Some European friends are coming to visit. Knowing how long I?d lived in Boston, they asked me for hotel recommendations. I didn?t know their intended price range, so I included a pretty complete spectrum. Some of these hotels I?ve stayed at; for the others I did a little research on Tripadvisor and the hotels? websites --including a few selections that just opened this month. Nothing like a new hotel: squeaky clean with low, introductory prices.
A hotel room is just a place to lay your head if you?re determined to be indifferent to your surroundings. Seasoned travelers, however, know that it?s central to the travel experience, whatever you may pay. And even more important are the hotel?s immediate environs; you want to come back to a warm and welcoming place in a pleasant area.
Within price categories, establishments are listed in roughly descending order of both price and desirability. Hotel prices are generally down; good for the traveler.
Roughly:
$$$$ 400+
$$$ 300-399
$$ 240-299
$ 100-239
BOSTON HOTELS
$$$$ Boston Harbor. Number Three in Tripadvisor?s rankings. Located on Rowe?s Wharf, the hotel is best reached from the airport by water taxi; its huge archway will strike you from the water as the city?s gate. Almost like a self-contained resort, this luxurious hotel features harbor and skyscraper views, and it?s near the Greenway, Financial District, Aquarium, Long Wharf, Quincy Market, the Freedom Trail, Post Office Square and Downtown shopping. D?cor is upmarket but not thrilling; the restaurant is pricey; and the bar has a big selection of Scotches. Water taxi service to points across the harbor.T: Aquarium, South Station (a bit of a walk).
$$$$ Mandarin Oriental. Lavish materials, big and luxurious rooms, and high prices. The hotel?s Back Bay location could not possibly be better; the hotel connects to the Prudential and Copley Place shopping malls, the Prudential Skywalk and the Hynes Convention Center, and it?s just a block to Newbury Street, the city?s best shopping. Also nearby are Copley Square, the Public Library, Trinity Church, the Christian Science Center, Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall (chamber music), the Berklee Performance Center (jazz), the Duckboat Tours and the South End with its quiet streets, arts venues and cornucopia of restaurants. T: Copley, Hynes.
$$$ Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel is brand new, Number Two in Tripadvisor?s ratings, and situated on a pier overlooking the harbor; the views are splendid. Very near the Italian North End with its famous restaurants and medieval labyrinth of narrow streets, but a bit of a hike to the subway. Arrive by water taxi from the airport; it will bring you directly to the hotel?s wharf. The Markets, the Freedom Trail, City Hall, the Greenway, the Aquarium and The TD Banknorth Garden (basketball, hockey, rock concerts) are all fairly near. Consider using the water taxi to access points around the harbor; the concierge will arrange it. T: Haymarket, Aquarium.
$$$ Fairmont Copley Plaza is grand, slightly faded and historic (1912). The rooms vary in quality, so ask to see yours before you pay and if you don?t like it, ask for another. Smack-dab on Copley Square, along with the even grander Public Library and Richardson?s Trinity Church. Back Bay, Newbury St. with its chic shops, and the South End with its restaurants are all a short walk, and so is the Copley Place/Prudential Mall, the Prudential skywalk, the Christian Science Center, Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall (chamber music), the Berklee Performance Center, and several theatre companies. Take a cab from the airport. T: Copley, Back Bay.
$$$ Marriott?s Custom House occupies a beautiful antique skyscraper (base, 1837; tower, 1915). Ask for a high floor, so you can take advantage of the views. Near Quincy Market, Durgin-Park?s landmark restaurant frozen in time, the Aquarium, Long Wharf and the Waterfront, the Financial District, City Hall, the Freedom Trail, Downtown and numerous bars. Rooms come with separate living room/kitchenettes, but the fairly standard d?cor doesn?t match the hotel?s gorgeous exterior, and the thrilling 26th floor observation deck (ask at the desk; don?t miss it). The Blue Line subway from the airport lets you off just outside the hotel?s door. T: Aquarium.
