Boston Trip Report
Oct 24th, 2006, 12:55 PM
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Boston Trip Report
Who we were: I attended a huge convention (about 10k people). After the convention ended I stayed on to visit some friends from my Boston years who now live in Wellsley.
Where I stayed: I booked the Newbury Guest House about a year ago since I wanted to be in that area. I lived on Newbury and it is the capitol of the shopping universe for me. I ended up needing one extra night so I bought a Priceline room at the Sheraton Pru Center about a month before my travel dates. I was very surprised to get it.
The Sheraton is a large hotel, conveniently located for shopping and restaurants. There is a $12. a day charge for internet hookup in the room. Internet use in the extremely poorly lit and noisy lobby is free. Not good for anyone needing to concentrate. My room was comfortable with an excellent bed and a great view of the city. However the noise was very noticeable throughout the night.
Newbury Guest House-I have stayed here before and knew what to expect. It is a bit frayed but the rooms are comfortable and sufficiently large. Mine was 408 and it was reasonably quiet except for one night when a very "loving" couple next door connected. It is away from the elevator which is noisy. It had a small desk and faced the back alley not the busy street. Breakfast is yogurt, eggs, cereals, fruit and sausage/bacon. It is good and adequate.Internet use was free in the room.
There were a couple of downsides to my stay:
They are replacing the front patio so I didn't get to enjoy my coffee sitting out on the street and it was very noisy and dusty (clouds of red brick dust all day). I would have appreciated being warned about this prior to the visit. I believe they are adding a restaurant which may change the atmosphere of the hotel. On the day of my departure the elevator was shut off. I did not receive any notice of this in advance. I have a broken ankle and I was not happy about having to negotiate four flights of stairs with luggage, laptop, etc. Had I received notice of the shut down I would have taken the luggage down earlier.
The front desk is staffed by charming friendly people who were quick to offer information. DeLuca's grocery is nearby to stock the room and there are restaurants and shops in every block of the street. I would stay there again.
Where I ate: First of all let me say there were so many choices I really didn't come close to exhausting the options. A lot of places were hard to get into because of the convention.
Stephanies: excellent food, good service and nice atmosphere. A little noisy.
Soncie's: fun atmosphere, noisy, good food. Wide range of choices.
Joe's American Cafe: relatively quiet so we went there twice just to get some business done. The food was good, the service informed and excellent.
Grille 23: great food so noisy we eventually gave up on conversation
Blu on Highland:again very noisy, but good food and good service.
Wellsley Club: an average buffet, very quiet and charming. Beautiful view of the campus.
A friend and I drove out to Williamston to see her daughter, a senior at Williams. The drive was spectacular and I loved every inch of it. I could stay out there for weeks. We were taking a quick trip and stayed at the Maple Leaf Terrace. It is moderately priced, very clean, free internet, and breakfast included. Oh, and a fridge. We had drinks at the Equinox, lovely, lovely, lovely. Our dinner was at a pub in Williamston, did I mention we were visiting college students? Food was pretty good but again a bit on the noisy side.
I love Boston and the trip was wonderful, but I had to come home...leaving for Buenos Aires next week.......
Where I stayed: I booked the Newbury Guest House about a year ago since I wanted to be in that area. I lived on Newbury and it is the capitol of the shopping universe for me. I ended up needing one extra night so I bought a Priceline room at the Sheraton Pru Center about a month before my travel dates. I was very surprised to get it.
The Sheraton is a large hotel, conveniently located for shopping and restaurants. There is a $12. a day charge for internet hookup in the room. Internet use in the extremely poorly lit and noisy lobby is free. Not good for anyone needing to concentrate. My room was comfortable with an excellent bed and a great view of the city. However the noise was very noticeable throughout the night.
Newbury Guest House-I have stayed here before and knew what to expect. It is a bit frayed but the rooms are comfortable and sufficiently large. Mine was 408 and it was reasonably quiet except for one night when a very "loving" couple next door connected. It is away from the elevator which is noisy. It had a small desk and faced the back alley not the busy street. Breakfast is yogurt, eggs, cereals, fruit and sausage/bacon. It is good and adequate.Internet use was free in the room.
There were a couple of downsides to my stay:
They are replacing the front patio so I didn't get to enjoy my coffee sitting out on the street and it was very noisy and dusty (clouds of red brick dust all day). I would have appreciated being warned about this prior to the visit. I believe they are adding a restaurant which may change the atmosphere of the hotel. On the day of my departure the elevator was shut off. I did not receive any notice of this in advance. I have a broken ankle and I was not happy about having to negotiate four flights of stairs with luggage, laptop, etc. Had I received notice of the shut down I would have taken the luggage down earlier.
