Hi Boston Fodorites,

Can anyone suggest a good base to visit Boston college 8/29-8/30? (Just when the storm is expected to hit!) Would we be better off staying at the Lenox downtown or finding someplace nearer the campus?

And I mean "better off" in finding a nice, clean, comfortable hotel -- maybe up to $225-250/night?
Tripadvisor lists the Indigo hotel and the Marriot in Newton. Has anyone stayed here? Or does anyone have a recco near the college? (Not a B&B -- a hotel.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

The Lenox would be fine, as would any hotel in the Back Bay area. You would be near the Copley Square station and can easily grab an outbound Green Line "B" train to BC. It will say Boston College on the train.

Are you driving? If so, the Marriott Newton and the Indigo are also convenient but not near BC. It would be a about a 15-20 minute drive. You can take the Green Line "D" train from Riverside station, next to the Indigo, but you then will have a longer, but very pleasant walk to BC, about 10 minutes--you'd get off at Chestnut Hill. The Marriott is not near public transport.

Not much near the campus in the way of hotels. Concur with cw about staying downtown if you are indeed just planning to visit the campus and not moving a child into a dorm. Most downtown hotels have a hefty parking charge though.

I am a huge fan of marriot hotels so i will admit that first. I stayed at the courtyard newton and I would say it is like most other courtyar Marriot hotels. You know what you are going to get. I know there are other options in that area though like Holiday Inn, Hyatt, and The Charles Hotel. I think both would be good too except I am not too familiar with the Charles Hotel. For that I would go to a hotels.com, hotelgizmo.com or travelocity.com and research it.

I would also recommend staying closer to the college if that is your primary purpose for the trip because the traffic can be an absolute nightmare. If you want to go into downtown Boston than you can take a train in.

I forgot earlier, but there is a Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newton. It may be the closest hotel to BC. It's right off the Mass. Pike (90), actually it's built right over the highway. Convenient if you're driving, not so much if you don't have a car. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/crownep...aa/hoteldetail

If you are trying to get as close as possible there is also a Sheraton that is right in Needham on the Newton line. I always stay there with my family when we go up for the football games and the desk has a directions on the back roads that gets you there in like 10 minutes with out having to deal with the horrible traffic in the area.

No offense to cw, but dont stay at the Crowne Plaza, it is literally over the Mass. Pike and it is horrible! Not worth it!!
http://www.sheraton.com/needham

Thank you all for the valuable feedback. Have to weigh a few different factors -- might look into the Sheraton in Needham. The parking at the Lenox is $43 night (!) but I suppose that's in line with any metro hotel parking.
I'd heard the Crowne Plaza was pretty bad through word-of-mouth, even though online reviews are horrible. You just never know.
Thank you all again!
Now let's hope the storm doesn't change all my plans!

Oops--didn't check any reviews of hotels, was just thinking of hotels close by. Won't mention the Crowne Plaza again. Thanks for the heads up. I live here so never stay in the hotels. It used to be a Sheraton, I think.

ChgoGal, since you're driving, and if you're not planning on sightseeing, staying out of downtown makes sense. The storm will be gone by Tuesday, but no one knows what damage may occur.

Is it easy to get to BC from Waltham? Waltham has a few decent choices, The Hilton Garden Inn, a Courtyard, the Crescent Suites, a Holiday Inn Express.

I believe the Indigo has free parking.

I'm surprised the reviews for Crowne Plaza Newton are that bad. It only switched over from Sheraton perhaps 1-2 yrs ago. Are the bad reviews all for the Crowne Plaza and not the old Sheraton?

Other options would be the Holiday Inn or Courtyard in Coolidge Corner. but parking won't be cheap in either one of them.

P.S. to answer tracys2cents question, No, it's not that convenient to get to BC from Waltham, compared to the Newton hotel options, or even Coolidge Corner. And be careful with the Waltham HI Express (which is next to Best Western) - both have a good section of their rooms facing the busy highway (Rt 128). Hilton Garden Inn is situated a bit farther away so that is a better option if you choose to stay in Waltham.