Written by: Rachel Gomes, Class of ’23
Around this time last year, we were seeing COVID-19 cases popping up all around US cities. Different Boston colleges were already getting the green light to send their students home for what we thought would be a “two-week spring break”. Emerson ended up sending us home for the remainder of the semester and in the matter of two to three days the entire campus had left.
We were all unsure of what the upcoming fall semester would look like, let alone if we were even going to return to campus. I remember receiving an email from the housing department telling us that the Paramount Dorm building will be turned into an isolation/quarantine building instead of the typical dorms. My friends and I were all supposed to be dorming in Paramount and of course this news was very shocking to us as we read the email. We then were told that we were going to have the option to dorm in a hotel. The housing department didn’t release which hotel for a few weeks and then one day, we were told Emerson would be using The W hotel. From floors 5 – 11, Emerson students would be ‘taking over’ the W.
The W Hotel and Residences, located on Stuart Street, is a 4 star hotel and luxury condos. So clearly, I was very excited. Upon move-in day I was super happy to see my room with two queen sized beds and my own bathroom. Across from the queen sized beds is a very large television. With floor to ceiling windows, I definitely felt like I was living large.
In addition to staying in this luxury hotel, we were told that a cleaning service would be coming into our rooms once a week to clean the bathrooms, change the sheets, and vacuum the floors. As if my life could get any better! So once a week, we are required to leave our rooms for about 30 mins while the style services come in. Sitting in the mezzanine of the W Hotel waiting for my “dorm” room to be cleaned was definitely something I never thought would have happened.
It will be hard to even think about moving back into a typical dorm room after living in my own space with my own bathroom. As I was supposed to be in the Netherlands this semester studying abroad at Kasteel Well, this has definitely made up for it in a way. Emerson Housing Department really came through with this decision and made the most out of a weird situation, so this is a big thank you to them and all of the Emerson Faculty and Staff who have been making the most of these uncertain times.
Be the first to reply