No real lobby, etc. read more

Absolutely Great. Elegant. Great Staff. I got a very good deal from Priceline. I had stayed at an alternate place earlier, and for $18 more, Irving House was Heaven. Fabulous location near Harvard Sq. Great art on the walls and they even give you free postcards and mail them for free. Absolutely Terrific! read more

It's anise juice is the dark chocolate kombucha. Harris Perry and Randi Truce always bring it back to their colleagues at Bank of America in Downtown Seattle. Thanks Mr. McCauley read more

If you'd like to revisit your experience living in a tiny college dorm room, feeble WiFi, and VERY tight parking (special thanks to the person whose loading van obstructed the driveway), this is the place for you. At least the location is good. read more

I would definitely stay at Irving House again. This is a friendly bed & breakfast a few blocks from Harvard yard. Some hotels view guests as prey for all sorts of charges and gotchas, but this hotel is nothing like that: They treat you as an honored guest. There is a coin-op laundry in the basement and a guest fridge/microwave. (The laundry/microwave are only accessible until 10pm.) The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that the walls and doors need to be soundproofed, and the cleaning staff need to learn to speak more quietly. Nearby is the War Memorial pool, a city pool where you can pay a small fee to swim. There is a small supermarket (Broadway market) two blocks away, and an excellent sandwich shop (Darwins) a block and a half away. read more

Not worth the price-- very small rooms and communal bathrooms. Service was ok, but slow. Location is great if you are looking to visit Harvard, but otherwise, would not recommend staying here. read more

My mom is a B&B connoisseur...as a kid, whenever we traveled, we stayed in B&Bs if we could. As a 6-month-aversay (shut up, you cynic, yes I said 6-month-aversary) gift for gf I got us a night in this B&B hidden not a mile from the house. When I tried to find it, my gps got me lost...which happens from time to time...and the girl at the desk had almost no idea where I was (it turns out I was about 10 houses down) and her English wasn't all that great. When I arrived to check in, it was cute...and then I found out our room was on the 4th floor and there was no elevator and I had some BAGS...and it became less cute. And then on the second floor I saw a flier that said that between midnight and 7am there wouldn't be any power and it became even less cute. That would have been something I would have liked to learn either prior to check in (because I would have moved my reservation) or at least by the human being at the front desk. Upon reaching the 4th floor the room was fine...but clearly hadn't been touched decoratively since the 80s. So then yadda, yadda, yadda. At 4:00 in the morning all the smoke alarms went off (because the power went out). We tried to call the front desk to see if there was a fire or it was just the power. But the corded land line had stopped working (I thought the charm of corded land lines is that they continued to work in power outages) so we had no idea. At 4:45 (because we'd just fallen back asleep) the smoke alarms went off again AND all the lights came on. Awesome. At least we could then call the front desk...and have the attendant inform us that he "guessed" it was the power going off and on that was making all the smoke alarms go off. Which was *real* comforting. Because it's a B&B and the first B had been a little underwhelming, I was hoping for the second B (Breakfast) to be its saving grace. GF had never stayed in a B&B before, and having been regaled with tales of farm fresh eggs and cute B&B keepers, was perhaps more disappointed than I to find that it was continental breakfast. And in case you were wondering, continental breakfast is not breakfast. I had yogurt, some raisins, a bagel, and some decaf earl grey. It was all pretty average. GF had a similar assortment of food and said the coffee was terrible. So...basically the only thing that's saving this place from getting one star are the following: 1) Environmental commitment - they had a green towel policy and composted our continental breakfast. 2) It's got some of that B&B cute-ness...enough to make me feel bad for giving it one star. And I like the naked lady sculpture in the landscaping outside. And besides, good company can make up for a lot of things. read more

