Boston Hotels Please

[Epigonos]

Can someone please recommend a good hotel within walking distance of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts? Thanks much.

[doitb4ugo]

The Midtown Hotel is the closest that I know of. It is near symphony hall. and not a bad walk to the museum. A little further into Boston but further from the museum are: Colonnade Hotel (nicer than the Midtown), Back Bay Hilton a little further, and Sheraton Boston near the Pru Center.

 

In Google Maps I typed in "hotel loc: Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115" and it showed a good number of hotels. the 4 above are the closest.

[Guest countryboywny]

If you like older, smaller hotels.. I really like the Lenox. Corner of Boylston and Exeter. A very nice place, beautifully restored with good people. It's very close to where one of the Boston Marathon bombs went off, so they might be in the mood to deal.

[Electra 225]

I concur. The Lenox is a very nice hotel.

[jankeedaddy]

First: when? Until mid-June we are in Graduation and reunion season and hotels are BOOKED. When you have more than 300,000 students in a city of 600,000 these moments are difficult.

 

Second: “Good Hotel” is this ‘good’, as in good, better, best? Or “good” as in “this is as good as it gets”? For early June they seem to run from The Copley Square at $196 to the Fairmont Copley Plaza at about $365/night. Probably the “Best” is the Mandarin about a 15 min (one mile) walk from the MFA.

 

For lower priced accommodations I suggest the The Midtown Hotel

220 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA (617) 262-1000 () ‎ • midtownhotel.com it is almost certainly the closest hotel to the MFA. And they have self-parking if you are foolish enough to have a car in Boston.

 

A little farther is the Colonnade Boston Hotel; 120 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA

(617) 424-7000

 

Probably a little closer to the MFA by foot than the Colonnade is the boutique and upscale Eliot Hotel; 370 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA

(617) 267-1607 sashimi bar • french restaurant •

 

By the time you get to Copley Square, You have quite a few to choose from

The Lenox Hotel

61 Exeter St, Boston, MA

(617) 536-5300 () ‎

 

The Westin,

 

Marriott

 

Mandarin

 

Boston Common Hotel & Conference Center

40 Trinity Pl, Boston, MA

(617) 933-7700 () ‎

 

The Copley Square Hotel

47 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA

(617) 536-9000 () ‎ • copleysquarehotel.com

Courtyard Boston Copley Square

88 Exeter St, Boston, Massachusetts

(617) 437-9300

 

The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston

138 St James Ave, Boston, MA

(617) 267-5300 ‎ • fairmont.com

Category: Luxury Hotel

 

The Charlesmark at Copley

 

655 Boylston St, Boston, MA

(617) 247-1212 () ‎ • charlesmarkhotel.com

[Epigonos]

Sorry I didn't provide more information. I will be in Boston toward the end of July. I'm in the market for a four or five star hotel. I tend to like older boutique style hotels. I have noticed the Lenox and it looks interesting but I as I don't want to rent a car I didn't know how far it was from the Museum.

[doitb4ugo]

The Lenox is quite nice and you can walk to the museum. Google estimates it to be 1.2 miles and aboiut a 24 minute walk. It is also quite easy to get on the MBTA green line near the hotel and get to the MFA. The Heath St (E) of the Green line sops riight in from of the MFA. You wll also be qto the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the Fenway when at the MFA.

[+ FreshFluff]

I've been to the Westin at Copley Square multiple times for conferences. I really liked the hotel, the rooms, and being able to walk right into the upscale Copley Place mall. I'm sure the Mandarin Oriental would be better, but the prices are way up there.

[gallahadesquire]

I've been to the Westin at Copley Square multiple times for conferences. I really liked the hotel, the rooms, and being able to walk right into the upscale Copley Place mall. I'm sure the Mandarin Oriental would be better, but the prices are way up there.

 

I second the Westin. Or you could go to the same-campus Marriot (over by Tiffany's) in Copley Place.

 

The Green Line is great for getting to where you want to go, but all of bosdton is basically "walkable".

[edjames]

The Eliot

 

Sorry I didn't provide more information. I will be in Boston toward the end of July. I'm in the market for a four or five star hotel. I tend to like older boutique style hotels. I have noticed the Lenox and it looks interesting but I as I don't want to rent a car I didn't know how far it was from the Museum.

 

If you like boutique hotels with an upscale market clientele then I definitely recommend THE ELIOT on Commonwealth Ave. I stayed there on my last visit to Boston. Request a room facing Commonwealth Ave. I cannot recall the distance to the Fine Arts Museum but Boston has plenty of taxis and public transport.

