Ding. I swipe down on my phone to see my notifications:
We are pleased to announce that N.U.in Boston students will be living in The Westin Copley Place hotel during the fall semester.
My jaw drops and my heart pounds. I immediately screenshot the email and proceed to send it to all my friends—telling them my life will soon be a re-enactment of The Suite Life like Zack and Cody.
In any other semester, this bit of news would seem strange, but in the midst of a global pandemic, it made a strange sort of sense. For brief context, this hotel living situation stemmed from the continuous rising cases in the current COVID-19 pandemic. In the years prior, Northeastern’s N.U.in Program allowed first-year students to study abroad in countries such as Italy, England, and Greece for their first semester of college. However, as the months passed, each international site closed their borders to U.S. travellers and students. To compensate for these unfortunate circumstances, Northeastern ultimately decided to create N.U.in Boston, a site slightly removed from campus where N.U.in students can live out their first semester. Gone were my dreams of living abroad and experiencing another country. I would be like any other Boston college student, except…
I was moving into the Westin hotel. On August 31st, I settled into my college “dorm.” Our rooms are like any typical hotel room: two beds (one king and one queen), a bathroom, a TV, a closet, and two desks. Since the Westin is made up of thirty-six stories, we have incredible views of the city lights as well as the Charles River. The rules are fairly strict for each student. When entering the hotel, students are required to scan their student ID at the front desk on the first or second floor, and the only people allowed in each room are you and your roommate. Naturally, there is no vaping, smoking or drinking permitted.
If you’re wondering about room service or daily housekeeping, the rumors are false. We do, however, have monthly bathroom cleanings. The mailroom on the fourth floor allows for N.U.in students to get packages sent to the Westin, but they must go through the Northeastern campus first, resulting in a typically longer-than-usual time to receive mail.
Although living in a hotel may seem like a dream (Zack and Cody made it look cool), there are definitely a few downsides. To enforce COVID-19 precautions in the hotel, the Westin only permits four people, or one family member, to be in an elevator. This has often left students waiting more than fifteen minutes to be able to access an elevator. The hotel is also inconveniently far from Northeastern’s dining halls, although that depends on who you ask. For me and my friends, the dropping temperatures in Boston have discouraged us from taking a twenty-minute train ride to use our meal swipes everyday. Without an accessible kitchen or authorization of heating appliances like toaster ovens and microwaves, it makes it difficult for students in the Westin to make food in their rooms.
Nevertheless, the pros of living in the Westin severely outweigh the cons. The second floor of the hotel is connected to the Prudential Center through a glass bridge. There are several high-end stores to shop at like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Gucci. Of course, there are also shops on the more affordable side (for college students on a budget!) like Pandora, Kate Spade, and Swarovski. The more convenient stores like Trader Joe’s, Star Market, and CVS are also located near the Westin for grocery shopping and other necessities. Right across the street from the hotel is the Boston Public Library, where students can take advantage of the enjoyable study space. Community-wise, students at the Westin are put into “families” which are led by an International Coordinator (IC). This makes it a little easier for first-year college students to engage in social events and make friends.
