Hilton Boston/Woburn completed a $16-million renovation spearheaded by a joint venture between The Davis Companies and The Rubicon Companies.
The hotel’s transformation, which took 10 months, revitalized the Woburn hotel’s lobby, guestrooms, event and meeting spaces, which pay homage to the town’s legacy that dates back to the 17th Century. Cobblers and cordwainers dominated the city’s industry through the mid-1800s when manufacturing shifted to leathermaking by 1865. In 1885, Woburn became New England’s leading leather producer. It was Woburn’s Henry Thayer who developed chrome tanning in 1901.
The lobby now has new lighting installation, reclaimed woods, layered area rugs, retail-inspired check-in desks displaying vintage artifacts and accent walls inspired by a Brannock shoe-measuring device. The lobby is connected to a six-story open atrium and past the Rivet Room, a new social space with leather armchairs and billiards, and overlooks the refurbished indoor swimming pool.
The 344 renovated guestrooms, including two Junior Suites, have elements of cobbler shops and tanneries, mixed with contemporary touches. There are forged metals, lacquered hard goods, embossed leather headboards and 3D wire art in the guestrooms. Rooms also have Serenity Beds with Serta Perfect Sleeper Suite Dreams mattresses, Peter Thomas Roth bath products and interior balconies overlooking the indoor pool.
Hilton Boston/Woburn’s 18,000 square feet of newly renovated event space have flexible options for all styles of events. The Grand Ballroom as well as the 13 meeting and function rooms, named after historic Woburn figures, have technologies punctuated with vintage design elements. Spaces have pressed-tin ceilings, high-backed winged chairs, industrial-style chandeliers and leather booths.
The property also opened Matadora, the hotel’s Spanish tapas restaurant that was created in partnership with COJE Management, the team behind Boston’s Yvonne’s, RUKA and Lolita. Matadora has a patio with firepits. There are lounge sofas inside, as well as a central bar and seating options ranging from high-top leather banquettes to a rolling communal table and stools at the Chef’s Counter, nine seats overlooking the open kitchen and custom grill. Reclaimed wood, leather, lighting installation, and pops of terracotta and red punctuate the space. There is also a series of murals depicting the matadora, the restaurant’s namesake.
Brett Woods is the GM of Hilton Boston/Woburn.