I'm visiting my neice in Boston for her graduation. I'd like to get something very, very inexpensive but clean. I'm not familiar with the suburbs, but I thought I might find something reasonable out there, and use the transit system to get into the Cambridge area. Is this a wise approach? Does anyone have some suggestions for me? Thank you.

The Motel Six in Braintree might meet your needs. Not "very, very" inexpensive, but certainly a good bargain. You walk ten minutes to the 'T' Line, take a forty minute ride to downtown, and from there you can ride the 'T' into Cambridge.

These are in MUCH better locations than staying outside & having to take the “T” from Braintree. You really should be closer in to experience much of what the city has to offer. However during graduation times, prices in all hotels in Boston & Cambridge & probably in the greater Boston area (there’s A LOT of colleges clustered in these towns) are a bit higher.

‘Bed & Breakfast’ online website may be able to provide you some reasonable accommadations in the Boston / Cambridge area.
http://www.bbonline.com/index.html

For example, one charming spot is Carolyn's Bed & Breakfast is a small, cozy bed and breakfast located 1.5 miles west of Harvard Square.
http://www.bbonline.com/ma/carolyns/

Cambridge Bed & Muffin
http://bedandmuffin.com/

Check out these possibilities --- although may not be ‘inexpensive’ enough, you may be able to get a room (shared bath) for around $140.
Irving House & Harding House
http://www.irvinghouse.com/

The Mary Prentiss Inn is a great place, however I think it’s definitely a $200 plus per night place during grad time.
The Mary Prentiss Inn
6 Prentiss Street (off of Mass Ave.)
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140
(617) 661-2929
Fax: (617) 661-5989
Email: [email protected]
Hosts: Jennifer and Nicholas Fandetti

This is to emphasize that graduation puts tremendous pressure on hotels and motels in June -- or in other words, reserve now and take what you can get. Many places book up at 12:01 am 364 days before graduation. It's unlikely you'll be able to pay less than $125-150, and most will be a lot more. Try the Holiday Inn on Grove St. in Newton -- or the Sheraton in Newton, both within walking distance of a T stop, though the Holiday is also on I-95/128, which makes it convenient to drive to, then leave your car there and stick to the T. Otherwise, most hotels in Boston "proper" are close to a T stop. There is an inexpensive Susse Chalet on Morrissey Blvd. that attracts out-of-towners but it is on that is no where near a T, so don't be fooled. Similarly, some places on Memorial Drive and Soldier's Field Rd. aren't necessarily convenient to public transportation. It would be well worth your time to get a good map of the area that includes location of T stops.

I recommend trying any of the B&B booking services that will put you in a private apartment -- typical, good places might be listed on Commonwealth Ave, for example. But book NOW -- my approach is to book the first thing that I find available and then keep looking, and cancel once I find something better. If I don't, at least I've got something.

I agree with Pris. The hotels in Boston are expensive and sell out quickly. But it is also very important to be near public transportation, the "T", so it will depend on what's important to you- a less expensive room at a hotel that is out of the way and you have to drive around to get to wherever you're going (and driving in Boston is NOT fun!!), or paying a little more but being able to just hop, skip, and jump to anywhere you want to go. Either way, book NOW because of all of the universities in the Boston/Cambridge area, it will soon be impossible to find anything.

I've since moved from Boston to New York after I graduated from grad school, but I'll try to remember and post some suggestions if I can.

Hey Karen-

Found some hotel sites you might want to look at to see what they have to offer:

http://www.reservationservices.com/h...cambridge.html
www.areahotelguide.com/boston-hotels.htm
www.boston4less.com
www.bostonhotels.net

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.