Boston Mama's...

[pampamz]

I know this should go to the travel forum but there is no traffic there so...if any of you BBB'ers have any good Boston suggestions please advise!

We are looking for a family friendly suite-style hotel. Also, what areas would be best to stay in (downtown, or suburbs?). We will have a car but are also comfortable using transit. I have heard the Children's Museum and Duck Ponds are good choices to visit. What else?

DC are 5 & 2yo. We are travelling in August.

Thanks! I hope you Boston ladies see this before it gets moved...

[wencit]

I don't live in Boston, but I'm planning a trip there later in the fall. So far, I've narrowed my hotel choices down to Doubletree Waltham, Residence Inn Woburn, Hyatt Summerfield Suites Burlington, and Quality Inn & Suites Lexington. Based on their descriptions online, I *believe* those hotels all have separate sleeping areas so you and DH don't have to go to sleep at 8PM with the kiddos (a high priority for us!). I chose those areas because they are somewhat close to where my SIL lives in Arlington. I heard that parking in the city can be expensive and driving is very confusing, so we're going to try to use the T as much as possible. Downtown is prohibitively expensive for us (suite rooms start at about $200+ per night, and we're staying for 10 nights, so we're trying to minimize hotel costs as much as possible).

As for what to do there, here are a couple threads I've bookmarked:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboar...mesg_id=365565
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboar...mesg_id=344481

HTH, and have a great trip

[pampamz]

Thanks! I will check out these hotels. One that I saw on TripAdvisor was the Staybridge Suites in Burlington.

I don't know the surrounding area -- are these hotels close to Boston? Like a short drive to a T Station?

We are ALL ABOUT having a separate sleeping area for the DC!

Thanks for the help.

[hillview]

You might check out the John Jefferies house. It is in Boston. Not super swanky but in beacon hill (great location) and many suites at a great price (for Boston). I have put family up here.
/hillary

[pampamz]

Jefferies house is booked, unfortunately. That did come highly recommended for its location.

I would like to stay downtown but finding an affordable suite is proving tricky.

Thanks for the post!

[wencit]

According to my SIL, it will take 15-20 minutes to get to the closest T stop from Burlington or Lexington, longer for Woburn or Waltham. So I think we're looking closely at the Burlington area.

Thanks for the head's up on the Staybridge Suites! I will have to check them out. I also found out just now that there is a Candlewood Suites in Burlington, too. Off to do some more research...

It's funny, before I had DS, I didn't give suites a second thought! Now they are the only acceptable accommodation for us. Sheesh, how life changes!

[cmdnewton]

My family stays at the Summerfield Suites in Waltham when they visit us. It's part of the Hyatt chain. They can then take the T from Riverside (Green line) into the city. A plus is the free breakfast. All of the suites have a full kitchen.

[pampamz]

What about Cambridge? There is a DoubleTree Suite hotel there. Any feedback about this location?
Thanks!

[AddiesMom]

There are actually 2. Hotel @ MIT is a Doubletree (but I think no Suites), very funky/trendy hotel inside! You would never know it is a Doubletree Hotel. Then there is the Doubletree on Soldiers Field Road in Boston which is right on the Cambridge line. The company I worked for was a vendor of both hotels, never been in the rooms but both have a good reputation.

Hotel @ MIT is probaby a little easier to get into Downtown, I don't think either of them is near a subway station.

[ett]

>My family stays at the Summerfield Suites in Waltham when
>they visit us. It's part of the Hyatt chain. They can then
>take the T from Riverside (Green line) into the city. A plus
>is the free breakfast. All of the suites have a full
>kitchen.

Waltham is not that far from the T station. Depending on what part of Boston you want to go to, you can either drive to Alewife and take the Red Line or drive to Riverside and take the Green Line. However, just be aware that they are currently renovating the Riverside Line so the trains are not running on certain parts of the line. They have buses to shuttle you between the stops. Details are at this website:
http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/?id=11907