Hi, All:

I live just outside Cambridge. In addition to the larger hotels in Boston/Cambridge and in outlying towns convenient to roadways (Waltham, etc), there are some local B&Bs. They are often expensive on peak weekends but sometimes more reasonable.

Here is one that was quite charming when we put relatives up here a few years ago:
http://www.acambridgehouse.com/index.htm
They got BBC promotion a number of years ago so it tended to draw an international crowd at least at that time.

For those of you who know Cambridge, it is on Mass Ave about halfway between Harvard Square and Porter Square. It is not in the same part of Cambridge as Kendall/MIT but transfer between them is quite easy.

If interested, you can email them for rates for that week-end. I am not yet sure what else is happening in Cambridge that week-end to drive lodging demand, but happily it is not Head-of-the-Charles weekend (I checked.)

There are other litle places tucked around Harvard Square. For those who are driving rather than using public transportation/taxis, there is also a sweet little place just outside Arlington Center where I put my parents up two years ago -- the Governor Brackett House on Route 60/Pleasant Street. Caution: it was for sale but still seems to be in operation. My parents found it charmibng.

This readership probably knows more about my own hometown than I do though so I'll stop there.

Good luck!