Boston Marathon Saturday Night Hotel

April 3, 2009 7:27 AM

I'm going to be in Boston later this month for the marathon and was looking for advice for a reasonable place to stay Saturday night.

For Sunday night and Monday night I have reservations at the Park Plaza Hotel (near the corner of Park Plaza and Arlington and the Arlington Station on the Green Line). Since airfare was cheaper if I arrived on Saturday, I was looking for a cheaper place to stay on Saturday night.

My (flexible) requirements would be easily accessible via public transportation (both from the airport as well as getting to my other hotel on Sunday morning). Since I am not renting a car for the rest of the trip I'd rather not for just this portion of the trip. Obviously cheaper is better than more expensive but considering how crazy expensive things are downtown for this event, I'd be happy for anything sub $250.

Lastly it would be nice if there was something interesting to see or a great place to eat near the Saturday accommodations.

As a sideline question to this, my wife will be joining me to watch the race and as she is a bit of a novice in navigating new to her public transportation systems I wondering if the local paper or the MBTA or the race officials published some sort of map or guide for spectators.

posted by mmascolino to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

If you're staying at Park Plaza you can walk to the end of the Marathon at Copley or even on up to Kenmore Square and beyond in less than half an hour.

You'll be right on the Green Line, but it's pretty pointless to ride it from Arlington to Copley which is only one stop. All the T Stations have a big map of the system posted inside, and the T officials may not be charming but they will help if you ask.

There are a bunch of hotels right around the Copley Square/Prudential area, if they're not already booked for the race. The Westin, The Sheraton, The Hilton, The Copley, the Lenox, and then there's Hotel Commonwealth at Kenmore, and Holiday Inn not much further away down the "C" Branch of the Green Line; a Marriott on the water at the Aquarium station stop; and the Seaport Hotel on the Silver Line.

The Royal Sonesta is just past Lechmere on the Green Line, a Marriot in Kendall Square right on the Red Line in Cambridge; The Inn at Harvard and the Charles Hotel are both at Harvard Square and also on the Red Line.

More cheaply, there's Hampton Inn and a Holiday Inn up Route 1-A near Logan. You'd have to take a shuttle to and from the airport to get to the subway though. And of course there is a Hyatt and a Hilton at the airport too.

If you're in town, then Boston as I've indicated is very small and walkable. Stroll down Newbury Street for shopping, walk the Freedom Trail, Wander around Little Italy, take a tour of Old Ironsides, wander among the brownstones down Commonwealth Avenue and enjoy the Public Garden.

This is all off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more hotels I can't remember and I know there's several AskMe's about Boston activities to peruse. MeMail if you have a more specific concern.
posted by MasonDixon at 7:47 AM on April 3

If you go to hotwire, there are two hotels in Boston Proper for just under $250. there's a three star in "Brookline/Newton/Harvard area" for $130. However, if it's in Newton and depending where it is, public transport may be a PITA.

However, everything listed on Kayak says "call" for availability, which means you'll get butthurt.

My advice is to go to Hotwire and take one of the $240 dollar options, and to do it right now. Anywhere in Boston Proper is T accessible (and really within walking distance of the Park Plaza). This is one of the weekends when every place in Boston and the immediate suburbs will be filled, so don't wait on this.
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:37 AM on April 3

When my mom and a friend visited they stayed at Le Meridien in Central (on the Red Line). It was a nice hotel and they were happy with it.
posted by 6550 at 11:07 AM on April 3

Not really near anything of note, but the Hyatt at the airport has rooms starting at $249. Then you can T into the city to get to the Park Plaza the next day (or do something that night).

As for watching the Marathon, as MasonDixon says, the end of the marathon is just a couple blocks away from the Park Plaza. Just walk down Boylston St until she finds a good spot. Just a note - the Copley stop on the Green Line is always closed on Marathon day.
posted by FreezBoy at 1:02 AM on April 5

Thanks everyone for the advice and for the recommendations. I ended up taking a Hotwire deal for the theater district for $179. Turns out that the hotel I got was the Park Plaza so that will make logistics a lot easier.

As for race day transportation, she was thinking about going as far out in the course as possible and then leap frogging a few places back into the city so that she could see the course from several locations.

Oh and fantastic tip about the Copley Square station being closed on race day.
posted by mmascolino at 5:38 AM on April 6

As for leapfrogging, timing might be difficult but a number of stops on the Worcester/Framingham commuter rail line are very near the race. She could get on at the Back Bay station which is a few blocks for your hotel. Wellesley College always has a good and enthusiastic group of spectators and is near the halfway mark. Here's the schedule.

Closer in, but various Green Line routes also are near the course. She could take a D line train from the Arlington Stop to Woodland then back to Reservoir then into Kenmore or Hynes Convention Center. Or a C Line train to any stop after Kenmore Square since the route follows the marathon course.

One other T note. The Arlington Street stop is currently exiting on Berkeley Street due to station construction. So if you're taking the T from the airport, the entrance is actually one block further away from the Park Plaza (walk down Boylston with the traffic flow, take a right on Arlington St. The Park Plaza will be straight ahead on your left).

If you're looking to carbo-load and have a nice night out, I'd suggest Via Matta across from your hotel. I'd also recommend the Parish Cafe for lunch one day. Very close to the hotel and they serve great sandwiches created by various chefs around the city.
posted by FreezBoy at 6:13 AM on April 7