I stayed here last night with my boyfriend because we were seeing a show in Harvard Square and we didn't want to drive all the way back to Rhode Island in a snowstorm. He booked the room for us at the last minute because it was one of the least expensive options in the area and it was walking distance from Harvard Square. We LOVED it! It was a great deal. The room was teeny but nice. We got a room on the 3rd floor with a queen bed and a private bath. The small room was perfect for us - we didn't need space to do cartwheels, just a place to hang out and sleep! It was a cozy place to crash for the night, everything was clean and smelled good, and it only took us 10 minutes to walk back to our room through the blizzard when we were done with our evening. Free parking in the back of the building is a huge perk, since parking in Harvard Square is difficult and expensive. It's a small space and would have been difficult with a large car, but for a medium or small-sized car it is perfect. Can't comment on the food since we chose to go up to Johnny D's in Somerville for Sunday brunch. It looked like they had snacks and tea available all the time, though. Our ONLY complaint is that our room was super warm and we couldn't find any way to turn the heat down. But in the middle of winter, I'd rather be warm than cold, so this wasn't a big complaint! Had a great weekend and would totally stay here again! read more

For starters, let me say that I've stayed at Irving House probably 20 times over the last five years and spent between $5,000 to $7,000 here. This visit is at Harvard Commencement and as such I paid twice the normal summer rate. In the past I have been willing to overlook some of the hotel's shortcoming, but not anymore. When I visited in the past two polar vortex winters the rooms were uncomfortably cold. This stay has been uncomfortably hot. Clearly the management has instructed the night clerks not to cool the rooms; one can only conclude it is to save money. When I called down and asked to have the AC in my room turned on I was told it would affect every room on the floor and there had been complaints about the cold. I awoke last night at 2am with a pillow soaked with sweat so if you stay here and the bedding smells a little funky, it might be my sweat glands. As another poster noted you have no access to the thermostat. The air conditioning is controlled by the front desk and given that cold air sinks, the ground floor -- where the staff sits -- is quite comfy. I, however, am on the top floor, just under the roof. (If you need some additional so guidance, please see Basil's review on 5/17. He speaks the truth about the heat.) While I generally like to buy "local" this management is making an effective argument for staying at the larger, chain hotels. I may be back, but if so it's only because there were no other options. read more

Super friendly staff at this little b&b near Harvard. I only stayed for a night for business, but it left an impression on me. They have a great selection of books (I'm a librarian) which is a huge plus, and they're committed to being very eco-friendly. The breakfast in the morning was top notch, and definitely a plus. Probably some of the better food I've had at a b&b. It is a little pricey, but it's hard to beat the location if you're in Cambridge! read more

I booked a room here since I was returning to campus for a conference. The branding on the website and cheerful photos contradict the experience. The place is no frills and verges on depressing if you're not prepared. Basic boarding is no big deal if you're looking for a value, but the prices were similar to conventional hotels so I was not entirely prepared for the experience. If you're looking for a conventional hotel, I would try shopping around first. The staff in general were helpful and nice, but there was a mix in quality. An older man working the desk was off-standish and a little rude. I just avoided him and everything was great. The WIFI didn't work or was unusable. If you have to do business work to do, beware and plan ahead. The dining area for breakfast was sweltering and had a bit of a bleak dorm feel to it, but the food was good and the dining staff were sweet. The room kind of felt like staying in your aunt's guest room, complete with rando books. But it was comfortable. However, the walls were super thin, so your comfort will depend on the draw of your neighbors. If I could sum the place up it would be "meh." It is not worth the price; and it is not a charming, quaint bed and breakfast. Shop around first before booking a room, or prepare yourself beforehand about what you are paying for. read more

B&B - 'bed' and 'breakfast' - OK, they get by on a mere technicality. But when people think of B&B's, this place just doesn't fit in that subjective definition. When you think of a B&B, you think you are staying in someone's home, that they will be serving you breakfast (even if nothing fancy), that there would be some home-like comforts that make it stick out from a hostel or hotel. This place didn't meet those marks. The breakfast was continental - and while mostly organic, it wasn't even up to snuff to the free crap you get at a typical Hampton. The feel inside was that of a hostel or guest house, the rooms were uncomfortable and small, the A/C was central, but didn't quite make it to the entire 3rd floor. all-in-all a relatively bad experience for my visiting family - which is a shame, since it's close and convenient and not terribly cheap ($200+ a night) I would recommend other places, even a chain hotel, over this place. read more

