Irving House at Harvard

Staff are fantastic. Location is perfect for Harvard. Rooms and shared bathrooms are periodically cleaned. Breakfast is good with just enough options. Coffee and cookies served all day to guests. Lobby has desks if needed and luggage storage. Only complaints are that the neighbors can be loud (not something the B&B can control) and the overall place is a bit older. This gives it a great home-y feel but also means the pillows are flat as if they have been run over by a semi. If you want swanky this is not your place, but if you want exceptional service and location paired with more than acceptable accommodations this is the spot. Personally, I will keep coming back.

Very comfortable space. Parking in back is limited, but worked out this time. Possible to ask for 1st or 2nd floor, with 3&4 a hike to get up to. Coffee always available.

A charming old hotel. Great hot breakfast. Be ready for stairs.

I think it's nice for what it is. Clean room. Friendly and caring staff. Breakfast was nice, okay, not for Asian stomach, for sure. We liked that they keep the place smelling good even though it's an old place. Parking is challenging. Art is well-thought and goes with the house out both in rooms and hallways. The location is good!

It is a lovely building and makes a really nice change from the usual uninspiring chain hotels. I would definitely recommend, however be aware that there is no elevator and limited, awkward parking.

Clean room, excellent breakfast and staff were friendly. We were allowed an early check in which was appreciated. Our room was on 3rd floor, which was a climb (no elevator) having injured myself prior to our arrival. We had an okay stay. Location is close to Harvard Square with about a 10 min walk.

Comfy bed! Great location. Arrive a bit early so that you can get a spot in their small parking lot down the street.

Really welcoming and comfortable stay, offeroing much better value than most other options around the Boston or Cambridge area that I could find. Staff were friendly and helpful, brerakfast was delicious, rooms were comfortable and cool (helpful in the hot weather). Only potential downside, which was not a problem for me, was that there are no elevators, so if stairs are a problem (and there are a lot of if you're on the 3rd or 4th floors), then this is not the place for you.

We booked the Irving House in order to attend our son's performance at Harvard. It was the second time we stayed at the inn. The location is excellent with very easy access to the Harvard/Radcliff campus. We definitely plan to stay again. The free parking is a huge plus.

Really enjoy staying at this very well-situated location. Superb service and little extras. Breakfast, parking, newspapers, magazines, books and cookies all included!

Staff are fantastic. Location is perfect for Harvard. Rooms and shared bathrooms are periodically cleaned. Breakfast is good with just enough options. Coffee and cookies served all day to guests. Lobby has desks if needed and luggage storage. Only complaints are that the neighbors can be loud (not something the B&B can control) and the overall place is a bit older. This gives it a great home-y feel but also means the pillows are flat as if they have been run over by a semi. If you want swanky this is not your place, but if you want exceptional service and location paired with more than acceptable accommodations this is the spot. Personally, I will keep coming back.

I spent one night at this property on a single room with shared bathroom. Room and bathroom were clean and staff were very friendly.

I enjoyed to area close to where I needed to go. The key needs to be changed I saw one of the housekeeper with the same key. The carpet is very old and some of the bulbs need to be changed. Good breakfast good veggie options. The room was clean and restrooms are clean. Just a nasty carpet ..

It's an old charming house, very cozy and has everything you need, staff is incredibly nice, very very clean, there is people cleaning all day, those ladies work hard! kuddos to them. Breakfast was yummy and there's access to coffee, tea and cookies 24/7, Would stay there again, beautiful neighborhood and super easy access to Harvard

A lovely place: welcoming, peaceful, spotlessly clean, and with a tasty breakfast spread. A pleasure to stay at whenever I'm in the area.

Very clean room and fantastic location, very walkable to campus if you are here for a school event! The laundry facilities were also great, and staff was very friendly and helpful. If you sleep hot like I do, I would recommend asking to use one of their fans, the AC isn't great, but that's to be expected in an older building.

The staff was wonderful, the rooms were exactly as described and the breakfast was a treat! Clean rooms and the cleaning staff did a fantastic job :)

Clean room pleasant staff and lively commons areas. I will book again in future.

Parents found toilet to be dirty, and when trying to add a breakfast buffet for me, found the breakfast too expensive. Bed is comfortable though: they slept immediately.

The furniture had tears in the upholstery, the sheets were dingy, tub stained . This was more like a youth hostel than B & B.

