Advantage: This 236-room, eight-story, luxury-class boutique hotel is conveniently located in easy traveling distance to downtown Boston (via the Green Line’s Science Park T Station, which is right down the block and across the street), MIT, and Harvard University, and in easy walking distance to the Museum of Science. It also boasts décor and furnishings that are funky yet sophisticated, and it offers a full range of services for business travelers, including meeting space and a business center with computers.

Disadvantage: Past guests point out that many rooms have inadequate or no drawers for storing items, and the location isn’t right in the heart of Boston, which could present a problem for guests who aren’t familiar with Boston and Cambridge before arriving.

Distinctive Amenities: Daily complimentary coffee and tea starting at 6am, daily complimentary wine hour from 5–6pm, pet-friendly accommodations, on-site Bambara restaurant, and free wireless Internet access. Since Hotel Marlowe is a part of the Kimpton hotel chain, join the Kimpton InTouch Guest Loyalty Program before booking for even more advantages and incentives. [More Features]

Interesting Fact: The hotel is directly and conveniently attached to popular CambridgeSide Galleria, which means guests don’t even have to go outside to take advantage of the mall’s three main levels of retail businesses, food court, and two major restaurants, California Pizza Kitchen and the Cheesecake Factory. [More Mall Amenities]

Location: 25 Edwin H. Land Boulevard, Cambridge, 617-868-8000

Price Range: Moderately Expensive (average price of $290+ per night)

Website: Hotel Marlowe

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Advantage: A converted Victorian firehouse officially deemed historic, the Kendall Hotel is conveniently located directly across the Charles River from Boston, right in the midst of Cambridge’s Kendall Square, and steps away from MIT, popular Legal Sea Foods restaurant, the Red Line T’s Kendall Station (two stops place you in the heart of downtown Boston), and a free shuttle bus to nearby CambridgeSide Galleria mall.

The Engine 7 firehouse that opened in 1895 is now the hotel’s main building, which contains the lobby, an on-site restaurant called The Black Sheep, and eleven guest rooms. A recently erected seven-story building behind the firehouse contains the remaining guest rooms and meeting space.

Disadvantage: If you don’t like Bed & Breakfasts or non-chain hotels, then the Kendall Hotel probably won’t suit you. Guests often describe it as a charming New England boutique hotel with tasteful antique touches in the furnishing and décor, modernized amenities, and a quaint, unique, and intimate B&B atmosphere.

Distinctive Amenities: Daily free, full breakfast in the Black Sheep restaurant is included in the price of every room, as are wired and wireless high-speed Internet access. Limited underground parking is an additional expense of $20 per night, however. [More Features]

Interesting Fact: Kendall Hotel is the first and only historic hotel in the city of Cambridge, and the firehouse portion is the oldest building in or near Kendall Square.

Location: 350 Main Street, Cambridge, 617-577-1300, 866 566-1300

Price Range: Moderately Expensive (average price of $280+ per night)

Website: Kendall Hotel

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Advantage: New construction with luxury amenities in a convenient Beacon Hill location right across the street from the Charles/MGH Station on the Red Line T and within walking distance to the Downtown Boston area and East Cambridge. The simultaneously contemporary and historic hotel also has three well-received dining establishments on-site: Alibi, CLINK, and Scampo.

Disadvantage: Some guests might find the hotel becomes inconvenient at times since Alibi on the ground floor is a popular weekend nightspot that draws crowds large enough to form lines throughout the lobby and outside the door. As a result, the substantial number of people and the high level of traffic often make entering and exiting the hotel a potential annoyance.

Interesting Fact: The hotel is a converted jail, specifically the Charles Street Jail, which was constructed in 1851. The building was permanently closed as a prison in 1990 after the last groups of inmates revolted and were relocated, and Massachusetts General Hospital purchased the property a year later. Following extensive renovations, the luxury hotel opened on September 5, 2007, with 18 guest rooms in the main building and another 280 in an adjacent 16-story tower. Visitors are welcome to arrange a formal tour of the legendary building simply by inquiring at the front desk. [More Features]

Location: 215 Charles Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, 617-224-4000

Price Range: Very Expensive (average price of $400+ per night), Luxury

Website: Liberty Hotel

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Advantages: Short-term furnished apartment rentals have the advantage of making guests feel like they’re truly living at home. In addition, the newly renovated units at Caj House are an excellent, economical option for travelers staying in the Boston area for an extended period of several weeks or more.

Disadvantages: Not suitable for those seeking hotel amenities like room service, and since units are on the small side, those traveling in groups of more than two. Also best for quiet people with no children under twelve who have the extra money to pay $430 for a refundable security deposit and $100 for a one-time cleaning and set-up fee. Due to great demand as a result of a fantastic reputation, apartments are difficult to reserve, as well, and require planning far in advance of expected travel dates … or a large stroke of luck.

Interesting Fact: Thus far, Caj House has an exceptionally high approval rating among former guests who’ve written reviews at both TripAdvisor and Apartment Ratings.

Location: 677 Tremont Street, South End, Boston, 617-803-4279

Price Range: Inexpensive ($395 to $465 per week, not including the previously mentioned deposit and fee)

Website: Caj House

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Charles Street Inn Video Tour

Advantage: The luxurious inn is decorated with historic, antique details to replicate Victorian charm. As a result, the unique style enables visitors to experience a true sense of history often described as romantic.

Disadvantage: If you prefer a modern environment, the renovated 1860s townhouse located in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill and its old-world ambiance might prove unsatisfying.

