1. College Club Of Boston
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (617) 536-9510
Address: 44 Commonwealth Ave.
Insider Pick:
Description: In a historic 1860 townhouse just 1 block from the Public Garden, the College Club of Boston, the country’s first social club for college-educated women, welcomes visitors (both men and women) to their bed-and-breakfast accommodations. The 11 high-ceiling rooms are each individually decorated—inspired and named in honor of a college; the Smith College room features the school’s colors in its soft yellow walls and blue toile fabric; the Connecticut College room has Currier & Ives prints on the wall and is painted taupe in honor of the school’s mascot. Double rooms have a private bath; single rooms share a bath in the hallway with one other single room. Rates include free Wi-Fi and continental breakfast.
2. Inn At St. Botolph
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (617) 236-8099
Address: 99 St. Botolph St.
Description: Think of the Inn at St. Botolph as an urban refuge. This 16-room inn’s architectural features (such as a turret and working fireplaces) and understated contemporary decor (steel four-poster beds, high-end fabrics, 42-inch TVs, and rainforest shower heads in the bathrooms) enchant romancing couples and business travelers alike. Rates include continental breakfast and free Wi-Fi, which, combined with the terrific Back Bay location within walking distance of some of the city’s hippest bars, restaurants, galleries, and shops, make this a top moderate accommodation choice.
3. Colonnade
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (617) 424-7000
Address: 120 Huntington Ave.
Description: This popular hotel has an excellent location opposite the Prudential Center with Newbury Street just a short stroll away. The building may look generic from the outside, but inside, the rooms are spacious and smartly appointed with pillow-top mattresses, blond woods, a chocolate brown and taupe palette, and marble baths with rain showers. All bathrooms come with a complimentary rubber ducky—a Colonnade signature touch. The hotel has an excellent fitness center and an outdoor pool that over the years has become the place for urban poolside lounging. The seasonal 11th-floor rooftop pool attracts a good-looking crowd of locals and visitors alike for cocktails and city (and other) views. The generally excellent Brasserie JO offers all-day dining.
4. Hotel Commonwealth
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (617) 933-5000
Address: 500 Commonwealth
Description: This luxurious Kenmore Square hotel has consistently made it onto Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Large City Hotels list. Positioned just steps from Fenway Park, the hotel is both superbly stylish and known for its impeccable service (it’s the accommodation of choice for baseball teams and baseball industry bigwigs). The rooms are spacious, decorated in muted tones, and large enough to hold a generous work area. Both of the hotel’s on-site restaurants, authentic French brasserie Eastern Standard and boisterous Island Creek Oyster Bar, offer no-fail dining experiences.
5. Hotel 140
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Address: 140 Clarendon St.
Description: Located around the corner from Copley Square, this is one of Boston’s best low-price hotel choices. Several floors of Boston’s original 1929 YWCA building have been converted to make this hip hotel, which shares space with the Lyric Stage Company. Rooms are compact with contemporary furnishings and each room comes with a neat, tidily arranged bathroom (not all have tub/shower combinations; some have just a shower).
6. Lenox Hotel
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (617) 536-5300
Address: 61 Exeter St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Housed in a beautiful Beaux Art building from 1900, the Lenox has an elegant boutique-like style. High-ceiling guest rooms present a handsome decor of warm taupes and golds with marble baths, while corner rooms have working fireplaces. The rates are somewhat less expensive than at other Boston hotels offering the same degree of personable service and chicness. City Table and City Bar impress, offering comfort food with a twist, and Sólás will meet your Boston Irish pub drinking needs.
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Address: 60 School St.
City: Boston, MA
Category: Accommodations
Address: 1 Seaport Ln.