$$ W Hotel. Slick modernity in the somewhat frayed Theatre District. The great bar features young things in miniskirts. The immediate area is neither fish nor fowl, though you might be charmed by Bay Village, a tiny enclave of Federal townhouses (ask concierge for directions). The Public Garden and Common, Tufts Medical Center, Chinatown, Newbury Street?s ritzy shops, and Downtown?s now-meager retail district are also close by, as well as remnants of the Combat Zone sin district. Jacob Wirth is an ancient (1868), barely-German restaurant past its heyday but somewhat atmospheric. T: Boylston, NE Medical Center, Chinatown.
$$ Ames Hotel. Boston?s newest inn occupies one of its oldest skyscrapers; from 1893 to 1915, this Richardsonian Romanesque office tower was the city?s tallest. The Morgan Group?s cutting edge d?cor blends with elaborate artworks from the building?s past. You can?t get more downtown than right here; Quincy Market, City Hall, the Old State House, Downtown shopping, the Financial District, and Beacon Hill are all just steps away, while the Freedom Trail is just outside the door. This being a new hotel, you can shop for room discounts. The Blue Line from the airport brings you to the hotel?s door. T: State (Blue Line), Government Center.
$$ Back Bay. Number Six in Tripadvisor?s rankings. Previously Jury?s Hotel, this former police station comes with a spectacular lobby and fine rooms. It?s close to Downtown, the Theatre District, Copley Square, Back Bay, Newbury Street with its chic shops, and the South End with its restaurants and live theatre. The hotel?s immediate area is a bit dead, since it?s basically a business district. Don?t miss Trinity Church and the fabulous Public Library, both on nearby Copley Square. (Farmers Market, Tu & Fr, 10-6). If you?re arriving by train from New York, get off at Back Bay Station; the hotel is a three-block walk. T: Arlington, Back Bay, Copley.
$$ Lenox comes in at Number One in Tripadvisor?s ratings. This old fashioned hostelry might strike some as overstuffed, but at least it?s the genuine article, and well-kept. It provides a measure of old-fashioned elegance near Copley Square, Copley Place and Prudential Malls, the Hynes Convention Center, numerous restaurants and Newbury Street?s posh shopping. Right next door to the magnificent Public Library (be sure you see the old part), and easy access to Back Bay?s beautiful streets and riverfront. Courteous service. In cool weather, get a room with a fireplace; they?ll light the fire for you. Half a block to the subway. T: Copley.
$$ Inn at St. Botolph is a small, snazzily modern hotel in a turreted town house on a quiet South End street. It?s near the Prudential Center and Mall, which lead to the Hynes Convention Center, Back Bay, and Newbury Street?s chic shops; Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall (chamber music) and the Berklee Performance Center (jazz). Your room?s kitchenette will allow you to economize at the two supermarkets in walking distance, including a Whole Foods, but you might instead choose to splurge at some of the South End?s many marvelous restaurants --or the ones on Huntington Avenue. A short subway/streetcar ride to the Museum of Fine Arts. T: Prudential
$$ Marriott Cambridge. Just across the Charles River in Cambridge, this is a high-rise hotel with fairly standard rooms. Not so standard are the Starbuck?s in the lobby, the food court next door, MIT across the street, and the on-premises subway station (2 stops to Harvard Square, 2 stops to Downtown Boston [Park St]). A few steps up the street, Legal Seafood (a restaurant) completes a pleasant little oasis of urbanity in an office-park desert. Though in Cambridge, this hotel is equally good for visiting Boston. Ask for a high-floor room facing the Boston skyline for a fabulous view. T: Kendall (an easy two changes of train from the Airport).
$$ Inn at Harvard, Cambridge. Somewhat better-than-average rooms surround a huge and slightly cold atrium in which huddles a so-so and pricey restaurant. The location, however, can?t be beat: in Harvard Square and next to the University (ask for a room facing the Square). The best feature is that during your stay you get a temporary Harvard Faculty Club membership, which entitles you to a pretty good meal less than a block away, in world class company and surroundings. Harvard Square is famously 11 minutes by subway to downtown Boston, but truth is, Harvard has a better downtown than Boston: better shops, better street life. T: Harvard.
