Travelister

I am going to be traveling to Boston in October on business and will be bringing my two young children, my mother and sister. We are going to extend the trip and we would like to stay in a family friendly area. None of us have ever been to Boston and need help!

I have called several of the hotels (Westin, etc.) in the waterfront/downtown area and none of the hotels can accomodate 5 to a room because of fire code. We are traveling on a budget and would all like to stay together. We would like an indoor pool for the kids. Any suggestions?

Also, what is the weather like in Boston in October? Thanks in advance for your response!

wyatt92

The Eliot Hotel has suites that I believe accomodate 5. No pool though. Boston doesn't really have a lot of hotels with pools so you may have to compromise on that.

The weather in October is usually beautiful, 50s-70s. Of course you never can predict New England weather.

Krista

The Marriott Residence Inns can accomodate 5 per room in their 1 or 2 bedrooms. Not cheap though and no pools as far as I can tell. Nice areas but I wouldn't call them family friendly.

Krista

johngerard

We stayed at the Midtown last year - 2 double beds & there was a locked door connecting to the room next door. They have an outdoor pool. My wife was not impressed with the bathroom facilities - the bath & toilet are boxed off & the sink was within the room with a glass panel partition. The breakfast were better at a nearby cafe.
The T stop is a few yards from the door.

Anonymous

That sink-in-the-room arrangement actually works well if there are several people staying in the room, since the sink can be used by anybody while the other resources are in use.

Dreamer2

If you don't mind staying outside Boston, you could check the Marriott Peabody. You would need two adjoining rooms, but they do have an indoor pool and good "specials." The ride into Boston would be about 20-30 minutes in regular traffic.

If you dare to, you can use Priceline to bid for TWO rooms at a better hotel. (You'd probaby want to bid the Copley area, but I notice that waterfront is also OK for you.) Then you need to call the hotel you've won directly, and ask for adjoining rooms with two double beds each. They may, or may not, be able to accommodate the request. And since PL is for only two people per room, the little ones would have to share a bed. If you've never used PL, you should see what things are "going for" on biddingfortravel.com before you begin.

You probably won't be able to swim outside anywhere. And prices will be on the higher side everywhere if it's early October due to foliage season.

Good luck! Hope it all works out well!

wyatt92

Staying in Peabody is not a good idea. It really takes closer to 45 min to get to Boston and then you have to deal with high parking rates.

Anonymous

I love Priceline, but their standard room has one bed for two people. Although most hotels would be able to provide a room with two beds upon request, you cannot count on that, especially in older cities where many hotels have very small rooms. Also, the 2-person capacity isn't always determined by the number of beds: sometimes it's a fire code law and the hotel will not allow 3 people in a room even if 2 of them are very small. As noted in the OP, the downtown hotels won't allow 5 people in a room that (presumably) has two double beds.

October weather is much milder early in the month than at the end of the month; and hotel rates are much higher earlier in the month due to tourists looking for foliage. What are your travel dates?

Travelister

Thanks so much for all of your replies, you have been a very helpful group!

LG2

I have a family of 6 so I understand your situation. If I were you, I'd check out Embassy Suites at the airport if you don't plan to have a car. $264 2-BR suites with pool. Check ease of getting to subway. If you have a car, you'll be paying for parking everywhere, including the hotel. Consider Residence Inn or something cheaper 8-12 miles outside Boston. Maybe Boston residents can advise more...