 

http://www.eliothotel.com/

 

ED

[Epigonos]

Hey guys thanks for the help. I like the look of both the Eliot Hotel and the Lenox but I will probably stay at the Eliot. Now ONE more question. Do any of you have restaurant suggestions in the area? I tend to like steak houses or good Italian food. I currently plan to be there for three nights and will likely get together with escorts two of the three evenings. Thanks again guys.

[doitb4ugo]

I can recommend Sorellina in the Back Bay/Copley area...very fine Italian restaurant.

 

http://www.sorellinaboston.com/

 

Hopefully someone else will do the Steakhouse honors...I haven't been to any in Boston. All the chains are here in the city. You would not be far from The Capital Grill for example.

[geoffk]

i have stayed here Le Meridien Cambridge - MIT there was a really hot bartender there dont know if he is still there though.

 

it's not quite downtown Boston obviously but the taxi ride wasnt far or expensive.

 

and its near http://www.paradisecambridge.com/

[jankeedaddy]

This might be of some help. http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/boston-event-calendar-july.html

 

Also, you are wisely NOT GETTING A CAR, but you may want to get a "Charlie Card" for the subway ("T") and the busses. It's free and available at most stations and can be reloaded with cash or credit card at almost any station. There are times when you can't get onto a car (like at the museum stop) if you don't have a Charlie Card. From Copley Square to the MFA on the E trains of the green line the stops are: Copley Square, Prudential, Symphony, Museum. The MFA is a very short walk to the recently reconfigured Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. A walk back through the fens can take you to the corner of The Fenway and Huntington Avenue (home of Massachusetts Historical Society and Boston Conservatory of Music) and then a very short walk to the Eliot. Also, turning outbound on Huntington Avenue will take you to the Ramrod and Machine (a bar/dance collective) A quick cab ride across the Massachusetts Avenue bridge will take of to Paradise (the Bar) in Cambridge which is next to MIT.

[edjames]

OK, this may bit of a touristy thing to do when in Boston, but I still love Legal Seafood! They opened an upscale fine dining version on the waterfront called Legal Harborside on the top floor overlooking Boston harbor. Quite nice and quite expensive. Not your usual fish and chips.

http://www.legalseafoods.com/restaurants/boston-legal-harborside

 

Also, Boston has some of the finest restaurants in the country, so explore some other options, such as, Deauxave on Commomwealth Av in Back Bay. Here's what Open Table says:

Co-Owners Brian Piccini and Executive Chef Christopher Coombs are proud of their award winning Restaurant & Bar, Deuxave in the Back Bay. The inspiration behind the restaurant’s American Nouveau Cuisine is seasonality, with a focus on working with the finest farms and purveyors, sourcing out the… freshest, local ingredients and amplifying their magnificence. The cuisine is strongly rooted in the nouvelle techniques of contemporary French cuisine, married with the splendor of American ingredients in a refined, but casual setting. Deuxave’s (pronounced doo-ave) name plays homage to its location at the corners of Commonwealth Ave and Massachusetts Ave.

 

Also fine Italian at Sorellina, as previously mentioned, and Via Matta.

Capital Grille Boston, too, for steak.

 

Now you made me hungry!!! Enjoy your trip.

 

ED

[AdamSmith]

One more rec for Italian: Pomodoro, 319 Hanover St. in the North End. ‎Tiny, rustic but refined, utterly authentic.

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pomodoro-boston

 

http://s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/tzqhU0iMFuX0YmU7UIe3yQ/l.jpg

 

(Not to be confused with Pasta E Pomodoro, a somewhat forgettable place on Salem St.)

[ericwinters]

Lenox does need our support. I understand they were wonderful in helping those hurt by the bomb.

[Epigonos]

Hey ericwinters, thanks for the heads up on the role the Lenox played in the aftermath the Boston bombings. Based on the articles I read regarding this matter I WILL DEFINITELY be staying at the Lenox. Thanks again.

[parker]

I find it awkward hiring escorts when staying at boutique size hotels - do you meet them somewhere outside hotel and take escort back? Advantage of staying at Westin or other large hotel is you can give your room # and they show up at your door.

[AdamSmith]

I find it awkward hiring escorts when staying at boutique size hotels - do you meet them somewhere outside hotel and take escort back? Advantage of staying at Westin or other large hotel is you can give your room # and they show up at your door.

 

When I have stayed at boutique hotels including The Eliot mentioned above, the front desk has had no problem phoning my room to let me know "So-and-so is here to see you," nor to my replying "Thank you, please ask him to come up."

 

My experience -- such places generally take the view that they are there to serve you, and behave accordingly.