Prudential Center Garage

Tonight we parked in this garage and ended up paying $ 42 for two and a half hours. I’ve lived in the Boston area for 30 years and this is the most money I have EVER paid for a garage. What a disgrace! and the woman in the ticket booth acted like we had woken her up from her nap. Do yourself a favor and don’t EVER park in this place.

I didn’t know that I could hate a parking garage. They’re all kind of the same, you know?
But hey, this place proved me wrong!
1) The people who work here had no idea what was going on. We drove around for several minutes unable to find any spots. Then we found where every single person working there was clustered – they were all sitting around hanging out instead of being distributed throughout the garage to serve any useful purpose. One guy pointed us down a dead-​end lane with no open spots. Then when a car was backing out immediately in front of us, and he stood there pointing at the open spot – no, really? Should we park there?
2) It was actually impossible to find the way out. There were crowds of people walking around in circles, clearly looking for an exit, and the cluster of employees hanging around doing nothing somehow didn’t notice this.
3) When we finally happened upon an elevator, there was a giant crowd in front of it. All 30 of us stood around for 5 minutes until finally the doors opened – and the people said, «I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.» Apparently the elevator just goes up and down and up and down for 10 minutes without actually opening onto any floors – they were all so freaked out, as I would have been too! So then there were 40 of us wandering around looking for an exit. We finally found a funky-​smelling set of elevators that took us into Lord & Taylor, so we all got out that way. So strange and unnecessary.
4) Here’s the worst part: IT COST $ 40 TO PARK HERE FOR A FEW HOURS. THE SIGN POSTED AT THE ENTRANCE CLEARLY SAID $ 14 FLAT RATE. The guy at the booth on the way out was like «lol you need a stamp, $ 40» — would have been great to know that ahead of time, thanks guys! UGH.

Absolutely worst place to park for Red Sox game. Going on 20 minutes in a cue to get out.

RIP OFF!!! DONT, NEVER park here. I parked here for the red sox game. It said $ 17 dollars for the game day and they charged me $ 40 for not having the physical game ticket. Come on, who prints out the ticket these days? Are we living in the 90’s? I walked 20 minutes for nothing. I could’ve parked right in front of the fenway. It was a nice workout though. HORRIBLE Customer service. Never going back!!!

It costs $ 40 to park for 2 ½ hours here. Validation means nothing if you arrive a few minutes before 9:30 AM, apparently!!!

One of the worst experiences. Had a coupon that they refused to honor so afterwards I attempted to call the main office to resolve and get clarity on the issue. After multiple messages and zero response I finally gave up. Pathetic customer service. Never again.

Central parking location in Downtown Boston, but you definitely pay for the location if you’re parking more than 5 hours, which will cost you $ 38! However, if you are there for less than 5 hours, it’s much cheaper ($ 20 I believe), so worth parking here if for a shorter period of time. The spots are decently sized and it seemed pretty safe.

I am amazed the attorney generals have not shut them down. They state $ 20 for 5 hours and «daily rates apply» after 5 hours but what they do is after 5 hours they completely invalidate the validation and charge outrageous daily rates. In other words you do not get $ 20 for 5 hours and the next hour at the daily rate. You get the entire bill at full daily rate. The manager is not helpful and attendant just laughs when you try to explain. They basically say f-​u as they laugh their way to the bank. I expect to pay more for tourist stuff, I just do not expect to be robbed. If I can give no stars I would. Do not park here.

Horrible. Parked there for a game. Advertised $ 16. Also advertise first 4 hours for $ 14 with validation. We were there for 5 hours. So, you assume you pay the $ 14 and then one hour at the outrageous $ 10 per hour. No no. They stated that it was $ 38. They said the validation does not apply after 4 hours. Clearly fraud and unfair trade practices. Do not park here. Again. Do not park here. It’s theft and they need to be reported. Avoid at all costs or be prepared to pay a lot for a horrible lot.

After picking up my 85 year old mom at Logan (visiting from NC) we go to the Prudential parking so we can take her to a restaurant and then to Top of the Hub. We had a handicap sign for her but did not need it as the parking was close to the door, plenty of spots. I have parked several places in Boston on a Saturday and paid a much reduced rate than the weekdays– for example, at Post Office Square Parking, near Faneuil Hall they charge $ 9.00 for Saturday or Sunday. So considering we paid $ 85.00 for lunch, then $ 35.00 for drinks at Top of Hub, I was surprised the Prudential Parking garage charged $ 38.00 for three hours. I expressed some surprise to the attendant for so much on a Saturday, and she said it’s no difference from weekdays. So do people come to shop here and pay that much for parking??? I thought about later, we were so busy taking care of my mother that we didn’t think of asking if the give discounts for purchases/​spending money in the shops/​restaurants. I have to say I feel they overcharge. I cannot imagine going back here, and would tell others to avoid parking here. A Boston parking ticket would be much cheaper.

do no park your car here!!! totatl rip off!!! $ 38.00 for 3 hours at night??? i cannot believe they charge this much! beyond annoying! super rude employees too!!!