I don't recommend you to stay here. The low rating is not for their staff and service, nor for the cleanliness, but for the old facilities of the house. The soundproofing of the room is very poor, and the wooden planks creaked when you walked, and the floorboards were very loud. I was the only one staying that day, but I received a late night noise complaint, accusing me of moving furniture late at night? How is this possible? And the floorboards made a loud noise when I just turned over in the bed. No one can not move around in the room, or turn over in the bed, which made me sleep very uncomfortable that night, because I tried not to make noise, but it was not because of me, but because the room and the floorboards are very old, the soundproofing is very poor, and the movement makes noise, which made my stay very uncomfortable that night. I recommend people with a budget to stay in other regular hotels instead of this one.

If you’re on a budget in Cambridge this place is probably fine. I found my room to be very loud and uncomfortable with there not being an air conditioner and it being a particularly warm night. Parking is horrific in their small lot. If you drive a pickup or a full sized suv you will have a problem.

Everything was great. Just thin walls where u can hear everything but that’s to be expected in an old house

Excellent location. Walkable to many restaurants, museums, universities, and public transportation. Very affordable. Overall good stay. We were on the fourth floor, so carrying bags up the stairs for our three-night stay was difficult. There were no temperature controls in the room. It was very hot. There was a small fan that helped a bit, but quite warm. The in-room facilities were tiny, especially the shower if you are a larger person. I am only five feet tall, and the bathroom was small. The housekeeping ladies were excellent and so sweet. There was a lovely gentleman at the front desk who carried my bags downstairs at the end our stay.

All good except for neighbors are noisy and too cold at night.

Overall it was a pleasant stay. The building is old and the rooms are tiny, but they are functional and mostly within my expectations. I was initially a bit concerned about sharing bathrooms, but the staff did a really exceptional job in keeping everything super clean and in order. The bathrooms are so clean that I find myself cleaning it after using it because I don't want to be the first one to leave water spots on the counter top! One major issue is sound isolation. The thin walls are not sound proof at all. I can even hear the guest next door snoring during the night, plus all the activities in the hallway and people walking up and down the stairs. It's basically a communal living experience, which is probably what you were looking for when booking this B&B, but it's definitely something to be aware of. Having paid $200+ for each night, I feel it is definitely overpriced. I get that Cambridge is in general a high-cost-of-living area and the hotel is located in a premium location, but I still wouldn't recommend it at this price point.

It was basic, with a super location by Harvard. My room was very snug, and the lack of AC or a fan made for some discomfort, even in mid June.

My room was smaller than expected and a little warm, but the bed was extremely comfortable. And I had to share a bathroom, but it was always immaculate. I also never had to wait to use it, nor was anyone knocking on the door while I was inside. The breakfast was surprisingly varied and delicious for a continental breakfast, too!

Irving House is fairly conveniently located for access to Harvard Square/Cambridge. The single occupancy room was tiny but had everything I needed. The shared bathrooms were very clean and there were enough to avoid any waits. The building is a bit old and creaky, but overall comfortable and quiet. If you need the latest in mod cons, this probably isn't the place, but I enjoyed the old-school rooming house ambiance as well as the low price.

Very good value. Friendly and professional staff. Nice breakfast options. Great location. And the Wi-Fi works just fine. However, the single bed was very small annd narrow yet tilting to one side, probably because the other edge was too close to the wall. Technically there was some sort of central air conditioning blowing into the rooms, but it really was insufficient and I found it hard to sleep.

Staff are fantastic. Location is perfect for Harvard. Rooms and shared bathrooms are periodically cleaned. Breakfast is good with just enough options. Coffee and cookies served all day to guests. Lobby has desks if needed and luggage storage. Only complaints are that the neighbors can be loud (not something the B&B can control) and the overall place is a bit older. This gives it a great home-y feel but also means the pillows are flat as if they have been run over by a semi. If you want swanky this is not your place, but if you want exceptional service and location paired with more than acceptable accommodations this is the spot. Personally, I will keep coming back.

Wonderful patient customer service manager helped with everything! Free gifts upon check-in. Free cookies at check in. Delicious breakfast! Highly recommend.

Very convenient, friendly staff, clean space!

Excellent location. Walkable to many restaurants, museums, universities, and public transportation. Very affordable. Overall good stay. We were on the fourth floor, so carrying bags up the stairs for our three-night stay was difficult. There were no temperature controls in the room. It was very hot. There was a small fan that helped a bit, but quite warm. The in-room facilities were tiny, especially the shower if you are a larger person. I am only five feet tall, and the bathroom was small. The housekeeping ladies were excellent and so sweet. There was a lovely gentleman at the front desk who carried my bags downstairs at the end our stay.

