Boston’s oldest hotel spent $65M on a ‘complete rebirth.’ See the before and after

Boston’s Omni Parker House is celebrating its 170th anniversary with some major renovations.

Back in March, the oldest hotel in the city announced that it was undergoing a major rehaul in order to enhance the guest experience, calling it “a complete rebirth that seamlessly blends its heritage with refined, timeless elegance.”

According to multiple reports, the hotel devoted $65 million towards upgrading its facilities.

The facelift covered all 551 rooms, function spaces, ballrooms and lobby. The hotel plans to formally unveil the renovations on Nov. 12, when it will be celebrating the anniversary of its founding in 1855 by Harvey Parker.

Renovations in the lobby include new marble flooring, carpets and furnishings. Updates to guest rooms focused on providing “contemporary comfort,” with newly designed bathrooms and amenities.

Tonya Grine, the senior director of interior designs for Omni Hotels, led the redesign at the Boston landmark.

“When you walk into the guest room, it’s very light, bright, luxurious, classic and tailored,” Grine said to Hotel Dive. “A goal of this renovation was to take all of that research and history and have slight nods to it within every design decision — but in a very subtle, not blatant way.”

The Omni Parker House has a storied history. It’s famous for being the birthplace of the Boston Cream Pie and Parker House Rolls.

It has played host to a number of notable historic figures, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Early in his political career, John F. Kennedy announced that he was running for Congress at the Omni Parker House. He would eventually propose to Jacqueline Bouvier inside Parker’s Restaurant.

Here are more before and after images of the renovations at the hotel:

The ‘Rooftop Ballroom’

The lobby

Function spaces

—