I stayed at this B&B for a three-day business trip. First, let me say that my room was nice. I had a queen with bathroom, and the room was fairly spacious, nicely if modestly decorated, with a desk, chair and full bathroom. The bed was comfortable and good for sleeping. The challenge during my stay was dealing with the hallway noise. This is a busy B&B (really it's an inn), and the hallways are small and the room doors close together. I had a family staying next door that was constantly opening and closing their door and talking in the hallway. It was distracting. Breakfast was simple and a few steps above a typical continental breakfast. However, the breakfast did not change at all during my stay. Overall, the breakfast was not in the same ranking as the splendid B&B breakfasts I've had elsewhere. I decided on my final day to forego the continental breakfast and grab breakfast down the street. Overall, this is a cute place to stay overnight on a tight budget. However, I would not recommend it for a longer term stay. read more

I'm not a B&B conoisseur- in fact I don't care for them much as I always feel like I'm intruding. I just needed a relatively inexpensive place to stay near Harvard while I met up with some friends for the Christmas Revels, and with a very nice deal ($70) for a wintertime single room, Irving House was the place. As a fairly large place (4 floors- as the website warns, no elevator) Irving House feels like a cross between a b&b and a hotel. Clean, comfortable, friendly; free wireless and a nice cushy bed. That's all I can really ask. The temperature was set at a constant 70 degrees, which was pretty warm in my room, but bearable. The owner encourages you to take books from the shelves with you, and I did. I was meeting a friend for breakfast, so I didn't sample the continental breakfast here. I'd gladly stay here again if I could get a similarly nice rate. read more

If you're looking for a sleek, modern room with a private bathroom, book a hotel. If you're looking to save some money, and get a good sleep in a private room, give this place a try. I really felt at home here, and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. I was pleasantly surprised by the charm, the food, and the little extras (books that you can keep if you find one you like!) that were offered at this B&B. The staff are young, friendly, and accommodating. I had booked for two nights, and cancelled the second night, which resulted in my entire booking being lost. It was sorted out quickly when I arrived. The breakfast had many, many options for even the pickiest of eaters, and they have drinks and snacks in the breakfast room all evening long. I had a private single room with a shared bathroom. I didn't notice much noise, even though the place was nearly booked up. There were multiple shared bathrooms, so waiting to shower wasn't an issue. read more

Think of this place as a rooming house, not a bed and breakfast with any of the charm one might associate with that label. The building is old with thin walls, creaky stairs, hardly any hot water, a hard bed and old hard pillows. The lighting in the room is like grandma's attic bedroom. The entire space hasn't been refreshed in 10 years or more, and there is no decoration to speak of in the rooms or the common area. My room was quite small. There's no pretense of cheer or welcome at the front desk, not once did anyone even look up and say good morning. For Covid purposes, the house is clean. The breakfast which is limited by Covid considerations is a poor attempt to compensate. Expect an afterthought on a tiny side table with a rock hard nearly-inedible croissant in plastic wrap and lukewarm coffee. There's no individual climate control in the room so it's either hot or cold. The much-vaunted free off street parking is extremely narrow with limited capacity and outright precarious to navigate. Good luck even accessing the lot, I never did. I had to park in a cluttered unlighted annex parking lot down the street where the owner of the house parked her car to block mine several mornings when there was ample room to park elsewhere, and she as much as admitted to blocking my car on purpose. Downright other worldly. All in all an uncomfortable and grim experience not or to be repeated. read more

