Sue

A friend and I are flying into Boston and are looking at inexpensive places to stay for one night. Is Downtown Boston unsafe at night. Any suggestions on where to stay and what to do?

Neal Sanders

Sue, "inexpensive" and "Boston" are seldom used in the same sentence when referring to hotels. Yes, it's safe, and there's no end of things to do in the evening. However, I'd first try to nail down a hotel. The first place to look is Quikbook, which has a number of Boston properties in their database.

bm

You'll be hardpressed to find Boston and inexpensive in the same sentence these days! Hotel rooms in Boston are averaging out at about $200/night. As for what areas of the city to stay in,I would look in the Fanieul Hall Area (Marriott Long Wharf, Regal Bostonian), or the Back Bay (Copley Marriott, Back Bay Hilton, Eliot, Lenox, John Jeffries House, etc.). "Downtown" Boston (Boston doesnt have a specific area called Downtown, though most would probably consider the Financial District "downtown") pretty much is dead after 6-7pm when all the people who work there go home. Fanieul Hall and the Back Bay are much more lively at night and both have great options for dining & shopping. Also, try and book your lodging ASAP as we are coming up upon a VERY busy time here in Boston and hotel rooms, especially "inexpensive" ones, are going to be hard to come by.

JJ

I don't know why people seem to love to wag a finger when someone asks for help with inexpensive lodging -- rolling their eyes and saying Boston -- or wherever -- is too expensive to contemplate. It's just not helpful. What is it -- do you live there and love the feeling that you are where other people can't afford to come?

Sue -- there are possibilities, depending on what you can afford. Check out Fodors' own Boston guide for a couple of "budget" places -- may still be over $100 but split in half (between you and friend), not too bad. My favorite is the John Jeffries, but there is also Best Western Longwood and the Midtown -- very central.

Stu

If you are really on a budget you may want to consider staying just outside of boston and close to a "T" (Subway) line. This will be an easy an inexpensive way for you to get in an out of boston. I know there is a hotel at the end of the green "T" line however, I don't recall what the hotel name was...If I had to guess, Holiday Inn or Ramada.

Woostah

The Best Western Longwood is too outside of town. You might even want to give the Colonnade Hotel (next to the Copley Marriott on Huntington Ave.) a call, but I do think that you will have a hard time finding a room under $150/nite. You might want to try Timeout.com (a travel guide aimed at 20 somethings that list a range of good options, not just hostels). Great places: Faneuil Hall, The North End (a must and under 93 from Faneuil), Back Bay/South End (great restaurants on Columbus) and Copley/Newbury St. (great shops, restaurants).

Have fun and watch out for the crazy driv-ahs!

Michele

You don't say when you're going to Boston, but if you are leaving sometime soon, good luck. I booked my trip early May trip to Boston in December, and there wasn't an inexpensive hotel/motel (that was somewhat decent) anywhere within the city. (there were some possibilities in the outer suburbs) Anything that was in the city was a minimun of $250 - $300 per night. We finally arranged for an apartment for a week, and probably got a better deal anyway.

Point is, hotels book up fast and anyone trying to get a room in Boston in May will either have to stay further out of the city or pay for a more expensive room.

Good luck!

Neal Sanders

Sue, by now you may have given up on your trip to Boston (based on the conflicting advice above) but, if you haven't, here are some tips.

1) I think everyone is in agreement that centrally located Boston hotels are considerably more expensive than those in a city of comparable size.

2) Staying outside of the walkable core of the city means either a) having a car (in which case there are hundreds of lesser cost properties to choose from) or b) finding a property that is on a subway or trolley line.

3) Because staying in the city is always preferable to spending time on trains, try the web sites for the dates that you and your friend will be in town. I originally suggested Quikbook; I would add Expedia and Travelocity to that list. Checking a few dates at random, I found some good downtown properties at rates around $150 -- a bargain by Boston standards.

4) If you choose something outside of the city, start with Cambridge, then Brookline. They're close-in communities. The farther out you go, the less expensive the property, but you may find the travel time (and cost) tradeoff unacceptable. For example, there's a Motel 6 right across from the Braintree "T" station, but it's half an hour into Boston and each person pays a double fare in each direction... which can add up fairly quickly.

gail

I have stayed at Best Western Longwood and thought it was much nicer than what I could afford in town.The T is so accessible that it was not a problem to walk a couple blocks to get to it.If you can't find ANYTHING you can afford maybe call the "Y" or a college like Wheelock to see if they would rent out an empty dorm (obviously it depends on the time of the year you go).

Donna

The "inexpensive" places are no longer inexpensive (or available, except well in advance), due to promotion in tour guides and on travel forums like this one. Often the Midtown Hotel (which is more of an intown motor inn) has rates higher than the much nicer hotels. It's popular with families and tour groups, so you are often disturbed by young children and giggling adolescent girls in the hallways late at night and early in the morning. I book weekends in Boston many times a year, and each time is an all-new endeavor. One thing I've learned is that advance planning really pays off. So does shopping like the dickens. I booked a room a nice, well located, hotel for $159/night last January directly through their website. Just checked, and rooms for the same weekend are $305/night. Another luxury hotel can be booked way ahead for $135/night in the winter and $155/night in the summer, for the same rooms that cost $350 and up on shorter notice. Another resource I'd add is www.hoteldiscount.com. This is a quick resource for availability, rates, and property descriptions and locations. You must prepay here (and the rates go up and down on a daily basis sometimes), so I always check here first and shop the other booking sites and check with the hotels directly. The disparity in rates is astonishing. I shop like mad and book something suitable as soon as I know I'm going, then keep shopping. Depending upon what's going on in Boston during your visit and hotel fill rates, the prices sometimes go up and down right up until we leave. Note that "Downtown" is the business district which is very quiet nights and weekends. Other neighborhoods, such as Back Bay or the Waterfront, are more desirable locations for hotels and seeing and doing. If you stay outside the city proper, be sure you know when the last bus, subway, train leaves for your hotel (www.mbta.com).

Lori

Sue, please consider Priceline as an option. I got a rate of $85 per night at the Wyndham Boston in late June. Apparently, the Wyndham is a "business hotel" in the financial district, and they often offer rooms to Priceline for decent prices on the weekends (I bid for a Thursday through Sunday stay). Here's a site to learn before you bid:

http://pub4.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding.html

Good luck!

Vicky Berry

Yes i can help stay in Boston Costom Houes or Other great accomadations with 80% or more saveing .call 1 888 800 4352 ext.6151 vicky Berry.

Neal Sanders

I don't know which is worse: having travel agents shilling their wares on the site or having 'fonetic spelers' doing the same. Either way, go away!

Parrot Mom

Checkout the B&B's.. namely the Newbury Street one..who has just been listed in one of the travel magazines as a good buy..centrally located..

Vicky Berry

I read your advice Neal Sanders more like a bad book.
Gee stay Outside Boston-Brookline(Neal Sanders advice).
Or stay at Boston Custom Houes first class accomdations with 80% saving and free parking. No thanks Sanders you stay OUTSIDE.
Vicky Berry
1 888 800 4352Ext.6151

read

Vicky-
If you read the rules of the forum, they read NO ADVERTISING.

Ann

I met someone yesterday who was staying at the new Doubletree Hotel near NE Medical Center/Theater District. He said he was paying just $119 per night which is practically unheard of for Boston. I don't know if this was a conference rate though. I do know it's a brand new hotel which was converted from a high school, and they are trying to build up business. He said the room was larger and nicer than he expected. May be worth looking into.