$ Clarendon Square Inn. Tastefully furnished by its friendly proprietors, this stately South End house blends with its bowfront street to transport you to the Victorian era. You?ll live like a local in one of Boston?s nicest old neighborhoods. Number Three in Tripadvisor?s Bed and Breakfast listings, the inn is close to Copley Square, Newbury Street, the Prudential and Copley Place malls, the Hynes Convention Center, Symphony and Jordan Halls, and the Christian Science Center. But best of all is the neighborhood itself: a quiet harmony of rowhouses with many great restaurants, galleries and an occasional playhouse. T: Back Bay, Prudential.
$ Encore Bed and Breakfast. Rated Number One in Tripadvisor?s Bed and Breakfast listings, this is another townhouse on a beautiful South End street. The Encore?s proprietors lean towards the exposed brick and modern furniture school, with colorful results. Near Symphony and Jordan Halls, the Berklee Performance Center, the Prudential and Copley Place malls, the Christian Science Center, the Hynes Convention Center, and numerous restaurants in surroundings of great beauty. Some small squares in the area may remind you of London. Subway access to all points, or walk till you drop in the country?s largest historic district. T: Back Bay
$ Aisling Bed and Breakfast. Number Two in Tripadvisor?s Bed and Breakfast listings. Though in the South End, this is somewhat in the wilds: not really convenient to the subway; you?ll have to take the Silver Line bus into Downtown or the Massachusetts Avenue bus to Harvard Square. To more than compensate, the hosts are great conversationalists, and the breakfast is exceptional. They?ll usually pick you up at the airport; and if you arrive by car, there?s free parking. The Boston Medical Center is walking distance, as are some of the South End?s handsome squares. Nicely furnished rooms with mostly Victorian furniture. T: Silver Line bus.
$ John Jeffries House is Boston?s economy champion, where Beacon Hill meets the Charles River Esplanade. This clean inn delivers no-frills rooms in what was once a nurses? dormitory. You?ll find easy access to scenic Beacon Hill and its charming shops on Charles Street, and Mass. General Hospital. Very close by, the Red Line subway extends your range to Downtown Boston, MIT, Harvard Square and under-appreciated Central Square. Charles Street is well-stocked with restaurants --or budget-stretching food stores if you choose to make use of the hotel?s in-room kitchenettes. Slick bar in Liberty Hotel nearby. Good value. T: Charles/MGH
A hotel room is just a place to lay your head if you?re determined to be indifferent to your surroundings. Seasoned travelers, however, know that it?s central to the travel experience, whatever you may pay. And even more important are the hotel?s immediate environs; you want to come back to a warm and welcoming place in a pleasant area.
Within price categories, establishments are listed in roughly descending order of both price and desirability. Hotel prices are generally down; good for the traveler.
Roughly:
$$$$ 400+
$$$ 300-399
$$ 240-299
$ 100-239
BOSTON HOTELS
$$$$ Boston Harbor. Number Three in Tripadvisor?s rankings. Located on Rowe?s Wharf, the hotel is best reached from the airport by water taxi; its huge archway will strike you from the water as the city?s gate. Almost like a self-contained resort, this luxurious hotel features harbor and skyscraper views, and it?s near the Greenway, Financial District, Aquarium, Long Wharf, Quincy Market, the Freedom Trail, Post Office Square and Downtown shopping. D?cor is upmarket but not thrilling; the restaurant is pricey; and the bar has a big selection of Scotches. Water taxi service to points across the harbor.T: Aquarium, South Station (a bit of a walk).
$$$$ Mandarin Oriental. Lavish materials, big and luxurious rooms, and high prices. The hotel?s Back Bay location could not possibly be better; the hotel connects to the Prudential and Copley Place shopping malls, the Prudential Skywalk and the Hynes Convention Center, and it?s just a block to Newbury Street, the city?s best shopping. Also nearby are Copley Square, the Public Library, Trinity Church, the Christian Science Center, Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall (chamber music), the Berklee Performance Center (jazz), the Duckboat Tours and the South End with its quiet streets, arts venues and cornucopia of restaurants. T: Copley, Hynes.
