A place to stay in Boston tomorrow night on short notice!?
October 15, 2015 12:12 PM Subscribe
I'm heading to a sf writing workshop in Massachusetts and I was planning on staying with some friends in Boston on Friday night (TOMORROW) on my way there. I was planning on enjoying a day in Boston and hanging out with these friends. Unfortunately, they are sick – pneumonia or something. Uh oh.
I don't want to get sick the day before my workshop and I also don't want to inconvenience my friends while they are sick. What are some options for arranging a place to stay with VERY short notice in a city that I know nothing about? I need a place for the night of 10/16. I am flying out on Saturday (10/17) in the afternoon so I would ideally like to stay somewhere not too far from the airport. If the sickness continues, I might need to pull this trick AGAIN on the night of 10/24 on my way home to Chicago. Can you recommend some cheap hotels, hostels, a couch, a bale of hay, whatever?
I don't want to get sick the day before my workshop and I also don't want to inconvenience my friends while they are sick. What are some options for arranging a place to stay with VERY short notice in a city that I know nothing about? I need a place for the night of 10/16. I am flying out on Saturday (10/17) in the afternoon so I would ideally like to stay somewhere not too far from the airport. If the sickness continues, I might need to pull this trick AGAIN on the night of 10/24 on my way home to Chicago. Can you recommend some cheap hotels, hostels, a couch, a bale of hay, whatever?
Have you tried the app Hotel Tonight? It often has some cheap last minute deals (although probably not as cheap as a bale of hay).
posted by holborne at 12:26 PM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by holborne at 12:26 PM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Where is the thing you're going to, if you don't mind saying? If you're going to a workshop in Somerville you don't want to stay in Jamaica Plain and vice versa (even though both would be OK for getting to the airport). Staying downtown would be convenient to the airport but expensive.
posted by mskyle at 12:32 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mskyle at 12:32 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'll bet you can find a last minute spot on Airbnb, no problem! Seconding the need to be more specific about location of the workshop.
posted by femmegrrr at 12:40 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by femmegrrr at 12:40 PM on October 15, 2015
Actually on reread I guess the workshop isn't in Boston at all... looking at Airbnb there are a fair few places for under $100 tomorrow night, probably worth putting out some requests there. Try to get something on the Red or Orange line. Close to the airport is probably not possible though... mostly what's close to the airport is water, airport sprawl, and downtown Boston.
posted by mskyle at 12:50 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by mskyle at 12:50 PM on October 15, 2015
Response by poster: I'm going to Martha's Vineyard – I fly out on Saturday morning. This stop in Boston was meant to be a chance to hang out with friends around Harvard.
posted by deathpanels at 1:05 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by deathpanels at 1:05 PM on October 15, 2015
One night is not enough time to do much touristy stuff in Boston other than perhaps eat a nice dinner. You might actually be better served staying somewhere outside of Boston. Hotels near the airport are going to be expensive.
Martha's Vineyard is honestly a bit of a haul from Boston (largely because of the long ferry ride). I doubt hotels there will be very cheap, either. Sorry.
How are you getting from Boston to the Vineyard? Might be worth booking a connecting flight from Logan that links up with your flights to/from there. Failing that, I'm sure you can find a cheap hotel somewhere near route 3, but away from the coast. The Cape is tourist-trappy but I think the season is just about over.
posted by tckma at 1:27 PM on October 15, 2015
Martha's Vineyard is honestly a bit of a haul from Boston (largely because of the long ferry ride). I doubt hotels there will be very cheap, either. Sorry.
How are you getting from Boston to the Vineyard? Might be worth booking a connecting flight from Logan that links up with your flights to/from there. Failing that, I'm sure you can find a cheap hotel somewhere near route 3, but away from the coast. The Cape is tourist-trappy but I think the season is just about over.
posted by tckma at 1:27 PM on October 15, 2015
What's your budget? I've done AirBNB last minute, there's usually something relatively cheap that you can do if you hit up a bunch of people, but it depends on your definition of cheap. Also the HotelTonight app, like someone above said.
posted by hejrat at 1:44 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by hejrat at 1:44 PM on October 15, 2015
Name your own price on Priceline.com. Check out Biddingfortravel.com to see what people have recently paid in Boston when they named their own prices.
posted by Elsie at 2:03 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by Elsie at 2:03 PM on October 15, 2015
Best answer: Someone has generously reached out to offer me a place to crash! MeFites, you're the best. I will update if it falls through but I think I'm good for now. Thanks!
posted by deathpanels at 2:08 PM on October 15, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by deathpanels at 2:08 PM on October 15, 2015 [7 favorites]
Seconding mskyle - being on the Red Line is the easiest connection to the Silver Line to the airport, and especially if you take the Red Line north to Cambridge/Somerville, you'll save a bit of money not being right in downtown, but the neighborhoods are still fun places to hang out, and of course you could go walk around Harvard and all the museums anyway.
Anything near the Silver Line to the airport is going to be in the Seaport, and probably $$$ unless you get it through one of those last-minute sites - but also not near anything terribly exciting or more traditionally touristy, as it's mostly business-convention center land. You could hit up the ICA if you end up out there, though, or the Children's Museum.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 2:09 PM on October 15, 2015
Anything near the Silver Line to the airport is going to be in the Seaport, and probably $$$ unless you get it through one of those last-minute sites - but also not near anything terribly exciting or more traditionally touristy, as it's mostly business-convention center land. You could hit up the ICA if you end up out there, though, or the Children's Museum.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 2:09 PM on October 15, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, transit in Boston is pretty good as long as you're not getting in after midnight -- you probably need to stay near the T, but not necessarily the airport (which is kind of a wasteland, and even the airport hotels up in Saugus and Peabody run $170+/night).
posted by pie ninja at 12:26 PM on October 15, 2015