My spouse and daughter and I will be visiting Harvard and MIT over spring break. We need an inexpensive place to stay for 3 nights (Thursday-Sunday). Inexpensive would be under $150/night for the 3 of us. We will have a car and we love B&Bs if we can afford them.

Friends of mine with a daughter at Harvard really like the Friendly Inn. I think it is right near Harvard Square.
http://www.afinow.com/

On the other side of the river, but in a nice area convenient to the T is the John Jefferies House. Several Fodorites have stayed there during Boston GTGs and thought it was a great value for the price.

http://www.johnjeffrieshouse.com/

Good thing you're looking now. Spring break is very busy in Boston.

Thank you!

I endorse the John Jefferies House too! It's not fancy, but the employees are nice, the neighborhood (Beacon Hill) is fantastic, the subway to Cambridge is right across the street, and you can get a suite (separate bedroom, living room with sofa bed, and kitchenette) for well under $200 a night.

PS I mis-spelled the name. It's "Jeffries"

Haha Balto...I did too!

Luckily, I cut & pasted the web address!

If you stay at the Jeffries House, do they have parking? It will cost you about $24 a day (open to correction) at the Common Garage and about the same at the Charles Street Garage, but you can't park on the street without a resident sticker, and I don't know about in and out privileges, though if you are visiting Harvard and MIT, the Charles Street stop is right across the street.

Are you traveling in the car, or renting one? You really don't need it for either Providence or Boston/Cambridge.

We have had great luck with priceline in the Cambridge/Boston area. We've gotten Hotel Marlowe (closer to the Science Museum vs. Harvard Square) and the Hyatt (which is closer to Harvard Square on the Charles River)

I don't remember what we paid, but I usually bid between $50 and $100, so it was somewhere in that range. I usually wait until the last minute though, so this might make a difference.

The Biddingfortravel website has a list of all the known Cambridge hotels that you could end up getting. Also, winning bidders list the prices that were accepted and for what dates & hotel.

Priceline hotels in the Back Bay or downtown would also be convenient, since they'd have access to the Red Line or to the #1 bus that goes up Mass Ave.

Unfortunately, PL is probably not a good idea for 3 people since they only guarantee a room for 2, and Boston is one of the cities where you might not be able to get a room for 3 just by talking to the hotel after you win.