$ 35 for parking when I can park on the street for $ 2.50 for the same amount of time?

This is a delayed review. I wish i could give no stars. I was in town for a function and this was the closet garage and I will NEVER be back. Let me start by saying… we drove into the garage as it is a popular and convenient location and it will take awhile to find a spot– that’s a given in Boston. The reason I am giving this place one star is because of the customer service which is down right terrible. I had a coupon on my phone and no where on it did it say it had to be printed out. There was a barcode on the coupon as well for the attendant to supposedly scan. I pulled up to the garage exit with the coupon on my smart phone ready to go… the attendant was so incredibly rude. She basically shoved my phone back at me and said they didn’t accept them unless they were printed. I told her it didn’t say that on my coupon. When I asked for a manager she said there was none available. I drove away a disgruntled customer to never return. I called the parking company the next day and they were wonderful but said they couldn’t anything about refunding me the money I deserved-​they were equally as shocked about this «policy.» All in all DON’T PARK HERE

Would you like my first born male child in trade in lieu of the arm and leg to park in here? No I am not joking. However if you spend $ 10 at any vendor (purportedly) you get to pay $ 12 for the first 4 hours. Not all vendors had the validation and you would have to return to the information booth, somewhere else in the mall, to get validated, if they decided to validate you.
Talk about a major RipOff! Then again they have a monopoly as there is no metered or free parking hardly at all anywhere close by. =\
At least its a clean garage but yeah that doesnt help out a lot if you just want to get a decent rate and not get ripped off, but that doesnt work so well here to say the least.
Pro Tip: You can pay your parking fees by credit card, because seriously, who carries that much cash on them?
I also didnt like that there were no guiding signs hardly at all for where to go and how to get back to where you parked. I hard parked underneath Saks Fifth Avenue and wasnt quite sure where under the store I had parked. I did find it, but a parking garage sign or two would have been supremely helpful to this tourist.
Thieves… I wont be parking here again that I can promise!

1-​star for the central location. The Prudential Center is really close to Boylston & Newbury Streets and just a short walk from Fenway.
1-​star for the $ 16 deal they offer up to fans attending the Red Sox games (just know you need to hand over one of your tickets when you leave the parking garage.)
1-​star for the ample parking spaces. Soooo many spots. Unfortunately this would hurt us later on…
1-​star for the friendly staffers at the garage who pointed us in the right direction more than once.
So why did I only give 4-​stars? The size of this garage is just unnecessarily large. It’s like 5 split levels AND takes up a whole city block. Jeesh. So many levels. So many entrances. It’s got a north side and a south side and a tunnel to connect them!
I suppose It was half our fault, we didn’t pay close enough attention to where we parked… so after the {extra innings} Red Sox/​Yankees game we got back to the garage and entered the wrong area (north side, 5^th floor). Come to find out we parked on the south side, 2^nd floor. Big thanks to the super nice maintenance man who at first pointed us in the right direction, and then walked us through the aforementioned tunnel to the other side of the parking garage. Had we not found him we could still be there… a week later.
Would I use this garage again for parking in Boston /​a game at Fenway? Absolutely! I spent time the week before pricing it out and you really can’t beat $ 16. Most other lots and garages we looked at started at $ 25 and went up as high as $ 50. But next time I’ll plan my exit a little better. It’s not fun wandering a parking garage at 1am searching for your car.

This is a safe place to park, however after their recent business decisions I will never park with them again. Immediately after the Boston Marathon bombings, they removed their online coupons and now force their customers to pay $ 39.00 a day. I understand why they’ve done this, but I find it sickening to realize they’ve jacked their rates up to take advantage if the people coming to the Back Bay to visit the bombing sites and memorial.
For the last 2 years, people have been able to pay $ 27.00 to park here. Now it’s $ 39.00!!! I can’t park here knowing I’m being taken advantage of. And just forget any chance if them being decent people and doing you a favor. If you’re just a few minutes over entering at 9AM, you can be sure you won’t be getting the early bird special.
Park elsewhere. Save yourself the money. It’s just not worth it.

There are times in my life when I am convinced that someone is filming me as part of a social experiment designed to test the human limits of patience. My experience dealing with the Prudential Center Parking Garage is toward the top of that list.
My parents and I drove in the Boston to catch a Red Sox game one afternoon and we elected to park here (.8 miles from Fenway) as they run a promotion for $ 16 if you show a game ticket from that day as you leave the garage. (Note: Their website says there is no discount for postponed games, FYI.) The Pru Garage won out as we figured we could save some cash and have the chance to see some scenery by foot before the game.
GOOD LORD. This parking lot is a HOT MESS. There is no real direction of where to go to park and at least half of the turns we took led us to a dead end. There are very few notable visual markers by which you can determine if you have already passed an area once, twice, thrice, or umpteen times. Some drivers seemed to just give up at a certain point and make up their own parking spot. Amazingly enough, we traveled far and wide and found some remotely undiscovered part of the lot through the labyrinth-​like set up. A few cars we were in an unofficial caravan with also parked nearby and we learned that they, like us, were also first time parkers at this lot (aka suckers). Miraculously we found the elevator to get out, and after spending the day in the city, even more miraculously made our way back to our car and found our way out of this maze.
I would recommend this parking lot only to people I intensely dislike and never hope to see again.

