The Marriott is the most economical bet, especially since parking is complimentary. You can walk to the Quincy Adams station from the Marriott. Otherwise, it's $5 to park.

Make sure you know the time of the last train back, and that you get on a Red Line train for Braintree, and not Mattapan.

From Quincy Adams, the ride is about 30 minutes to Downtown Crossing or Park Street, where you can transfer to wherever you're heading.

ggreen: there is indeed a Days Inn on Soldiers Field Road. Incidentally, this is pretty much across the Charles River from Cambridge!

Hmm, it appears that there are actually *two* Days Inns on Soldiers Field Road - go figure! I think the one we stayed in is 1234 Soldiers Field Road; the other appears to be closer to Watertown...

The good thing about this location is that it is close enough off the Mass Pike and on a large roadway, so it's fairly straightforward to get to. (Soldiers Field Road merges with Storrow Drive as you get into Boston proper.) And as Ralphie has pointed out and I've now checked, it is right across from Cambridge and adjacent to Harvard's Boston campus. However, I don't know whether or not it's at all near any T stops!

G Green: It's NOT close to any T Stops. A bus or two, but that wouldn't be convenient. I'd check with the hotel itself about the possibility of a shuttle to the station (who knows, it's worth a call).

I think there are two Days inns near each other on Soldiers Field Road as you said. One is near the IHOP and is called "Days Stop" or something similar, and kind of looks like a motel. The other is a short distance in bound and looks like more of a full-fledged Days Inn, with a restaurant on the premises (Chinese place, I think)

Yeah, that's what I remembered. :( We stayed at the more inbound one... The suggestion to ask the hotel about a shuttle is a good one, though - always worth a shot!

Thank you so much for all of your responses. This was all great information. I'm sure if it had been left up to me I would have ended up in a location that wouldn't have fit my needs.

I've decided to stay with the Quincy Marriott. I think it's as close to perfect as I can get with my budget. I'm looking forward to my trip. Now that I've got the hotel nailed down I'm going to start searching threads for recommended restaurants and activities. I've only got 2 days in Boston and I'm going to pack in as much as I can.

Thanks again everyone.