Boston Hotels
 

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel in the downtown/back bay area of Boston. Somebody suggested the Midtown Hotel. <BR> <BR>Thanks - Linda

I'm not sure what price range you are looking for when you say reasonable. The Boston Globe had an ad today advertising what I thought were quite reasonable prices for weekend packages at some of the downtown chain hotels. They were on the order of $150ish for the Long Wharf Marriot or the Copley Marriot. Seemed pretty reasonable to me, although not exactly budget.

Try the Westin in Copley Square. Their rates were lower than I expected during the holidays. It's a very nice hotel.

If you don't need a full service hotel (with room service, etc), then I would highly recommend the Newbury Guest House on Newbury Street. Comfortable rooms at a very reasonable price. We stayed in one of the bigger rooms with bay windows overlooking Newbury Street and enjoyed it very much.

It really depends upon when you're going and how you book. For example, my husband and I are heading to Boston the weekend of 3/24. The best I could find at the Midtown (after checking dozens of on-line sources and calling directly) was $229. I was able to book Le Meridien (one of the best, nicest, well located in the city) for a mere $139. We have "weekend-ed" in Boston for years. And, finding a reasonably priced room is completely new endeavor each and every time. I've found that those mentioned frequently on travel boards and in tour guides not only fill up fast way in advance, the prices skyrocket. Often, the quality and service, sadly, diminish. What I do is shop a bit and book a room (no prepay) just to have one, then keep shopping. It is positively amazing (if you have a lot of lead time) how things change from month to month at the same resources. For a couple of years, I relied almost totally on www.180096hotel.com (even though you have to prepay) because the rates were astonishingly low. Not so, necessarily, anymore. Even after I've booked, and continued to shop, then perhaps booked something else, I still call around a few days before departure. The results are positively amazing. I'm guessing all the hotels have sophisticated "rate determinators" when you call. Not to mention all the folks who book several places, then cancel. Depending on "fill rate", the nightly charge is determined, one way or another. At some, short notice rates are a "steal". At others, they're shocking (perhaps they assume you're just that desperate). All in all, the time spent obsessing and shopping is well worth it. One time, I was SO perplexed, I tried Priceline. What do you know, I was graced with a room at the Copley Plaza for $150. Not only could I not even begin to hope for a room anywhere else for those dates at that price (AND, it's where the Clintons stay when they're in town, at least Hillary seems to have standards...), my other sources quoted prices well beyond $200 for the same dates. Including phoning the hotel directly. You just never know. The Midtown Hotel (more an "upscale" sort of motor inn) is well located (subway stop right outside the entrance, walking distance to Copley Square, Newbury Street, Public Gardens); large rooms, housekeeping is excellent.

So true! Roooms at "reasonable" rates are tough to come by lately. The Newbury Guest House is just fine, but booked up forever in my experience. They have another property, The Harborside Hotel (not really on the harbor, but well located near the ever so "touristy" Faneuil Hall), which also fills quickly these days. Boston, it would seem, is enormously popular these days. Perhaps all the TV shows filmed there (Ally McBeal, The Practice..) and/or the strong economy - folks are travelling! In spite of quite a few new and large additions to the hotel scene, one would think thaat rooms are scarce and expensive. And, they are! You must shop like crazy if you want to pay something "reasonable".