I had my most horrendous and exasperating parking experience ever here.
Imagine — a nice Saturday late afternoon/​early evening; lines of cars inching around the Back Bay/​Copley area, massive hordes of people in Red Sox gear all headed in the same direction towards their mecca out west, traffic lights that would intermittedly shine green, yet signs were posted reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians, who happen to have the white walk signal the entire length of time of the green light (yeah, that doesn’t work too well); street parking utterly occupied and thus an unrealistic hope, particularly since restaurant valet services are now up and running, parking garages posted with either «Full» signs or otherwise marked that they were temporarily full and thus only allowing monthly pass holders in.
Thus, my last ditch effort! There was no such sign at the Prudential Center Garage entrance on Belvidere Street by P.F. Chang’s, so with great relief, I entered… only to find an endless stream of cars crossing before me at the gate. I had to press for a ticket twice just to successfully get past the gate and to join the parade. For over a half an hour, I meandered the aisles of the parking garage with the multitudes, finding myself at dead ends, making numerous u-​turns and pulling out in reverse to continue on my fruitless and hopeless search. At one point, nearing the end of my patience, and already significantly late for my event, I asked a young family if they wouldn’t mind if I followed them to their car. Unfortunately, they were lost in the underground maze (I felt so badly for them!) and there were impatient cars behind me, so after having followed them back and forth a few times, I decided it was time to give up… only to ironically notice out of the corner of my eye a car preparing to pull out of a precious spot!
The sole saving grace was that the event for which I had driven out here for this night of nights had managed to score us a flat parking rate of $ 12 — which matches the normal $ 12 flat fee with validated parking ticket (but with a $ 10 purchase) enter after 5:00PM and exit by 3:00AM, but is lower than the $ 16 Red Sox parking rate. But when paying this special rate, I was required to charge it, which was fine with me, but I realize that not everyone has a credit card.
So, in summary, as far as you are able, do NOT head to the Copley area on a Game Day Saturday or Sunday and look for parking. You will regret it.
I read an article recently of a lady who made several stops along the way on the day of the marathon to cheer on her husband. Her last stop was to park at the Pru garage to head over to the finish line. I have trouble believing this — just how was she able to find a spot here on such a busy day? Having driven around and around this garage, it didn’t feel particularly spacious.
*** 5÷9÷2013 ***
I appreciate yesterday’s Comment from Julie M. of the Pru Center Garage, offering other suggestions for parking.
On the night of my visit, however, I had driven by on Ring Road, and the garage entrance there had a «Full» sign posted. Thus my relief at the lack of such a sign at the Belvidere Street entrance… only to have my hopefulness slowly sucked out of me as the minutes ticked by during my long and seemingly fruitless search while «trapped» in the garage (I didn’t know whether they had actual humans manning the exits (they do), and whether they’d charge me even though I had never actually literally parked my car.).
When I came across the garage office, however, and explained my situation to the lady within, she did say that they’d let me out without a charge. Finding this said office, however, isn’t easy — I only found it by accident, and I’m not sure if the folks manning the gate would have this same authority.

I can’t believe this rating is raising the average. Whereas complaints about game day pricing are legitimate, gripes about the prices in general aren’t. It’s the dead center of Boston, this is what they can charge for parking, so they do. Nothing wrong with that.
My main complaints are:
1. The layout is atrocious. I know the large, haphazardly placed concrete columns are probably a necessity of having a 70 story building directly above, but it seems they could have designed the parking layout and traffic flow around them a lot better.
2. I park here nights and weekends. I know I’m not guaranteed a space. But it’s still maddening to return from work in the suburbs to find the garage full on occasion. They also fill up on snow emergencies, potentially leaving me screwed to find parking if I get home hours after the emergency has been declared.
3. The elevators are slow and constantly broken. Last I checked, the elevator I use regularly was out of inspection by over a year. And good luck finding the stairs. Getting out of here is like finding your way through a casino.
Parking is generally a sucky experience, but it’s slightly more miserable here.

Fucking misers! How the hell can you all charge THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS for parking for a whole THREE HOURS?! Nice signage. Er, I mean, NO SIGNAGE. You drive in – no signs outside saying that you will have to sell your soul to the EVIL PARKING DEMON that lives in this garage. I have driven into Boston many a time and shame on me for actually thinking that parking at 6:30pm on a Thursday night and vacating shitty parking garage by 9:42pm would allow me to spend THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS. MUTHA EFF!
The girl working there could not have been more snooty. «thirty five.»
What?! It says enter after blah blah blah time TWELVE DOLLARS.
«with validation.»
KELLY CLARKSON!
Never again, Prudential Garage.
NEVER AGAIN.