The Boston Traveler

Chicago-based online travel company Orbitz recently began offering a nice special that could enable travelers who plan to visit destinations within the United States to save significant money.
If you book a trip by August 31 that will be completed before November 24 of this year, the Great American Sale offers discounts of up to 30 percent off for minimum stays of three nights at some U.S. hotels.
The only applicable lodging I found in the Boston area is Cambridge’s Royal Sonesta Hotel, which has an average price of $129 per night with the deal. A minimum four-night stay also throws …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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, …read more

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If you’ve ever traveled to Boston from out of town and lacked the ability to stay with friends or family, then you probably already know — Boston is just one of those places where a good, safe night’s sleep costs a pretty penny … or much more.
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 …read more

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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

Photo: Lin Mei

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