The front desk is staffed by charming friendly people who were quick to offer information. DeLuca's grocery is nearby to stock the room and there are restaurants and shops in every block of the street. I would stay there again.
Where I ate: First of all let me say there were so many choices I really didn't come close to exhausting the options. A lot of places were hard to get into because of the convention.
Stephanies: excellent food, good service and nice atmosphere. A little noisy.
Soncie's: fun atmosphere, noisy, good food. Wide range of choices.
Joe's American Cafe: relatively quiet so we went there twice just to get some business done. The food was good, the service informed and excellent.
Grille 23: great food so noisy we eventually gave up on conversation
Blu on Highland:again very noisy, but good food and good service.
Wellsley Club: an average buffet, very quiet and charming. Beautiful view of the campus.
A friend and I drove out to Williamston to see her daughter, a senior at Williams. The drive was spectacular and I loved every inch of it. I could stay out there for weeks. We were taking a quick trip and stayed at the Maple Leaf Terrace. It is moderately priced, very clean, free internet, and breakfast included. Oh, and a fridge. We had drinks at the Equinox, lovely, lovely, lovely. Our dinner was at a pub in Williamston, did I mention we were visiting college students? Food was pretty good but again a bit on the noisy side.
I love Boston and the trip was wonderful, but I had to come home...leaving for Buenos Aires next week.......
Oct 24th, 2006, 01:34 PM
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Thanks for the trip report! Glad that you had a good time.
DH is a Williams grad, and I have yet to visit Williamstown. After reading your report, maybe some day we'll venture there during fall foliage season.
Did you do lots of shopping?
Have a great trip to Buenos Aires!
DH is a Williams grad, and I have yet to visit Williamstown. After reading your report, maybe some day we'll venture there during fall foliage season.
Did you do lots of shopping?
Have a great trip to Buenos Aires!
Oct 24th, 2006, 01:39 PM
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YK, definitely go to Williams. It is the essence of a New England college. Beautiful buildings, an exceptional museum (the Clark) and some lovely grounds. I was enchanted.
I shopped, but not much buying. I have read so much about the fabulous shopping in BsAs, I hate to squander my $$$ too soon.
Thanks for the good wishes.
I shopped, but not much buying. I have read so much about the fabulous shopping in BsAs, I hate to squander my $$$ too soon.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Oct 24th, 2006, 01:52 PM
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thanks for posting and sharing your visit to Boston-
since we are here, it is nice to hear how a visitor feels - the Newbury Guest House is usually a pleasant stay, - too bad you had those snafus this time, that's a shame.
Your restaurant takes made me smile: we too love the food at Stephanie's and Sonsie's, but when they are full they are noisy and we gave up eating at Grill 23 a long time ago b/c I would lose my voice trying to have conversation at the table and my husband couldn't stand the acoustics.....
next time you come we'll send you to some quieter places for great steaks,etc....
Glad you got to Williamstown, it is gorgeous out there - my daughter spent a season with the Williamstown Theater Festival and it was such a treat to spend some time out there in the summer - and I had once done a foliage journey there with my mom - it's great part of the state.
come back !
since we are here, it is nice to hear how a visitor feels - the Newbury Guest House is usually a pleasant stay, - too bad you had those snafus this time, that's a shame.
Your restaurant takes made me smile: we too love the food at Stephanie's and Sonsie's, but when they are full they are noisy and we gave up eating at Grill 23 a long time ago b/c I would lose my voice trying to have conversation at the table and my husband couldn't stand the acoustics.....
next time you come we'll send you to some quieter places for great steaks,etc....
Glad you got to Williamstown, it is gorgeous out there - my daughter spent a season with the Williamstown Theater Festival and it was such a treat to spend some time out there in the summer - and I had once done a foliage journey there with my mom - it's great part of the state.
come back !
Oct 24th, 2006, 02:25 PM
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Actually I went to Bouchee with friends on Monday night. I had an excellent onion soup and a flat bread appetizer (we got there fairly late). One of my friends had steak and fries and raved about it. The other had a pork loin which she said was good. the servers were personable and efficient. Don't know how I overlooked mentioning it in the trip report, Mimi. Boston is such a fabulous city! I will try Bistro Robert on my next visit.