Well.. it's a bed and breakfast which is not really my thing. it's a crowded old building with paper thin walls and not wheelchair friendly. At least the rooms are clean and the bathroom counters looked renovated. The breakfast was wide in variety but ehh. It is expensive for what it is but I suppose the location causes it to be expensive to up keep. Staff is average and fine. only some rooms have their own bathroom. stay here only if you are a b&b fanatic or you need the cheapest place close to harvard. NOTE - when two different cab companies entered the address in gps they couldn't find the place. it's not easy to find. read more

Me and my girlfriend was visiting Cambridge and Boston and wanted an easy, clean and central place to stay. The Irving House met all our needs. It's a 5min walk away from Harvard campus, it was clean and had a nice, warm athmosphere. The room was small, but well maintained and had a nice bathroom. We traveled by car and it had a free parking space in the backyard, -perfect! The included breakfast was a pleasant surprise with fresh-baked food and a variaty of coffee and tea. The price for a room with bathroom was about $120 (with a reduction), which i thought was a bit expensive, but it turned out to be well spent. read more

I really enjoyed my one night stay. I found the price reasonable for the area. The location is excellent. Everything is clean. Really nice complimentary breakfast. Snacks available 24/7. After I checked out, they allowed me to leave luggage in an unsecured area in the lobby. The wifi was free and decent speed. I got food delivered and front desk called me down. I loved the ambience and I will definitely stay here again. There is no elevator, so I got a workout going up and down to the 3rd floor with luggage. This wasn't a problem for me personally, though the stairs can be narrow. You CAN request a lower floor of needed. The place only has maybe 15 rooms, give or take. Others had complaints about heating/cooling issues. It IS an old house, so it's not central climate controlled. But there was a space heater in my room that I used for about an hour before bed. It was no problem and it WAS December in New England. My only two complaints that brought my rating from a 5 to a 4 are: First, I wish there was a SECURE luggage holding area (even if that means paying a $5 fee for the day); ...and second, the night that I stayed, the other guests were VERY loud from 10pm-2am. I wish the hotel had addressed them. To be fair, I didn't take any action to alert the staff, but I would have thought they could just HEAR the ruckus without my intervention. read more

I had never stayed at a Bed and Breakfast before, so this was all around a new experience. When we booked our room, there was supposed to be one more person staying with us. She backed out, but we kept the same reservation, so we had a room with a full bed, and a bunk bed situation. We also had a room with our own bathroom/shower. They had other rooms that were just the bedrooms and you had access to a shared shower. The room was cute, and while we could not control the temperature ourselves (as it controls the entire house), it was cool enough inside. At the front desk, you could get a free reusable water bottle, which was nice because it was very hot out. The only thing that was a bit of a letdown was the breakfast. Since this was a cute little Bed and Breakfast, I had higher expectations of the quality of the food served for breakfast. It was not bad, it was just around the same level of breakfast you would get at a continental breakfast at a hotel (and even then, some of those have fresh waffles or something). read more

While the area is charming, there is absolutely NO parking. My car was hit in the parking lot. Rachael, the manager told me to get an estimate and assured me damages would be paid for. I went through the trouble of doing so only for her to tell me the most she could do was refund my room. She also told me that I have an attitude problem and her staff was completely rude. I should have filed a police report, but I took Rachael's word as she seemed very assuring. Something shady about this place. Never again. read more

This place is awesome. The rooms are small but considering that fact, they fit your basic needs. They have a community basement with breakfast till 10 or 11 fruits and coffee available all day with cookies and or muffins as well. They have a community fridge and washer and dryer. Free wifi. The customer service is great. I read a review and they said their services wasn't to special and it was small and loud. I understand it can be small and loud but if you want to have higher standards than go ahead and book a room down the street closer to 500 a night. They are extremely accommodating and I would book here again. We also left our luggage with them after check out and was able to sight see until our flight. read more

