Interesting areas of Boston with reasonably priced accomodations? (Cambridge, Quincy: hotels, house)

[ta_harvey]

I'm going to be visiting Boston soon for a conference. I'm spending an extra night in Boston after the conference and need to find economical accomodations (under $100) for that night. The conference hotel I'll be staying in the previous nights is in Back Bay, near Copley square (Copley something), I believe. My question is, what area should I get a hotel in that last night? Are there areas/neighborhoods that would be fun to spend an afternoon/evening exploring, but where there are some hotels or other type of lodging that don't have astronomical rates? I could always get a budget hotel near the airport, since I'm flying out the next morning, but I'm assuming there's not much of interest near there. Is that a correct assumption to make?

Thanks!

[LeavingMassachusetts]

If you are looking to stay in the actual city of Boston, you will not find a hotel for that price.

[bolehboleh]

In the city, you'll probably have to sell a kidney to be able to afford the hotel prices. However, you might want to look at the Cambridge Gateway Inn...I think it's affordable and it's within walking distance to Alewife Station (red line).

I don't know the hotels near the airport, but it wouldn't be so bad if you had to stay near Logan. Logan airport is very close to downtown and it's accessable by the blue line. As for interesting neighborhoods, I'm sure you'll have had your fill of back bay by the time your conference is over. I'm also certain someone will have taken yout to Quincy Market at one point. If you want a living/working neighborhood, that is also tourist, You might like the North End. There's nothing better on a spring day then to sit an Italian restaurant and sip some wine while watching people go by. Hanover Street is the main drag in that part of town. You could also try Mike's Pastries for an excellent snack!

If you want to go back to the Back Bay, you always take a nice stroll up Commonwealth Ave (locals call it "Com Ave") from Kenmore Square to the Public Garden and Boston Common. Both wonderful for people watching. If you want to check out a good museum, you could always try tne museum of fine arts. Take the green line "e" to get there. You could also explore some of the lesser traveled neighborhoods as well. The South End and South Boston (two separate places) are really up and coming. I work in the South End and I still love strolling through the brownstones there

[Cantabridgienne]

$100 isn't a reasonable rack rate for a hotel room in Boston. You might want to look into Hotwire instead.

Some of the bed and breakfasts in/around Cambridge may work for you, if you have a bit of flexibility in your budget. This would allow you to see a different part of the Boston area, but still be around shops, restaurants, bars, the T, etc.

Morrison House B&B, Davis Square

Cambridge bed and breakfast & inns. Find the perfect Cambridge B&B lodging on BedandBreakfast.com.


The South End also has a number of b&bs housed in brownstones, but may be out of your budget.

[ta_harvey]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I was thinking I would try one of those sites that has unpublished hotels, meaning you have a choice of hotels at discounted prices, but you don't find out the actual hotel until you've puchased. You choose the area and the star rating, so that's primarily why I was inquiring about areas. Sounds like Cambridge, the North End, and the South End might be good possibilities.

[Cantabridgienne]

If you go the Hotwire/Priceline route, note that there aren't any proper hotels in the South End and be careful with Cambridge--there are hotels there that aren't very close to the T/in somewhat isolated areas.

[ogre]

One word of caution about staying at airport hotels is that if you plan to use the T to get downtown, keep in mind that the system shuts down kind of early. When returning to your hotel at night, you'd probably want to be at the blue line stop nearest your choice of nightlife venue by 12:30 at the LATEST, or plan on taking a cab.

[ta_harvey]

Thanks again for all your advice! I thought you might like to know (particularly those that thought it was impossible to get a hotel in Boston for ~$100) that I used the "Name your price" feature on priceline.com and ended up getting a three-star hotel in the Back Bay area for $105 (including taxes). When I checked on the same hotel's website for the same dates, the "rack rate" for the simplest room was $199. So I got a room in a reputable hotel chain in a great location for less than half the published fare!