Hotels in the area?

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

Hello all,

I am looking for advice. When my family comes to visit from out of town, they normally stay at the Homewood Suites (previously Hawthorn Suites) on Mass Ave just over the Alrington border. It's an easy walk from our house, on the bus line, and includes breakfast. But the price has gone up considerably in the past few years. Just a few years ago, they could stay for around $160/night (which adds up when you stay a week or more!). Now it's $270/night! I feel like that is getting pretty close to Boston-proper rates. Does anybody recommend any other nearby hotels that might be comparable or cheaper in price? They won't have a car, so walking or T distance is a plus. I'll do my own research too, of course, but wanted to see what others suggest. I have already looked at and passed on the suggestions of Morrison House and A Cambridge Inn.

Thanks!

Comments

[ron_newman]

Tagged 'lodging', though all of the old posts are really old. They may still be helpful. Suggestions there include the Mary Prentiss Inn near Porter Square, the Irving House near Harvard Square, and the Harding House near Central Square.

(Some of the old posts mention Meacham Manor near Davis, but that no longer exists.)

I was about to mention the Cameron Inn as well ... but I see you already mentioned it yourself in an old post.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

yeah, a Cameron Inn is literally across the street from my house, so is great in that respect. Unfortunately, dad is a creature of habit, and needs to have TV/cable, which they don't. But their price was great previously ($500/10 nights! but that might have been the "neighbor rate").

[ron_newman]

I guess the question is how much he really 'needs' the TV. If he wants to watch a sporting event, there are lots of restaurants & bars nearby with TVs ....

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

he wants/needs to watch his CNN/money news/stock market stuff, so not really something that he can watch at a bar/restaurant. :)

Really, any normal person could deal without a TV for a few days, but he's just very.... set in his ways.

[ron_newman]

And Cameron's web page doesn't mention wi-fi, so I'm guessing they don't have that either.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

They still have hotels without TV's? I'd imagine one that didn't have one is not a hotel you want to be in.

[ron_newman]

I'd happily stay in a hotel without a TV, since I'd probably not watch it. (Wi-fi would be more important to me.) I think Cameron Inn is closer to a B&B than it is to a hotel.

[gingicat]

Alas, my parents have been staying up in Woburn or Burlington for just this reason. They used to stay at the Hyatt in Medford Square.

Are your parents old enough to get AARP discounts?

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I think my dad uses either a AAA or Hilton rewards something or other to get as much of a discount as he can.

I suspect this will continue to be the best option since it is in walking distance to us. I was just hoping there might be something better.

it's frustrating to see the rate go up so much with no improvement in service. that said, they do include breakfast and dinner during weekdays, and they allow us to come and eat the breakfast too, so that's a nice plus. :)

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

This. My parents always stay in Woburn or Burlington when they come home to visit too.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

They've been talking about building a hotel in Davis for a long time, but nothing has come of it. My parents frequently stay in Kendall Square: The (apparently renovated) Mariott in Kendall is right on the T so it's pretty quick to get to places.

[ron_newman]

Across the street from that is the Kendall Hotel, in an old fire station (plus additions).

Up the block from the regular Marriott in Kendall Square is a Marriott Residence Inn. I don't know if that's cheaper than the regular Marriott, or more expensive.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

I think the site of the Homans Building over in Gilman Square would make a great small hotel -- it's even got space for parking.

I know folks who've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express up by Lechmere.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

If they're confortable with it, you could check VRBO.com or HomeAway.com. Both are websites where home owners rent out their houses (sometimes summer places or second houses) for good prices. I've used both websites with great success. I've always gotten written leases, etc., for the places I rent, which is to say these are usually legit renters!

[elements.livejournal.com]

Also airBnB.com is similar along that vein.

[tlaad.livejournal.com]

When my family visited (last October), they stayed in downtown Boston at the Park Plaza Hotel, and if I remember correctly, they got a surprisingly low rate (something like $150 a night). That might have been a fluke, but I think it's worth checking out Boston-proper. You never know which of those hotels is having a deal or something. My girlfriend's family has been staying at similar places for similar rates in downtown Boston for years now, although I think they do quite a lot of research to find those. Good luck!

[ron_newman]

Hotwire.com may be a good place to search for hotel discounts.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

A friend who comes to town on business once a year and used to stay at the Hawthorn Suites switched a couple of years ago to Hotel Tria (http://www.hoteltria.com/) (near Fresh Pond, between the two Concord Ave rotaries) and has been pretty happy with it. If the walk from there to the Alewife T (about 2/3 mile) is more than they're up for, there are busses to Harvard Station just a block away across Concord Ave (by way of one of those rare crosswalks with a push button for walk signal button that actually works).

[teko.livejournal.com]

Hotel Tria also has a free shuttle from the hotel to Alewife or Harvard T stations.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

I usually use kayak.com to find hotels or flights. It's the best price-comparison site I've used.

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

When mom passed away this past November, I needed to get a hotel for the wake, and funeral and such. I scored $99 a night at the HYATT in Boston, including this unbelievable buffet breakfast. Now, this was over Thanksgiving weekend, (which, ironically, I would have thought the price to be more than usual), but they were offering a promotion of some sort. They told me that they do that occasionally, when they don't foresee a large influx of people staying there. (And yes, the Hyatt is an older hotel, but it was clean, updated, and it served our purpose).

If you're parents are flexible, I'd call around and ask if any of the fancier hotels offer such discounts. You never know.

Now, I know your intent is probably to have them close by, but I wouldn't complain about staying on the Charles for $99 a night. It's worth the extra few stops on the T in my book.

Good luck.

[mihmo.livejournal.com]

I would recommend the Medford Hyatt Place with the warning that you should not keep valuables in the parking garage. My wedding guests stayed there and two of their cars were smashed into, and wedding gifts stolen. When we called the Medford police, they told us it happens all the time there.

But the hotel is convenient for out-of-towners because its proximity to 93 and it's not too far from Davis. They have a shuttle bus that drops guests off in front of the College Ave. Davis Square T-entrance. And the inside of the hotel is very nice; recently renovated. Prices are around $99-120 depending on season / day-of-week I think.