Turner House is a sister property of Irving House a few houses away for longer term stays. After an enjoyable 3 night stay at Irving House, I had an emergency situation requiring me to stay on in Boston. I was encouraged to move over to Turner House. The room was a large en suite with kitchenette and windows directly viewing the back porch and parking lot beyond. I would not recommend Turner House because the cost far exceeds the value, my reasons being: 1) On my first morning I was awakened around 6:30am by workmen/painters who were bustling around the back porch directly outside the window by the head of the bed. It was summer and the window needed to be open. They were unloading their equipment, scraping paint, vacuuming and smoking cigarettes. Poor planning by management. 2) Every time I took a shower, the smoke detector activated!!!!!! The first time it happened, I was horrified standing naked and soaking wet. When the maintenance man came by after I was dressed , he told me that I needed to: a) keep the bathroom door closed while I showered, and b) shower with the shower window open - which would allow the workmen working on the deck and people in the parking lot to see me naked! That is ridiculous and I should NOT have had to do either. 3) It's an old building and has not been upgraded with good sound insulation. I could hear the tenants upstairs banging around just walking, the floorboards squeak and I could hear the woman upstairs start talking non stop from early morning. 4) The bed was very uncomfortable. Though the environment is charming, I did not receive the rest that I hoped for, and recommend if you need a cost effective weekly or longer rental, go to Craigslist and search weekly rentals. Sondra Westwood, CA read more

I stayed here for a little over a week while attending a residency program at Lesley. I loved Irving House. My room was comfortable and warm (maybe too warm) -- I stayed in a queen room with private bath on the third floor in a corner room. Breakfast was varied and the coffee pretty good for this fussy coffee drinker. I appreciated the free parking! I really enjoyed staying here -- the location was great, easy access to Harvard Square and the T, and to Lesley and Somerville as well. Nice quiet neighborhood. My only complaint is that the walls are somewhat thin, and my neighbor's snoring and many other sounds were so very very loud. I would definitely stay here again. read more

This place is kind of a bed and breakfast. The breakfast was a step up from a continental though. Lots of things to choose from (muffins, cereals, fruit), but nothing gourmet. The rooms were neat and clean. They are all in one big house though, so you could hear other people moving about. I didn't mind it, but I can also see how it would be frustrating in situations. The staff was very nice and I thought the prices were reasonable. Restaurants and square are walkable, but a little on the less side when there is inclement weather as we discovered coming back from dinner in the pouring rain. We ended taking a cab. read more

Harvard booked my room, so I don't know how easy it is to get reservations. I was expecting something a little nicer, but this place was perfectly serviceable. My big complaint is that the walls are REALLY THIN. The guy next door to me had a nasty cold, and I woke up feeling like he was coughing directly into my ear. But the people were nice, and the breakfast was much more extensive than I expected. It's a self-serve kind of breakfast, but with tons of options. I probably wouldn't stay here again, but it was perfectly fine for a night. Simple, clean. read more

Overall, a three-star rating from us. We stayed for four nights in the middle of the summer. The stifling heat in the basement breakfast area was difficult to bear for long. Our room (207) was very clean, spacious, and met our needs - a comfortable bed, nice desk, sitting area, and clean bathroom. The breakfast part is where I had an issue - to me, a B&B is more of a house where you are served breakfast, not a continental buffet breakfast. I can get that at Hampton or Courtyard, and much better selection, with a little more confidence that the food is safe. I was also a little off-put about the "environmental responsible-ness" of the facility. I get it, you want to save the earth, but I do not want or appreciate being bombarded with social consciousness at every turn. The front-desk staff was capable, but not overly friendly, and the breakfast staff even less so. In fact, I thought the upstairs housekeepers were the most friendly and outgoing employees in the whole place. Maybe they should switch positions with the front-desk staff. The WiFi is very slow, but free; one would think that internet this close to Harvard would be exceptional, but that's not the case. There is no paid WiFi option that I'm aware of. If you want a clean, simple, breakfast-included room close to Harvard, this will do the trick, but I think the B&B description is a little deceptive. read more