$$$ Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel is brand new, Number Two in Tripadvisor?s ratings, and situated on a pier overlooking the harbor; the views are splendid. Very near the Italian North End with its famous restaurants and medieval labyrinth of narrow streets, but a bit of a hike to the subway. Arrive by water taxi from the airport; it will bring you directly to the hotel?s wharf. The Markets, the Freedom Trail, City Hall, the Greenway, the Aquarium and The TD Banknorth Garden (basketball, hockey, rock concerts) are all fairly near. Consider using the water taxi to access points around the harbor; the concierge will arrange it. T: Haymarket, Aquarium.
$$$ Fairmont Copley Plaza is grand, slightly faded and historic (1912). The rooms vary in quality, so ask to see yours before you pay and if you don?t like it, ask for another. Smack-dab on Copley Square, along with the even grander Public Library and Richardson?s Trinity Church. Back Bay, Newbury St. with its chic shops, and the South End with its restaurants are all a short walk, and so is the Copley Place/Prudential Mall, the Prudential skywalk, the Christian Science Center, Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall (chamber music), the Berklee Performance Center, and several theatre companies. Take a cab from the airport. T: Copley, Back Bay.
$$$ Marriott?s Custom House occupies a beautiful antique skyscraper (base, 1837; tower, 1915). Ask for a high floor, so you can take advantage of the views. Near Quincy Market, Durgin-Park?s landmark restaurant frozen in time, the Aquarium, Long Wharf and the Waterfront, the Financial District, City Hall, the Freedom Trail, Downtown and numerous bars. Rooms come with separate living room/kitchenettes, but the fairly standard d?cor doesn?t match the hotel?s gorgeous exterior, and the thrilling 26th floor observation deck (ask at the desk; don?t miss it). The Blue Line subway from the airport lets you off just outside the hotel?s door. T: Aquarium.
$$ W Hotel. Slick modernity in the somewhat frayed Theatre District. The great bar features young things in miniskirts. The immediate area is neither fish nor fowl, though you might be charmed by Bay Village, a tiny enclave of Federal townhouses (ask concierge for directions). The Public Garden and Common, Tufts Medical Center, Chinatown, Newbury Street?s ritzy shops, and Downtown?s now-meager retail district are also close by, as well as remnants of the Combat Zone sin district. Jacob Wirth is an ancient (1868), barely-German restaurant past its heyday but somewhat atmospheric. T: Boylston, NE Medical Center, Chinatown.
$$ Ames Hotel. Boston?s newest inn occupies one of its oldest skyscrapers; from 1893 to 1915, this Richardsonian Romanesque office tower was the city?s tallest. The Morgan Group?s cutting edge d?cor blends with elaborate artworks from the building?s past. You can?t get more downtown than right here; Quincy Market, City Hall, the Old State House, Downtown shopping, the Financial District, and Beacon Hill are all just steps away, while the Freedom Trail is just outside the door. This being a new hotel, you can shop for room discounts. The Blue Line from the airport brings you to the hotel?s door. T: State (Blue Line), Government Center.
$$ Back Bay. Number Six in Tripadvisor?s rankings. Previously Jury?s Hotel, this former police station comes with a spectacular lobby and fine rooms. It?s close to Downtown, the Theatre District, Copley Square, Back Bay, Newbury Street with its chic shops, and the South End with its restaurants and live theatre. The hotel?s immediate area is a bit dead, since it?s basically a business district. Don?t miss Trinity Church and the fabulous Public Library, both on nearby Copley Square. (Farmers Market, Tu & Fr, 10-6). If you?re arriving by train from New York, get off at Back Bay Station; the hotel is a three-block walk. T: Arlington, Back Bay, Copley.
$$ Lenox comes in at Number One in Tripadvisor?s ratings. This old fashioned hostelry might strike some as overstuffed, but at least it?s the genuine article, and well-kept. It provides a measure of old-fashioned elegance near Copley Square, Copley Place and Prudential Malls, the Hynes Convention Center, numerous restaurants and Newbury Street?s posh shopping. Right next door to the magnificent Public Library (be sure you see the old part), and easy access to Back Bay?s beautiful streets and riverfront. Courteous service. In cool weather, get a room with a fireplace; they?ll light the fire for you. Half a block to the subway. T: Copley.