Clean room, excellent breakfast and staff were friendly. We were allowed an early check in which was appreciated. Our room was on 3rd floor, which was a climb (no elevator) having injured myself prior to our arrival. We had an okay stay. Location is close to Harvard Square with about a 10 min walk.

Bus stops are across the street, very walkable distance to harvard and red line. My room was clean and cozy. Though one of the people at the service desk is kind of passive aggressive the 2 times i asked her a question nicely, maybe she’s just having a bad day lol

I arrived on a warm night, and the staff was not willing to turn on the AC or give me a fan. When I woke up the next day, after a terrible, hot night attempting to sleep, the shower wasn't working. It's also not that quiet, because it is an old house, and you can hear the occupants of the other rooms...which isn't their fault. I was kind of shocked that they were unwilling to lend me a fan. Apparently it would have involved going to the basement, and they were not going to be bothered to do that. The second night was much better, and they did give me a discount, but nothing can repay me for a lost night of sleep.

Everyone was so sweet and helpful! I would definitely come back

Great people. They take care of the details!

Nice, relaxing, quiet property in a good location. Good range of options for breakfast. Nothing bad to say about the staff, but at the same time there weren't people around being welcoming, e.g. at breakfast and generally around the property. The upstairs staff stayed in the office and the downstairs staffed stayed in the kitchen. Would have been nice if staff tried to be welcoming to their guests and get to know them. For example, at breakfast I couldn't work out whether it was just the middle shelf that was gluten free or if it was all of it. If it was just the middle shelf that was 'gluten free' then it would be contaminated by the non-gluten free items in the same space. If it was all of it that was gluten free, then I didn't know where the non-gluten free was.

Very well located near campus

Great location, friendly staff and very quiet and comfortable. More home-feeling than a hotel.

Great location

Very nice bed and breakfast type hotel. Breakfast was very good and convenient. Room clean and comfortable. Easy walk to Harvard campus and houses. Also easy walk to subway station via Harvard campus.

Great location

Well located, convenient

Very close to Harvard University.

Amazing staff, wonderful breakfast. Perfect location steps away from Harvard Square.

Nice location.

Wonderful location. Easy walk to a lot of areas as well as the T.

A charming old hotel. Great hot breakfast. Be ready for stairs.

A wonderful breakfast too, and comfortable room and shower ... : )

Easy check in. Clean cozy room and baths. Great continental breakfast.

Booked this to be close enough to Harvard Divinity School (was there for a conference) to be able to walk there and back. Plus, based on the listing, I expected a cute and quaint New England B&B experience. The location was indeed great and served me well for my purposes. But (other than the drawing room) the Inn did not give the charming BnB vibe I had been hoping for. My tiny room felt more like a hostel or monastic cell. Bare bones and very minimal— a small bed with cheap sheets and a blanket; a couple of towels and a basket with a few essential toiletries; a bare desk and folding chair; old school alarm clock radio; a tiny TV mounted to the wall. That’s about it. Detached bathroom nearby— clean and functional, but nothing to write home about. The breakfast was the most disappointing part. Breakfast in the “dining room” downstairs gave the impression of coffee and donuts in the church basement after services. The buffet style offerings aren’t labeled for ingredients or allergens. Virtually no vegan options. When I tried to ask for assistance, the staff member was visibly annoyed to be disturbed while she was scrolling on her phone, rudely told me that she didn’t understand what I was talking about, and literally walked away from me mid-sentence. I had coffee, a banana, and a dry bagel and cut my losses!

I should have known better... there's a reason it was half the price of other places in Cambridge. Cheap mattress, cheaper sheets, terrible climate control, tight parking. I went down to breakfast and made a U-turn the moment I saw what was laid out.

The breakfast was excellent and not your typical breakfast lots of variety

Good breakfast selection included. Good bathrooms and shower.. On the hot day the room was cool enough and I was able to get a fan. Ok the cold days the blankets were cozy Everyone was very friendly

This was advertised as a bed and breakfast. By my standards it was not, it was an Inn with a continental breakfast. Hampton Inn breakfasts are better. My room was small, bed was not comfortable, TV didn't work at first, and the alarm clock was useless. I will not be back.

Very conveniently located in central Cambridge although a bit of a walk to the transit station. Clean and quiet. Small single rooms but comfortable. One of the best breakfast buffets I’ve ever seen.

Amazing staff, wonderful breakfast. Perfect location steps away from Harvard Square.