Mid-priced Boston hotels?

October 22, 2006 8:40 AM

Can anyone recommend a nice, mid-priced hotel in Boston, in the city centre but not hard to get to by public transport from the airport? (Bonus points if I'm still going to be able to book a room for two weeks from now.)

I'm arriving into Logan airport on a Saturday and would like to find somewhere to say, in the city centre, Saturday and maybe Sunday nights. For various reasons, I'd much prefer a hotel (ie, medium- or large-sized) to a b&b or guesthouse, but rather than picking a random Holiday Inn it would be nice to have a recommendation of somewhere above-average. Looking to spend $125-$200 including taxes.

posted by Marquis to travel & transportation (20 comments total)

I ended up staying in the Boston Marriott ($230 a night) after a long and fruitless search for something similar to what you are looking for when I was in town last week. Wait and see what kind of responses you get but I wouldnt hang on too long as the prices and availability may disappear.

Good luck.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 8:58 AM on October 22, 2006

Priceline a 4-star hotel for something in you price range in Downtown Boston. You'll definitely get it, and you won't be disappointed wherever you get put up. Downtown is a relatively small area.

You can't get anything nice downtown with a simple phone-in-a-reservation at that price. I just did a travelocity search for your dates and price range and got jack shit downtown. And the stuff I got on the outskirts of town were all mid-priced chains.

My wife and I stayed at the Hyatt Regency for our anniversary via Priceline, paid within your range, and were very happy with our amenities. Of course, you have to be prepared to stay whereever your bid gets accepted (you get to choose 2 star, 3 star, 4 star and your location and offering price, but that's it.) But Like I said, all the hotels are pretty close together, and they're all accessible from the T and generally nice.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:02 AM on October 22, 2006

Everytime I've stayed someplace decent in Boston, it was in that price range. Of course, I've always been going to a conference and therefore received a special rate.

Come to think of it, there are virtually always conferences in Boston, and most can be found using Google.... Let your own moral compass be your guide.
posted by JMOZ at 9:18 AM on October 22, 2006

I've had good success using hotwire.com for stuff like this. A quick look tells me there are two options in your price range. One is a four star in the financial district. Check it out.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:21 AM on October 22, 2006

I second FlamingBore - hotwire often works wonders. I would also include Cambridge in your search. Hotwire usually pulls up either the Hotel at MIT, the Sheraton, or the Marlow, all fantastic hotels, and the prices are $150 or below.
posted by blahblahblah at 9:31 AM on October 22, 2006

Also: when you're in town, use the new Silver Line to get to the airport from South Station, which is on the Red Line, which is the least unreliable line we have.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 9:56 AM on October 22, 2006

Hotwire usually pulls up either the Hotel at MIT, the Sheraton, or the Marlow, all fantastic hotels, and the prices are $150 or below.

Cambridge is "in the city centre" of Boston now?

A quick look tells me there are two options in your price range. One is a four star in the financial district. Check it out.

Good catch, FlamingBore. If your Saturday in question is indeed two weeks from yesterday, I would grab that four-star in the Financial District that FlamingBore mentioned. It's there, and it's probably the Hyatt (which is the largest hotel in the area).
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:09 AM on October 22, 2006

Just so you know, people will be arriving that weekend for the American Public Health Association annual meeting, which is going to put a lot of pressure on hotel availability. If you find something, grab it.

As an alternative, Boston has a fairly robust B&B scene. If you don't need hotel amenities, it might be worth exploring what's available along those lines.
posted by j-dawg at 12:13 PM on October 22, 2006

I always use hotels.com. They can have great deals.
posted by CunningLinguist at 12:36 PM on October 22, 2006

Have a look at this article that list some inexpensive hotels:

http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2005/06/04/AR2005060400427.html

beaucoupkevin mentions catching the Silver Line to the airport. Is it any faster than the Blue Line at rush hour? I heard that for part of the trip it goes on the highway and can get stuck is this true?
posted by zaphod at 1:11 PM on October 22, 2006

Silver Line and Blue Line are a toss-up during rush hour, especially with the recent re-construction in the tunnels, because as you said, part of the Silver Line trip to South Station gets congested. The construction may or may not be ongoing - I haven't been out that way in almost three months now.
posted by whatzit at 1:23 PM on October 22, 2006

i don't want to crowd this thread but thanks so much for all the help so far. i'd never have considered using hotwire/priceline as the chance of getting something shitty would have seemed too likely.

it will be either the weekend of the 4th or of the 11th.
posted by Marquis at 2:14 PM on October 22, 2006

Try the John Jeffries House.
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:27 PM on October 22, 2006

Oops, you said no bed n' breakfasts. But to be fair, it's not what I'd consider a real b'n'b. It's far more hotel-like. And the location is excellent.
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:29 PM on October 22, 2006

I was going to suggest the Holiday Inn in Brookline as an option. It is within very easy access to pulbic transport and if I remember correctly, fairly comfortable. But I think this depends on what you mean by the 'City Centre'.
posted by michswiss at 3:48 PM on October 22, 2006

But I think this depends on what you mean by the 'City Centre'.

I don't want to seem sarcastic, but he probably means "in the actual city of Boston" at the very least.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:21 PM on October 22, 2006

Jury's Doyle

Simply Awesome. A couple blocks from Newbury Street and a scadillion restaraunts and the theatre district and, and, and....
posted by Coax at 4:30 PM on October 22, 2006

My parents used to always stay at the Buckminster Hotel in Kenmore Square. If you get a southern-facing window (Beach St.-side) on one of the higher floors you can even watch a Sox game (or at least, read the scoreboard). Provided it's baseball season, which it won't be.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:00 PM on October 22, 2006

FYI, Boston really has two "city centers" - the financial district is probably what you had in mind, but the Back Bay, which includes Copley and Kenmore Squares and the Newbury Street shops, is really its own downtown. You may also be able to find some good weekend deals in the business-traveler-dependent Seaport district, which is about 5-10 minutes away from downtown through the Silver Line transit tunnel.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 5:21 PM on October 22, 2006

I'd second (third or fourth?) the Priceline/hotwire options.

Though some new places have gone up recently, Boston has long had a relatively low number of hotel beds for a city its size, resulting in the sad comedy of the above-mentioned and rather threadbare and ratty Holiday Inn in Brookline having (when I was looking for place for some guests to stay a few years ago at least) a base rate of $240-ish a night.

I always found it ironic when my wife and I would go to NYC for a weekend, "splurge" on one of the trendy/hipster places like the Hudson and pay less than we would at almost every single hotel in greater Boston. Throw in some $12 bleacher seats at Yankee Stadium and we'd basically spend the same amount as a three-stop trolley ride to Fenway with airfare and a car service from LaGuardia thrown in gratis...
posted by jalexei at 6:23 PM on October 22, 2006 [1 favorite]