Choosing the best Boston hotel

[Swells1]

I'm doing this early because I'm a Hilton employee and I can get a really good discount (less than $40), but they go fast in bigger cities. We're flying in on Friday, cruising on Saturday. We've never been to Boston (and don't know when we'll be able to go back). I've narrowed the list down to four:

 

Embassy Suites Boston - at Logan Airport

Hampton Inn Boston-Logan Airport

Hampton Inn Boston/Cambridge, MA

Hampton Inn & Suites Boston Crosstown Center

 

I'm not looking for hotel info (I can get that through the hotel website). I need to know which would be the easiest to get to the pier, which is closest to public transportation? Any information at all would be great! We would like to do at least one touristy thing. (Also, are any of these in bad/ unsavory neighborhoods?)

[Swells1]

Aw, come on! I know there's someone out there with a wealth of information out there!! Help a girl out!

[Yakb0]

I'd stay at the one in Cambridge, or possibly the Crosstown. The airport ones, are too far away from downtown Boston.

 

the Crosstown is closer to the pier and airport, the one in Cambridge, is closer to the subway, and not right next door to a hospital. Both of them are only a few miles from the airport and pier, so transportation isn't going to be a major issue.

[02143]

Embassy Suites Boston - at Logan Airport

Hampton Inn Boston-Logan Airport

What can I say--it's the airport. You won't leave the hotel to go anywhere but the subway or the airport. Subway access isn't great since you'll have to get to the airport station, but once you're there, the Blue Line is an easy and quick ride into town. If you've stayed at an airport hotel, you know what it's like.

 

Hampton Inn Boston/Cambridge, MA

 

I live near there. It's not far from Lechmere, which is at the end of the Green Line, but there's not much of a neighborhood there. Across the (very busy) street and a few blocks' walk you have the Cambridgeside Galleria, some pleasant parks on the river for walking, and a little further than that is the Science Museum and Duck tours. North of the hotel is generic old commercial strip and behind it is railway tracks that aren't in much use. The Lechmere T stop doesn't have fantastic service outside of rush hour.

 

Hampton Inn & Suites Boston Crosstown Center

 

This is in a borderline neighborhood with lots of parking lots, abandoned industrial buildings, and hospitals. Police HQ is nearby which should help. You could walk a few blocks to the north and find yourself at the southern end of the South End, the front lines of gentrification. Lots of good restaurants on Harrison Avenue and Washington St., but if you're a woman you won't want to walk to them alone, and even if you're not worried about safety it won't be a pleasant walk. Mass transit = frequent bus service up Mass Ave. to the Back Bay area. It will be a cheaper cab ride to the pier.

[BabySis]

Yakb0, I asked 02143, but thought I'd check with you as well. We'll be in Boston on a Sunday for a few hours late in the day. We'd like a Pub, have a bite of chowder and some beer. What about the Union Oyster House??? Or do have a favorite that we would tell our children about???

[Yakb0]

you could try the Barking Crab. http://www.barkingcrab.com/

I haven't eaten there, but some of my coworkers have, and they like it. It's in downtown Boston, next to the Childrens museum, and it's a short walk to the subway.

[Swells1]

I think I'm going to go with the Embassy Suites. Hampton Crosstown looks very nice on the inside, but I've gone to several websites and the words "bad neighborhood" keep coming up. I'd rather pay a little more for the cab than to stay in an unsafe neighborhood. Besides, even a BAD Embassy Suites is still an Embassy Suites!!! They have a shuttle available, so I'm sure that we'll be able to enjoy something. (And if nothing else, it'll be an excuse to take a Boston land vacation later on!) Thanks for all the responses!!! I can almost guarantee that I'll have more questions!!!:p

[robertwcook16]

You made a good choice with the embassy suites. It is a short cab ride thru the tunnel to the pier

[whale-watcher]

I have stayed here several times, and the rooms are very nice. They will shuttle you to the subway station, and there is a car rental place just across the street.