New England - Boston Hotel choices (in SPG system)

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure if this should be in the Starwood forum, as it deals with Boston Starwood properties, but I figured it was more Boston-centric and posted it here.

I'm doing a mileage run to BOS, but decided to spend 3 nights there from Aug 24 to Aug 27. I have 18106 SPG points. I'm wanting to clear out my SPG account, as I'm finding myself focusing more on Hilton Honors properties. 18000 is enough for 1 night at a 10000 pt. (cat 4 property) and 2 nights at a 4000 pt. (cat 2 property.)

The current choices are 10000 pt at:
Westin Boston Waterfront
Sheraton Boston
Le Meridien Cambridge

4000 pt choices (2 nights)
Four Points by Sheraton Boston Logan Airport
Sheraton Colonial Boston North Hotel & Conference Center

My friend from Boston (who moved from there about 12 years ago) said the area around the Four Points by Sheraton Boston Logan Airport in Revere, MA is pretty bad, and somewhat far.

Questions:
For a single tourist with no car, which of the choices in each category is better?

I've made up my mind to spend the 2 nights at a cat 2 place, then move to a cat 4 place for 1 night.

Thanks,
Steve

I would agree with your friend. This hotel is not in a very nice area, and is far away from Boston downtown. Stay in town if you can.

For a single tourist with no car, I would stay at the Sheraton Boston and the Four Points in Revere.

As for the cat4 properties, the other two probably are nicer, but the Sheraton Boston, in the heart of the Back Bay, is by far the superior location for a tourist. You'll be able to walk to many places you'll want to go and have great access to public transportation.

As for the cat2 properties, the Colonial is in the suburbs and without good transportation to Boston. The Four Points may be in an unattractive area, but it's certainly not unsafe, and access to public transportation to Boston will be much, much, much easier.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm leaning towards the Sheraton Boston. It seems to be very close to the Westin Copley Plaza too, so I'm guessing it's a highly desirable area.

The Westin Waterfront does seem a bit isolated away from the toursity areas.

I'll probably bite the bullet and take the Four Points Logan.

Some of these hotel master threads might be helpful:

Boston Area
Boston General Discussion Thread (Where to stay? Which hotel is better? etc.) (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=640384)
Boston Logan - Four Points Boston Logan Airport (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603569)
Boston - Sheraton Boston (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=765151)
Boston - W (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/1017725-w-boston-master-thread.html)
Boston - Westin Boston Waterfront (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=661480)
Boston - Westin Copley Place (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412988)
Boston - Park Plaza NO STARWOOD PARTICIPATION (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170308)
Cambridge - Le Meridien (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=774348)
Cambridge - Sheraton Commander (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173877)
Waltham - Westin (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/169511-westin-waltham-ma-master-thread.html)
Wakefield - Sheraton Colonial Hotel & Golf Club Boston North (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=778619)

Westin Waterfront is quite nice IMHO and convenient if you coming from the airport. You can exit the Silverline at World Trade Center and walk across the bridge/walkway to BCEC.

FWIW, Waterfront is cat 4 10k and Copley Places is cat 5 12-15k. Copley place seemed at bit tired and worn when a family member stayed there in November. I haven't been in a room at the Waterfront but judging from the lobby and Sauciety restaurant it seems quite nice. Certainly Copley Place is a better location, but its your preference. I don't mind the location of Seaport district

Westin Waterfront is quite nice IMHO and convenient if you coming from the airport. You can exit the Silverline at World Trade Center and walk across the bridge/walkway to BCEC. Yes, the Westin Waterfront is convenient to the airport. The Sheraton Boston, on the other hand, is convenient to everything else (and not inconvenient to the airport). The Westin is newer and probably has nicer rooms. Were it me, I'd go for the more convenient location of the Sheraton.

Thanks,

I performed a search, but for whatever reason, I may have used the wrong search terms.

This is quite helpful.



