A tourist trap
Ouch. We went there on Saturday night with a group of ASW friends visiting from out of town and what a disaster of a place. If your friends are coming from NYC, Chicago, London or anywhere with a good variety of lounges and bars by all means don't bring them to Emerald. It is a poor choice. Boston has a problem with good lounges but this place is terrible even by Boston standards.
First, it tries to be something that it isn't. Super pretentious but without substance and glamour. Instead, rather dry and embarrassing.
Second, DANCING IS NOT ALLOWED (But hey we all love to stand stiff for 20 minutes waiting for a drink, don't we?). Most people were very stiff.
Third, it was a saturday night and it was sadly empty. Most groups don't stay in for more than 20 minutes (I was there for one hour and saw two groups of badly dressed baccalaureate parties come in, sniff at the place, and leave without even having a drink!).
Fourth, they have a clueless fashion police at the door, which I saw refusing entry to a few people. How Emerald came with their idea of what is allowed and what is not allowed might be beyond comprehension even for the Emerald staff but then they don't seem to know what they are doing anyways. At some point I heard the doorman go consult with his fashionista (oh my) about what were clearly a girls very style sandals. Offensive? Then I saw this stylish super good looking couple who would have gotten in even at the standard hotel in NYC be given a hard time. I think they left annoyed once they realized that the place was not worth it.
Fifth, the lighting is terrible. That's right, the green light might make your date feel like running away.
In a sentence: it is a tourist trap and an embarrassment to the hotel.