aucho53

Hi Everyone,

I'll be heading to Boston for an event the last weekend in August and was hoping to find a nice area to stay just outside of Boston (think NJ to NYC type of set up) to save on hotel costs. This is my first time to the Boston area and I am not familiar with anything around there. We will have a car so we can drive in to downtown and park it in a lot for the day. If you guys have any suggestions I would appreciate your tips!

Thanks!

Layla

yk

I'm not sure what you have in mind of "nice area" - majority of suburbs in Boston are spread out, with the hotels in an office park setting and you won't be able to walk to anything nearby.

Having said that, the areas I'd consider are:
Burlington
Framingham/Natick

I'm sure other Boston-area Fodorites can chime in.

Just so you know, the HAMPTON INN in Cambridge offers FREE PARKING. It is within a few minutes' walk to the Lechmere T Station. So, if you don't mind staying at a Hampton Inn, this is an option. http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/h...tyhocn=BOSCBHX

If you stay outside of the city and drive in, beware that all-day parking in Boston during the week costs about $35. It goes down to $8-10 on weekends.

Finally, have you considered using Hotwire to get a hotel IN Boston? I believe there have been pretty good deals for the summer, and even with the parking costs (you can park for cheaper at nearby garages than using the hotel's valet parking), it may be the same price as the hotels outside the city booked conventionally.

yk

P.S., it would be helpful for us to know from WHICH direction you'll be coming in from. It makes sense to recommend a suburb S of the city if you're coming from the S ... etc. You get the idea.

cmeyer54

You might want to consider a bed and breakfast in either Cambridge or Somerville. You'll be within walking distance of a T stop to go downtown. Personally, I'd avoid driving into downtown boston! The Morrison house is in Somerville and seemed nice.

clarkgriswold

Parking rates are high in Boston so take that into consideration. Might want something close to the train such as Waltham. Or in Burlington you might want to drive to a train station and go in from there.
Hilton Garden Inn Burlington or Candlewood Suites Burlington both get good reviews and are $75. Holiday Inn Express in Waltham is $80 (no pool).

Cyanna

You may quickly get exasperated with driving in and out every day - it makes even the angelic scream, as does trying to navigate around the city. FWIW I found a GPS absolutely useless downtown because it can't recalibrate quickly enough nor depict detail fully enough for quick decisions around rotaries or if you're going the wrong way on a bridge.

And as others are pointing out, parking fees more than take up whatever you've saved in motel rates.

Better to rely on the T. The Hampton in Cambridge is a great idea. Also onsider the motels near the Lechmere or Kendall stops in Cambridge, the John Jeffries near the Charles St. stop (but many WILL charge for parking, so scout out nearby lots and just leave the car there), or - if you don't mind about 45 min. communte, stay at the Indigo in Newton near the Riverside stop - it's not particularly cheap, but I don't think they charge for parking. (Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I hope.)

aucho53

Thanks for all the replies!!

I looked into the Newton/Waltham areas which are not far from where I need to be which is the Hynes Convention Center and the hotels are moderately priced. We were considering bidding for a room in that area but maybe we should just aim for downtown Boston...I'd need to check the median prices to see what the rates look like.

I like the flexibility of having my car so that if we want to have a late night out (which we will) we can simply drive back and not rely on public transportation schedules. I'll have to look into some parking rates as well.

I know it's a totally different city but when we go to NYC we stay in Jersey and drive in and park and even with the parking we save a considerable amount of $ so I thought Boston would maybe be the same type of set up but I'm just starting my research!

Thanks again and any other tips are appreciated!

yk

Since you said you'll be here during the WEEKEND, driving from Newton and or Waltham into the Back Bay area will take about 20 minutes.

However, if you're staying here for several more days INTO THE WORK WEEK, traffic is much worse on the MassPike during rush hour.

The Pru belongs to the Central Parking company. If you go to central Parking website, you can PRE-PRINT parking coupon which gives you a discounted rate. However, if the Red Sox is in town and playing at Fenway, the PRU coupon has a separate (more expensive) event parking rate.

The Pru and the Copley Place parking garages DO NOT have lower parking rates for weekends. They are still around $35/day. If you're willing to walk several blocks, the Clarendon Garage has weekend rates, as do the Back Bay Garage at 500 Bolyston Street. The Back Bay Garage also belongs to Central Parking, and the web coupon for weekend parking is $8 (up to 12 hours). http://boston.centralparking.com/Bos...on-Street.html

fmpden

Last summer about this time we did a 3.5 star hotels on hotwire in the Back Bay area and had a great hotel for the week at about $100/night and used public transit for everything.

BigRuss

I'd use public transit and, if a late night is in order, a cab.

