That's pretty central and affordable but yet nice, clean and charming for two nights?

what is affordable to you may be astronomical to someone else, can yuo give a ballpark? and what time of year are you thinking of?

but here is a link to a recent thread from this board that had some info on what would be considered affordable in Boston - and if you scroll down you will also see a post from me that referrences yet another link to an often recommended b&b on the T just outside of Boston in Somerville that people have good reviews about -

you can also type "boston hotels" into the search this forum bar at the top and there are several posts on this subject with suggestions.

a charming B & B in the city well located is the Clarendon Sq Inn - www.clarendonsquare.com -

otherwise, if you look on internet hotel searches, my favorite area for central would be Back Bay/Copley Place/Beacon Hill or the downtown (Omni Parker House) -

a friend visiting from the west coast just got a great deal on the Radisson in downtown Boston and was very pleased with the hotel and location - she did it direct thru their internet site.

Thanks a lot!! I realized all this after I had posted my question. Sorry!
I read a great review on the Jurys Hotel too. I guess we have to plan on spending around $200/night. I was hoping for less but maybe not?

central, affordable, charming - a tough combination for Boston. Follow advice about doing a search - BUT be very careful about 2 things. First, there are (like in any other city discussed here) a couple of hotels that seem to be mentioned very often. The raves are primarily from one traveler per hotel (with a few scattered negative reviews from others). Read the posts carefully so you do not fall into trap of thinking a hotel has 20 positive mentions when they may all be from the same person.

Second, do not fall into Boston trap of picking a hotel called "Boston/Waltham" or Boston/something else" and think it is actually in Boston. Mileage can be very deceptive in Boston area because of commute. 8 miles can take 10 minutes or an hour. Even hotels with an actual Boston address may not be anywhere near a tourist spot.

Try the Chandler hotel.PAul

I posed the same question earlier this year as I was tasked with finding an "affordable" hotel for my in-laws. I received a great suggestion on this board and they ended up staying at the John Hancock Hotel & Conference Center http://www.jhcenter.com/

The Hotel is well located and within walking distance of the T. In-laws were very pleased. I think they got it for $185/night. It's worth your checking it.

I have only stayed in Boston once so I cannot compare hotels BUT We stayed in Jurys last New Years and thought it was lovely. We got it for between $175 and $220 per night (including taxes) from what I can remember. It was actually more expensive to book on the Jurys website than Travelocity BUT Jurys give a guranteed lowest price so I booked with them and then got them to lower the rate straight away..

Imelda

We live an hour north of Boston and we like to spend weekends in town. So we've stayed at many of the major hotels usually whereever we can get the best rate. As a rule we prefer the Back Bay/Copley area - closer to restaurants and shopping and Fenway. We have stayed at the following and I don't believe we have ever paid more than $200/per night. You mihgt like the Lennox the best as it is the closest to be "charmng":

Sheraton Prudential - got a great rate on Hotwire, room needed updating but location and common areas were very nice.

Westin Copley - excellent location, common areas and room. Probably my favorite overall.

Hilton Back Bay - closer to Fenway, but further from Freedom Trail. Lovely rooms, blah common areas.

Lenox - lovely old hotel, recently renovated, very old school New England in terms of decor. Least favorite but only because of personal taste - nothing wrong with hotel.

Colonade - modern decor, terrific restaurant (Brasserie Jo), rooftop pool, location is a tad out of the way as it is on Huntington not Boylston but a very nice hotel.

Hyatt Financial - definitely the least favorite - in theater district on edge of Financial district - rooms were okay, thin walls.

Marriott Long Wharf - nice location on water, rooms were okay.

Intercontinental - location is not great but not bad. Convenient to few tourist stuff but close to South Station and the Red Line. Short walk to busier parts of the waterfront. Beautiful rooms and common areas- the prettiest of the bunch.

Parking runs around $30-40 per night for each of these hotels. Ditch the car if possible or park it in the Common garage and leave it there.

I loved the location of Chandler Hotel. It seemed to be very central of everything. But it was $260/night and that was a little over our budget.
Anything else like that hotel?

Thanks for some great suggestion regarding hotel stay. I absolutely loved how Clarendon Square Inn looked!!
But it was unfortunately sold out
Do you know of any other places like this one??

I'll second the Omni Parker House for historical charm and location. I stayed there for 3 nights on a business trip and found it very central to the North End, Quincy Market, Beacon Hill and Boston Common.

maybe try the Newbury Street Guest House or the
463 Beacon Street Guest House if you are having no luck with many of the fine hotels mentioned -

When we were going to Boston I did my homework as to areas. I decided that we should stay in the Back Bay area. I then went to Priceline and under the bidding section (not the guarantee prices but the bidding) they have the Back Bay area. I put that in and did not put a second choice. On my first bid I got the Westin Copley for $125. We loved it and the staff was exceptional and the area just great. Give Priceline a try.