How about The Sheraton Commander in Cambridge? Or The Copley Square Hotel? I've never stayed at either, but they seem nice. Also, I've heard good things about the Newbury Guest House in Back Bay.
I hated this thing the first time I saw it. I still don't like how it looks in that first picture (a giant robot head?). But the other two - it looks halfway decent, and I kind of like the contrast with the surroundings. Too bad they couldn't have included more windows. And thank goodness...
Jill Brown-Rhone Park in Central Square, Cambridge. It hasn't been around very long, but it's completely transformed that intersection at Main St, Columbia St, and Mass Ave into a magnet for social, culinary, and musical activity.