Some of these hotel master threads might be helpful:

Boston Area
Boston General Discussion Thread (Where to stay? Which hotel is better? etc.) (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=640384)
Boston Logan - Four Points Boston Logan Airport (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603569)
Boston - Sheraton Boston (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=765151)
Boston - W (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/1017725-w-boston-master-thread.html)
Boston - Westin Boston Waterfront (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=661480)
Boston - Westin Copley Place (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412988)
Boston - Park Plaza NO STARWOOD PARTICIPATION (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170308)
Cambridge - Le Meridien (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=774348)
Cambridge - Sheraton Commander (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173877)
Waltham - Westin (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/169511-westin-waltham-ma-master-thread.html)
Wakefield - Sheraton Colonial Hotel & Golf Club Boston North (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=778619)

Another vote for Sheraton Boston. As Blumie said, it's convenient to pretty much everything in Boston - very accessible to shopping, restaurants, touristy stuff, etc. via walking and subway (or even bus).

There isn't that much out near the Westin at the waterfront other than the convention center and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Public trans via Silver Line is okay, but certainly not as convenient as being in the Back Bay where the Sheraton is.

Driving from NY with family for a day ... what is an ideal hotel to stay at.

My options are Westin Boston waterfront (Cash and points) or pay cash outside boston. How close is the public transportation wo the waterfront since I have heard horror stories about driving in Boston. If I stay on the outskirts Westin Waltham/Aloft, what would be the best/safest station to drive to and park for public transport. How late do the trains run?

My options are Westin Boston waterfront (Cash and points) or pay cash outside boston. How close is the public transportation wo the waterfront since I have heard horror stories about driving in Boston. If I stay on the outskirts Westin Waltham/Aloft, what would be the best/safest station to drive to and park for public transport. How late do the trains run?Here are your options:

1. Stay at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Driving there is relatively easy, although I'm sure you'll have to pay for parking. Decent public transportation options from there.

2. If you stay in Waltham, you can make the easy drive to Riverside Station, where parking is fairly easy and you can take the subway into Boston (45 minutes or less to downtown). The trains run until about 1am.

Thanks for the advice ... is there any other station I can park at to have a shorter commute?
Which station in boston would be a good destination for tourist attractions?

Thanks for the advice ... is there any other station I can park at to have a shorter commute?
Which station in boston would be a good destination for tourist attractions?If this is a weekend, you also should be able to find parking at the Woodland, Waban, Eliot and Chestnut Hill stations, all of which are on the Riverside branch of the Green Line and are relatively easy to reach from Waltham, and any of which would shorten the commute slightly.

The best stop for tourist attractions is Park Street.

So since you'll have a car...

Parking @ the Westin Waterfront is probably going to cost you $30-40 per day (self-parking on the lower end of the range, valet obviously higher). Public trans isn't too bad; plus, if you have a family, it may be more convenient and faster just to take a $10-15 cab ride downtown versus taking the subway ($2 per ride).

Parking @ Westin Waltham is $10 IIRC; Lexington Aloft I believe has free parking. Parking @ the Riverside T Station that Blumie mentioned is around $5.

If you're only going to be venturing into the city once in the morning, then coming home before midnight/1am, then you're probably okay with being out in the suburbs. However, if you plan on hopping back to the hotel throughout the day (i.e. for a nap, to change for dinner, etc.), then I'd suggest paying for the convenience of being closer to the city @ the Waterfront. At least if you're there, you can throw the fam into a cab for a quick ride back to the hotel vs. getting to a Green Line, going all the way out to Riverside, then driving to your hotel.

Thanks for the advice ... is there any other station I can park at to have a shorter commute?
Which station in boston would be a good destination for tourist attractions?

If you want to park inside the city, one option is the Boston Common Garage (http://www.mccahome.com/bcg_rat.html)

If you're going during the weekend, it's $11 if you enter after 6 AM on Saturday or Sunday and exit by 8 AM the next morning. That puts you at the heart of most of the touristy stuff in Boston - Freedom Trail, historic sites at Government Center/Faneuil Hall, shopping and restaurants in the Back Bay/Newbury Street.

Thanks for all the advice .. I am going to go with the Westin Waltham and take the T into town. Does anyone know if the daypass for the T is based on per day vs. 24 hrs?

I know on the 7-day pass it's 7 days from the time of purchase from the machine. (There was a big "valid until" date/time-stamp really big on the front of the card - down to the exact minute.) Not sure about the 1-day pass...