Bottom Line Lounge @ the Babson Executive Conference Center

Avoid!  I went to this place twice.  The first time I learned that the prices are RIDICULOUS, the second time I learned that the service is horrendous.  This place effectively operates as a monopoly in a city that is basically "dry" -- and it shows.

First time: Bartender is nice and attentive, hands me the Samuel Adams Summer Ale I ordered.  Total price: $7.  Making conversation, I tell him jokingly it must be a good batch of Sam Adams seasonal to be that expensive.  Now, he can either joke around with me about how crazy a price like that is--even for a hotel bar--or he can make up a total BS excuse.  He did the latter, telling me that because it's a seasonal ale, it's hard to obtain and therefore very expensive.  Knowing for a fact that this is untrue, I ask him how much his draft beers are (Miller, Dos Equis, etc.).  Answer: "$6.25."  I rest my case.

Second time: It's 9:30pm on a Saturday night (Commencement Weekend) --2 hours before closing.  Every unoccupied table has plates with uneaten food and empty glasses on them.  We sit at the two open seats on the bar.  There are two mostly-finished drinks that have not been cleared, and some soggy dollar bills.  Is this a lounge or a fraternity house. The ONLY bartender on duty is bullshitting with 2 customers and playing with a cell phone.  

5 minutes go by...he still hasn't even acknowledged us and we are right near him.  I get his attention and tell him we'd like to order.  Rude response, and he goes back to playing with the phone.  Another minute goes by and we leave.  No apology, no "I'll be right over."  We complain to both the manager and the director.  We get an apology, but (later) an assurance that the bartender was merely helping a customer with their cell phone.  What a joke - is this Verizon, or a bar?  You serve drinks first, then help someone with their phone.  Or at least politely say, "I'll be right with you."

Needless to say, we won't be going back.

Came here during a conference because the "dinner buffet" was actually an "appetizer buffet" and we were in need of some actual food. The bartender was nice, food was good, and the pool tables were a blast. It was a nice place to unwind with coworkers and colleagues.

The Bottom Line Lounge is similar in many ways to the movie theater concession stand... It caters toward a captive audience, is highly priced, but is serviceable. The closest bars to here are a 15 minute drive away in Newton and Natick. That's what you get for being in a town where fast food was banned until they opened a Qdoba last year. It has a pool table and is fairly busy almost every night with visitors from different companies training at the executive center. The selection of beers is not my cup of tea (I have to slide a few rungs away from my beers of choice to have a Bass Ale), but it is a clean and well-lit (without glaring for my hypersensitive eye) place. It is not too crowded and does not feel snobby in personality, albeit the decor does feel... bare. It needs something to spice up the walls, but at least it is not white walls and feeling like an office cubicle or classroom. But it needs something, anything, to keep from feeling like you're trapped in a hotel bar. I believe it is the *only* bar in Wellesley. The entire executive center is made to feel like one large hotel, but a bar whose constant base is grad students needs to be more stimulating in look than a Pontiac Aztec.