I am more concerned with safety. That's why I want your opinion about the neighborhood. We are walkers and runners. So we could walk the five miles to downtown with no problem, let alone the 3/4 mi to the station.

Well, then, don't bother renting a car. You can check out the neighborhood for yourself on the way to the "T" station the first time. I haven't been in that neighborhood for years, and the crime rates are significantly reduced, but if the local stores gate their windows at night, I'd want to taxi back after dark.

The issue with the street is that it is not suitable for walking, regardless of safety or distance.

I would take taxi in AM to MBTA station and in PM when returning to hotel take taxi from downtown to hotel (not via MBTA). It is not an area where I would suggest walking around at night - and I am not even sure there is a pedestrian-friendly way to get to hotel from MBTA.

If you want to run while in Boston, take your running stuff with you and run along the Charles River - it is beautiful.

You guys are joking, right? This is a bad dream, yes. Well, I have a month to go before I kill myself or hit the lotto. Thanks Adiossssssssssssssssssssss.

You know, you could just disregard your Priceline reservation, as a miserable attempt at economizing (for your anniversary!!!), and book a much nicer hotel...

Ditto to what djbooks said....

Or maybe not stay in Boston at all. We are arriving at Logan June 13 and departing from Logan June 24. Can anybody suggest an itinerary for New England? How many days in Boston? Originally I had planed for 5 days there and then maybe Portland and Concord, Martha's, the Cape.

With 10 days, I would do 4-5 in Boston and 4-5 somewhere else. (Yes, I can count, but I don't usually count travel days as "days").

First, decide what you want to do - see historic stuff, relax at a beach or mountain location, etc. Then, pick either north or south - likely meaning Maine or Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, etc.

A few days on Cape Cod with a day or overnight trip to MV or Mantucket might be nice. Beach weather is questionable at that time of year, and the water is definitely not swimmable unless you are a polar bear, but it would be a nice trip.

What about staying at the much-maligned Ramada for a night or 2, eating the rest of the reservation, heading to the Cape, and then staying at a real hotel in real Boston for the end part of the trip?

Yeah! This is my hotel for visiting Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Closer yes! I knew that things happen for a reason! I'm I losing it ?

While a day trip to the closest part of Cape Cod from your hotel might be possible, a day trip to MV from there would not be worth it.

Sorry, en, but rationalization won't work with this dump. I think you should just eat the bad reservation in Dorchester and start working NOW on another place in the best part of Boston: the Newbury Guest House in the Back Bay. If they have a room, GRAB IT. It's at the epicenter of the Back Bay, in an area full of shops and restaurants, and its rates are quite low for Boston (starting at around $129 a night). It's a glorified B&B, but comfortable and full of easy New England charm.

Be reassured that with all these negative posts, the place will not be as bad as you expect (close, but not quite as bad)

I can't remember such unanimous views on any subject here before.

All is not lost. The location is indeed inconvenient, but rather than abandoning the reservation, just take taxis or the hotel shuttle.

Their web site says they have a shuttle to the JFK/UMass subway station - if this is true, you can just use this shuttle and you'll be fine. (It's possible that the Fields Corner station is closer, but it's undergoing construction and in an iffy neighborhood, whereas at the JFK/UMass station, you'll be among lots of students and tourists.)

With all the money I'm saving I can afford to hire a limo. thanks to all.

Dear En:
I beg to differ just a little with the wisdom you have been receiving. Turn left out of the hotel, past the yummy candy store, to a street on the left that appears to take you to a warehouse section; wind along the "beach" front on a trail that turns into a lovely bicycle/jogging trail. It eventually ends up at the Milton/Ashmont townline. Turn left into Milton. DO NOT go right into Ashmont. Here you will find a nice little coffee shop, a wine shop with fabulous bread and a few other shops. Try the town of Milton web site for more info on the trail itself. At one point, before the Milton end, you go past the old Baker Chocolate Factory (now condos); exit the trail at this point and you will be near a quaint section of Dorchester - ice cream shop, Thai food, antique store, retro housewares and coffee shop.

Lastly, right across from the Ramada on Morrissey is an excellent fruit/veggie market; ice cream too. So take the "T" from JFK and enjoy yourself!

Well, at least there are some OK things "near" the motel-- er, hotel....

Happy Anniversary in any case!

LOL, I live in Milton, within walking distance of the locations that bucktoothbarnyard recommends. The coffee shop is where some of my kids' friends had their first after-school jobs. The Baker Chocolate Factory sits on the Boston/Milton line, too - across the street from my bank and Post Office. It's a nice enough town, but never in my wildest dreams would I picture these areas as tourist destinations. About the only tourists who ever make it out this way are transportation geeks who want to ride our little 1940s-era trolleys.