Boston Hotels
 

My sister and I are planning a long weekend in Boston in July. But boy are the hotels there expensive. Would like to be downtown so we can walk to most things. Any ideas? Thanks.

What is your nightly budget in USDs?

What are your exact dates?

don't have exact dates. We are waiting to see her work schedule. Nothing near July 4th. More the end of the month. I'm thinking around $300 per night or less if possible.

Thanks.

I would search the various hotel discount websites looking at specials deals, prepurchase options or AAA or similar discounts. There are some very nice hotels not much higher than your budget and if you search you might a deal on one of them.

Boston hotels are indeed expensive! I ended up paying more than $300 per night for the Loew's, but that was a decent rate for the second weekend in May. I found it by scouring hotels.com, Trip Advisor and Expedia, so I second nyt's advice. Good luck!

You need to be careful to not find a "bargain" that turns out to me not a good commute into the city. Miles from downtown are not a good indicator of how long trip in/out could take.

Try Boston Park Plaza - an older hotel in great location. Some complaints about size of rooms, but we hosted guests there a year ago and it was very good.

Thanks everyone. I'm waiting for my sister to confirm the dates. I used to live in New Hampshire so I know Boston but always stayed with friends or drove in for the day. Hotels there are new to me but it will be an adventure. Great city.

We have liked the Park Plaza. Great location.

It's an historic building, so some rooms are much better than others. And some rooms have 'concierge' privileges, which is nice, because it gives you a 'private' lounge with complimentary continental breakfast and hors d'oeuvres.

https://bostonparkplaza.com

We have had success in calling the hotel directly, and negotiating for concierge level privileges.

Park Plaza has the old section - historic, usually less expensive, and the "tower" section which is more modern traditional hotel.

Besides the usual booking sites, do look at Travelzoo, which sometimes has good specials for Boston hotels, and lastminutetravel.com, which is very good for Boston hotels. If you check it on a tablet the hotels are identified. On a computer they are unnamed but can be identified by zooming in on the hotel map.

When you have your dates, come back and let us know.

While you say that you want to be downtown, public transport in Boston is very good. I found Cambridge to be slightly cheaper, and my Kendall Square hotel was only a couple of metro stops away from downtown.

I've never been a fan of sleeping at Park Plaza - most especially if you get a claustrophobic room above the loading dock and dumpsters on the Columbus Ave/southern side? The rooms always seemed to lack proper airflow in all senses. It is a favorite of the Secret Service however as they know the property and area inside and out and can properly secure the area with sharpshooters.

I did a quick look on hotels.com and there are plenty of options for the last long weekend within your budget.

The last time we stayed at the Park Plaza was for a graduation in 2014. We needed 2 rooms for 5 adults. The first room we received, for three of us, was very large, but was a weird configuration, with a conference table and chairs in one end of it taking up too much room.

We talked to the front desk, and they were quick to move us to a much better suite, which was actually two rooms, connected, so we had two bathrooms.

The other two guests were also upgraded to a larger room. We all had concierge privileges.

Thanks everyone for your input

<I>I found Cambridge to be slightly cheaper, and my Kendall Square hotel</I>

I would note that is highly dependent on time of year and when in the week you are traveling. Kendall Square hotels can reach absurd prices when one of the many biotech and tech companies have something like a sales conference. I've seen the Marriott hit $1k per night.

As to the OP... The Park Plaza mentioned is great for location and can be relatively affordable. Some rooms are small, but the location is phenomenal. You might also try the Revere in that area - more standard sized rooms and about as convenient as the Park Plaza. There are also a couple hotels in the Theater District (Doubletree and Courtyard) that are decent and can be a bit cheaper than the Copley Square hotels. Still pretty convenient.

Also in the Theater District is the Milner. I have zero idea if it is nice, but the location is excellent. Seems to be popular with European budget travelers. I believe that the John Jeffries House on Beacon Hill is a similar older budget hotel, also in a good location.

In general, I wish there was a secret, but if you know the area, I'd just go to Expedia and find one that isn't too far out.

I just received an email from Travelzoo and they have a queen room advertised for the whole summer at $259 ($30 upgrade to deluxe king) at the Copley Square Hotel.

It's located on Huntington Ave. between the Prudential and Copley Place. Easy walk to Back Bay, Copley Square, and restaurants in the South End. The hotel gets good reviews.