Interesting Fact: The inn’s nine guest rooms are named after famous Beacon Hill residents Louisa May Alcott, Julia Ward Howe, John Singer Sargent, Frederick Law Olmsted, Edith Wharton, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry James, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Location: 94 Charles Street, Boston, 617-314-8900 or 877-772-8900 (toll free)

Price Range: Expensive, Luxury

Website: Charles Street Inn

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Advantage: The location on Boston’s waterfront makes for wonderful views and refreshing sea air when outside. It’s also conveniently close to the World Trade Center if you’re in town for an event held there, as well as Logan Airport.

Disadvantage: Some visitors note that although the hotel is very comfortable and comes with many useful amenities, the South Boston location is too far from the central downtown Boston area where many local attractions are found.

Distinctive Amenities: Seaport Hotel has a state-of-the-art fitness center, free wireless Internet access, and room service available via computer. [More Features (PDF)]

Location: One Seaport Lane, Boston, 877-732-7678

Price Range: Expensive, Luxury

Website: Seaport Hotel

Post from: The Boston Traveler

What can you do, then, when you don’t have a lot of money to spend on hotel accommodations? One option that travelers to the city have been taking advantage of for ages is a reservation at a local hostel.

Although most commonly identified with young people wandering from place to place on extended group vacations, hostels are actually for adults — and sometimes children accompanied by adult guardians — of any age.

Two excellent hostel options for the budget conscious right here in Boston are managed by the well-known non-profit organization Hostelling International (HI). Travelers can select from either the Back Bay or the Fenway location, both of which offer private rooms, in addition to the traditional shared rooms, at a higher but still bargain price.

As of this writing, members of HI who stay at the Back Bay hostel can reserve a single bed in a six-bed room for $27.99–$44.99 per night, while HI members who choose the Fenway hostel can reserve a single bed in a three-bed room for $36–$45 per night.

For those who can’t tolerate or don’t want communal sleeping arrangements, private rooms are available for HI members at a cost of $69.99–$99.99 per night at the Back Bay location and for $96–$119 per night at Fenway. Non-HI members pay just $3 more per night for both types of accommodations if they prefer not to join the organization for a very reasonable and nominal fee.

To learn more about the unique traits of HI hostels in Boston — for example, identification requirements, reservation procedures, check-in and check-out policies, limitations on visits, sharing of common areas, storage and laundry options, perks such as complimentary breakfasts included in the bed prices, and getting the most out of the travel benefits offered to guests — visit the HI Boston Hostels website.

Incidentally, on the one occasion long ago that I had to travel to Boston and secure well-priced sleeping arrangements, I used craigslist and lucked out with spectacular, cheap accommodations by subletting a room for a few weeks. It was in the two-bedroom condo of a woman I didn’t know who was never home — she had gone to work every morning when I got up and came home late each night and went straight to bed — and was about to move out after her former roommate had already left.

The arrangement didn’t bother me because Boston and surrounding areas truly comprise a college environment filled with lots of people renting and subletting housing via the craigslist website. I was traveling with someone then, however, and I also had the benefits of planning far in advance and being extremely familiar with the area beforehand.

If the absence of funds forces you to go the craigslist route, tread very, very carefully. While I’ve never heard of anything horrible happening, it never hurts to be hyper cautious and super aware. Hostels managed by Hostelling International seem like a better, safer, more reliable, and less stressful bet.

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Advantage: Landmark hotel — in continuous operation since 1855, the longest for an American hotel — located right in the heart of downtown Boston

Disadvantage: Previous visitors often note the tiny size of the rooms and the paper-thin walls

Interesting Fact: The place where the Boston Cream Pie, the official Massachusetts State Dessert that’s actually a cake, was invented by French chef M. Sanzian [More History (PDF)]

Location: 60 School Street, Boston, 617-227-8600

Price Range: Expensive, Luxury

Website: Omni Parker House

Post from: The Boston Traveler

If so, the Winter 2007–Spring 2008 edition of the local magazine Boston Common has a list of five real estate brokers its editors consider the top of the heap, based on their total sales in 2007.

The Five Masters of Boston’s Real Estate Universe are:

1. Tracy Campion of Campion & Company Fine Homes Real Estate
2. Carmela Laurella of Otis & Ahearn
3. Steven Cohen of Keller Williams Realty Boston-Metro
4. Beth Dickerson of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty
5. Michael Carucci of ERA Boston Real Estate Group

Nice — three of the five are women, and a woman also leads the pack. Of course, all five are way out of my league, too, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t heartening to see women doing so well in such a highly competitive arena.

To learn more about in-demand Boston-area real estate brokers and what they can do for you, pick up a copy of the Winter 2007–Spring 2008 edition of Boston Common.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The “elephant” in question happens to be the stunning rental houseboat The White Elephant Floating Inn, which placed fourth on HomeAway’s recent list of the Top Ten Most Unique Vacation Rentals.

This unique 700-square-foot, wooden boat was built from scratch over the course of five years, and it includes numerous amenities, ranging from the expected phenomenal views of Boston Harbor to a full bathroom with a claw-foot tub to rental prices that best local top-dollar hotels.

As can only be expected, the beautiful home on the water attracts many interested travelers, especially during warmer months, which means the earlier you reserve it for your own vacation, the less hassle you’ll likely have doing so.

Other standout vacation homes on the Top Ten list were selected from among 95,000 properties located around the world. They include Hawaii’s deceptively named Onion House (my personal favorite for aesthetic reasons), Mexico’s Sand Castle, and Canada’s Tipi Tatonka.

If you plan to take some time off in the future and are looking to do it in a way you’re guaranteed not to forget anytime soon, HomeAway’s list is worth reviewing for those who have the funds to spend.

Post from: The Boston Traveler