$$ Inn at St. Botolph is a small, snazzily modern hotel in a turreted town house on a quiet South End street. It?s near the Prudential Center and Mall, which lead to the Hynes Convention Center, Back Bay, and Newbury Street?s chic shops; Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall (chamber music) and the Berklee Performance Center (jazz). Your room?s kitchenette will allow you to economize at the two supermarkets in walking distance, including a Whole Foods, but you might instead choose to splurge at some of the South End?s many marvelous restaurants --or the ones on Huntington Avenue. A short subway/streetcar ride to the Museum of Fine Arts. T: Prudential
$$ Marriott Cambridge. Just across the Charles River in Cambridge, this is a high-rise hotel with fairly standard rooms. Not so standard are the Starbuck?s in the lobby, the food court next door, MIT across the street, and the on-premises subway station (2 stops to Harvard Square, 2 stops to Downtown Boston [Park St]). A few steps up the street, Legal Seafood (a restaurant) completes a pleasant little oasis of urbanity in an office-park desert. Though in Cambridge, this hotel is equally good for visiting Boston. Ask for a high-floor room facing the Boston skyline for a fabulous view. T: Kendall (an easy two changes of train from the Airport).
$$ Inn at Harvard, Cambridge. Somewhat better-than-average rooms surround a huge and slightly cold atrium in which huddles a so-so and pricey restaurant. The location, however, can?t be beat: in Harvard Square and next to the University (ask for a room facing the Square). The best feature is that during your stay you get a temporary Harvard Faculty Club membership, which entitles you to a pretty good meal less than a block away, in world class company and surroundings. Harvard Square is famously 11 minutes by subway to downtown Boston, but truth is, Harvard has a better downtown than Boston: better shops, better street life. T: Harvard.
$ Clarendon Square Inn. Tastefully furnished by its friendly proprietors, this stately South End house blends with its bowfront street to transport you to the Victorian era. You?ll live like a local in one of Boston?s nicest old neighborhoods. Number Three in Tripadvisor?s Bed and Breakfast listings, the inn is close to Copley Square, Newbury Street, the Prudential and Copley Place malls, the Hynes Convention Center, Symphony and Jordan Halls, and the Christian Science Center. But best of all is the neighborhood itself: a quiet harmony of rowhouses with many great restaurants, galleries and an occasional playhouse. T: Back Bay, Prudential.
$ Encore Bed and Breakfast. Rated Number One in Tripadvisor?s Bed and Breakfast listings, this is another townhouse on a beautiful South End street. The Encore?s proprietors lean towards the exposed brick and modern furniture school, with colorful results. Near Symphony and Jordan Halls, the Berklee Performance Center, the Prudential and Copley Place malls, the Christian Science Center, the Hynes Convention Center, and numerous restaurants in surroundings of great beauty. Some small squares in the area may remind you of London. Subway access to all points, or walk till you drop in the country?s largest historic district. T: Back Bay
$ Aisling Bed and Breakfast. Number Two in Tripadvisor?s Bed and Breakfast listings. Though in the South End, this is somewhat in the wilds: not really convenient to the subway; you?ll have to take the Silver Line bus into Downtown or the Massachusetts Avenue bus to Harvard Square. To more than compensate, the hosts are great conversationalists, and the breakfast is exceptional. They?ll usually pick you up at the airport; and if you arrive by car, there?s free parking. The Boston Medical Center is walking distance, as are some of the South End?s handsome squares. Nicely furnished rooms with mostly Victorian furniture. T: Silver Line bus.
$ John Jeffries House is Boston?s economy champion, where Beacon Hill meets the Charles River Esplanade. This clean inn delivers no-frills rooms in what was once a nurses? dormitory. You?ll find easy access to scenic Beacon Hill and its charming shops on Charles Street, and Mass. General Hospital. Very close by, the Red Line subway extends your range to Downtown Boston, MIT, Harvard Square and under-appreciated Central Square. Charles Street is well-stocked with restaurants --or budget-stretching food stores if you choose to make use of the hotel?s in-room kitchenettes. Slick bar in Liberty Hotel nearby. Good value. T: Charles/MGH