Parking in Boston is a real pain in the a-- because so much of the on-street parking is designated for residents only. Plus driving in downtown is a challenge because the streets aren't strictly logical either -- the one-ways don't necessarily alternate direction from street to street.

Bostonians aren't exactly the most polite drivers either.

Regardless of whether the local excuse for a baseball team is around, consider dropping by Boston Beer Works -- it's thisclose to the hoary old dilapidated rat condo-tower that the locals consider a baseball stadium.

portiaperu

BigRuss,

Don't like Boston much?

Can't tell - you hide it so well.

"Hoary old dilapidated rat condo-tower that the locals consider a baseball stadium" What?

yk

One more comment about parking at the PRU. If you drive into the city on MassPike, when you exit at the Copley/PRU exit, stay LEFT on the ramp. Once the ramp spilts, then stay on the R lane, which DIRECTLY TAKES YOU INTO THE PRU parking garage.

While I agree that driving IN Boston isn't that easy, if you follow my advice, you will spend ZERO time on the streets in Boston, for reasons explained above.

wyatt92

I'd give Priceline a try, it can't hurt. Not sure what the zones are but you'd want Back Bay/Copley Sq.

cw

You have a good chance of getting a good hotel rate that weekend. It's the end of summer but just before Boston becomes crowded. Not sure you said what your budget is but if your event is in Newton/Waltham you might check the Indigo Hotel. It's right off Rt. 95 (128) in Newton. It's convenient to the Mass Pike for getting into Boston, and also right next to the Riverside trolley line into Boston.

cw

Just saw where your event is at the Hynes Auditorium. I think it's well worth it to try for a room in Boston. The Back Bay area is where the Hynes is located. If you follow yk's directions, it'll be easy to drive in and park.

Ackislander

Strongly agree with cw and others about doing Priceline for a place in the Back Bay. I actually like driving in Boston because it is a great release for all my hostile and aggressive tendencies but it is much harder than driving into Manhattan from Jersey, and the idea of driving back to your hotel after a night on the town is just absolutely unrealistic.

From the Pru or Park Square areas, you can get to the waterfront on the Green Line and Cambridge on the #1 bus on Mass Ave (just around the corner from the Hynes) or on the Red Line, which goes to Davis Square in Somerville.

Pick up a copy of the Phoenix from a street box, and you will see that the action is mostly concentrated in these areas and Lansdowne Street, near Fenway Park, also an easy walk from the Green Line at Kenmore Square.

Cyanna

It's hard to communicate the distances involved here, but think you should take the advice to try Priceline for Back Bay area hotels, and just pay attention to fees for parking. Once you're there, I think you'll be amazed that you even thought of staying out in Newton or Waltham, especially if you didn't have to. As Ackislander says, it's just not analogous to NJ-> Manhattan logistics.

aucho53

Hi Guys,

Ok thanks a bunch for the advice, I think we're gonna give priceline a try for Boston proper and if no luck we'll take our chances on the driving thing. I really appreciate all the help!!

aucho53

Hi Guys,

Ok so we weren't able to get a great deal on priceline for a hotel in Boston proper, we ended up booking a hotel in Waltham (Hilton Garden Inn) for 45$/nt. It's 11 miles from downtown which is fine with us, we will have our GPS and will deal with the parking issue. The hotel gets good reviews and it seems that many other people have stayed there as an alternative to staying downtown. Just wanted to thank everyone for their help! Now I need to start planning my weekend!!!!

Layla

dandynita

Just came back from Boston (Aug 9&10), we stayed in Crowne Plaza, Danvers after a week trying to bid on Priceline, we finally decided to take from hotwire the cheapest for 3 stars and got that hotel.
From our experience, driving in Boston was OK, we went there on Monday night directly to the hotel.

On the next day we went driving to Arnold Arboretum and Boston Public Library. We were be able to park on the street at the Arnold Arboretum, it was free and there were lots of cars parked there too and it was around 11 am.

Unfortunately for us, out of the cars that parked there, somebody picked our car and smashed the window, our laptop hidden under the seat on the very back (van) and our wii console covered by jacket were gone. It was probably our license plate (Ontario)from outside the state that attracted that person. So when there were people (NY plate) came and parked, we did reminded them not to leave any valuable things in the car and they went back to the car and brought their laptop along with them to the park.

But we still managed to have fun, we drove to DT area and parked on the street and paid on meter and had the most famous clam chowder at Atlantic Fish co, and walked from there to Boston Public Library, worth it to see, just exactly what people in fodor forum recommended when you are in Boston. Then heading to Cambridge to see Harvard Square, it was beautiful.