CW: thanks for the Travelzoo tip. Even though I'm on their email list, I hadn't seen that offer and have been looking for a decent rate in Boston in May. Thank to you, I got a room at the rate you mentioned. MUCH less than the prices I had been seeing.
Nepheline

That's terrific Nepheline. Enjoy Boston!

How about the Charlesmark Hotel on Boylston right beside the Boston Public Library and Copley Sq.

In July $200 for a small room and 250 for the larger Queen rooms. I think that includes breakfast and wifi.

For what its worth, it gets very good reviews on TA.

Several years ago we stayed at their sister hotel The Harborside Inn and it was very good.

I stayed at the Charlesmark last July. I loved it! I was on the top floor. It had very comfy pillows.If you don't want to walk everywhere, there's a subway stop nearly across the street. And the $5 Express bus to Logan airport stops across the street.

thanks for the tip about the Charlesmark. that's new to me.

Just a word about the Back Bay/Logan Express. Massport started it as a two-year pilot program to make the Back Bay accessible by public transport while the T's Government Center Station was closed for reconstruction. The station has reopened and there has been no word on whether the express to Back Bay will continue after the end of April.

I certainly hope it does, but for anyone visiting, do check before your arrival.

Stayed at Copley Square Hotel in May 2015, excellent location. Dont eat breakfast there, food wasnt good & expensive. Lots of other options. Room was small but clean. Got terrific deal on Booking.com.

Second for John Jeffries, but expect more atmosphere than amenities. The top floor is largely reserved for families of patients in Mass Eye and Eat (which owns this formerly nurses-residence), and the whole place is so popular that they open up reservations for rooms only a month or two in advance, so you have to be ready to pounce, esp. May through Oct. No airco, but only a problem in protracted heatwave. Prices rise a bit in season but still compare very favorably compared to the heavy-duty city hotels.

It's worth the effort for the location alone - steps from the major Red Line, one stop into Park St. which is hub for subway system. At the base of Beacon Hill (quaint streets all around), with view of the Charles if you score a rear upper room. Rooms vary re: where beds are, add't presence of sofa-bed, kitchenette. Continental breakfast largely refers to clientele but pastries, juices, and hot beverages are fine, cheap. For more hearty and interesting breakfast, there are at least 3 cafes down the street (Charles St.) that do that very well.

But you have to keep going to the website to have a prayer of booking - they are currently booking only through May. If you want June or later, be ready to pounce: johnjeffrieshouse.com

PS: No matter where you end up, note that another 15% in taxes will be added to whatever rate they quote - so $200 quickly becomes $230., $250 becomes $285, and so on.

You sound like you won't be relying on a car, which is very, very wise for many reasons. One reason is that hotels that provide parking can soak you for another $25-$40/night.

"No airco, but only a problem in protracted heatwave."

Don't know whether this describes July last year, but I absolutely needed AC!

thursdaysd -- true that. Windows are openable, but if you have a ground/main floor room facing Charles St., noise IS a problem. Upper floors and those on other sides get the river or even ocean breeze, and if it's just one or two hot days, the building itself (brick) doesn't heat up. After 2-3 hot days, the brick can hold the heat. For us it was worth it for the location and bargain and -- by the way -- it's not a funky place, has been renovated and looks lovely.

<I>No airco, but only a problem in protracted heatwave. </I>

Everyone is different, but I would never book a Boston hotel without AC in the summer. Even without a heat wave, one should expect the room to be in the mid-70s to 80F, minimum, in the city proper. That is too hot for me to sleep comfortably.

Although I like the Jeffrie house, no AC in august would be a deal breaker. Even with temperate weather, open windows and 24/7 ambulance and traffic noise would annoy me. But then again, I prefer cool and keep my New England home at 64 degrees in the winter and 66 degrees in the summer when there are hot muggy nights.

Thanks everyone. After calling all over town, got a good deal at the Mariott Copley. Got a "senior" discount :) Who knew? Hope it is okay, I forgot I was a rewards member so that helped too.

The Marriott Copley is a good hotel. Certainly up to normal Marriott standards. The location is maybe not quite as good as the Westin or Fairmont, but it is still quite good. In inclement weather, it is nice in that you can walk pretty far (and to two different T lines) without going outside.

Good for you for calling and congrats on getting a good rate in a city that has become crazy expensive for hotels.