sbtinme

Let there be no mistake here, folks. The Westin BOS is truly a nice hotel. It is well run and offers its guests, I believe, the best location in this fascinating city. Right out the front door, one is steps from the trendy shops on Boylston and Newbury Sts. The rooms here are well kept and designed. I wish that all Westins were as well run as this.

Note that this hotel does not have a large inventory of suites. In fact, there aren't many suites at all, so some Plat members like to blast off on FT because they weren't assigned to a huge 2 room suite. That's because I think they have fewer than 10 suites. More likely, Plats will be assigned a corner jr suite which is quite nice and laid out well. Otherwise, the standard rooms themselves are just fine.

If you must have a large suite or just a big space as an upgrade, and that is of upmost importance to you (over location or other qualities in a hotel), then you would be wise to consider a stay at the nearby Sheraton. They have an enormous cadre of suites (methinks something over 70) from which to upgrade you. CAUTION however: this hotel is okay, but otherwise unremarkable, IMO. I find the infrastructure of this hotel (elevators, hallways, lighting plan, etc.) to be exceedingly dated. I have had huge suites here before that I hated since the quality of the furniture and environs were really not nice at all. (Almost 1977ish.) That said, they do have a decent Club Lounge.

But, back to the point. It is a rare person who will find significant fault at the Westin. Even the locals love it and the snappy lounge on the lobby level has become a super hot hangout for locals, too. Stay at the Westin Copley with confidence.

fly co to see the yanks

while certain rooms at the sheraton boston are unbelievably dated, others are renovated. plus, the sheraton shares a similarly great location when compared to the westin.

certain sheraton rooms have incredible views, including a look right into fenway park (yes, it's a distance but still very cool for baseball fans). also, the sheraton has access to a great gym which is run by an outside company. platinum members get in free. i used to love this hotel but i have found it has dropped a bit in the past couple of years. they have cut back on front desk staffing and the lines can be breathtaking, sometimes stretching out the front door.

SkyTeam777

Is there a club lounge at the Westin?

fly co to see the yanks

no. haven't stayed there in a few years, though.

PHL

I don't think any of the xx01 suites at the Westin Copley have 2 queens. They are set up with an entry area tha thas a work desk and then the bedroom that's spacious, but not big enough for 2 queens and a sofa bed.

So, that leaves all the xx12 and xx13 rooms, which are classified "junior" suites, although they are basically huge rooms that flank the corners of this triangular shaped building. Laying in bed, you need good vision or glasses to see the TV a good 20 feet away on the opposite wall.

schriste

A word of caution on the junior suites, almost all of them have connecting doors. In my room the location of the door forced odd placement of the furniture and was no delight to look at. Also as is usually the case with hotel connecting doors… they have no soundproofing (why can’t they do a better job of this???? ).

Pickles

I've never stayed there, but we once rented two rooms with a connecting room between them, the corner rooms, for a 3-day non-stop poker tournament during my graduate school reunion. We played in the middle room (which wasn't really a bedroom) while we used the other two rooms to crash.

Raincheck10

I'm staying at the Westin Copley in Boston for 4 days. Are there any parking options available outside of paying the hotel rate of $40 per day? I will not be using my car while in Boston.

BlissWorld

$40 a day? Rachel Ray would be really mad at you for using that money for parking!

Seriously though, if you are not going to use your car during your stay in Boston, I'd suggest parking your car at some T stations/commuter train stations outside of downtown (i.e. Wellington station) and pay for a daily rate of about $3.50 and then take the T to Boston (there's a station across the street from Westin). That would save you a lot of money.

Go to MA T's website and look for more parking info.

TrojanHorse

how much is a parking ticket in BOS? If its less than $40, find a resident spot... or feed a meter during the day.. leave it at night.. or isn't there a garage at another local (say a few blocks) place that might not gouge you the 40 that the hotel is??? the commuter line thing is a good idea but also a hassle, not that feeding a meter isn't a hassle..

ElmhurstNick

The $40 is probably for in-and-out parking. What is the regular 24 hour rate?

Copley should have a validated parking rate for something like "in after 5pm, out by 2am" so you could use that while you check in, then drive over to Cambridge, park the car at a $20-$25/day place in Harvard Square, have dinner, and catch the train back. Then repeat the process on your way out.

Call Amtrak and see how much parking costs at South Station. Amtrak here in Chicago has a very reasonable 24 hour rate ($17, compared to $24-$35 just blocks away). Also, if you're coming from the SE, find out how much it costs to park at the Rt 128 Amtrak station - you're going to be right next to the Back Bay Amtrak station, so it'd be an easy hop even with luggage.

lanemckenna

As another individual mentioned in the post, commuter rail lots are your best bet if you are not using your car. Back Bay Station is across the street from the Westin. Are you driving into town? If so, you would need to park at one of the commuter rail lots either West or South of the city. You can go to mbta.com to find a list of stations. Please PM me know if you need any additional suggestions.

hotelfanatic

Another option is to park near the world trade center - there are lots there that charge $10/day last summer. It may have gone up a bit but is better than 40. Or take the advice from other FTers above - park at a T lot.

MikeBOS

This is a very bad idea. Boston Transportation Dept. (the meter maids) will give multiple tickets over the course of a day, and they are brutally efficient. If you leave your car for 24 hours in a resident spot, you could easily end up with $75 or more worth of tickets.

Parking is expensive in Boston. I doubt you'll find a much better rate in the same neighborhood. And downtown is even worse. I think the best suggestion is not to bring a car, or to park it at one of the T stations, but that's a major hassle.

BeantownFlyer

Small savings, but if you self-park yourself in the Copley Place mall garage, the maximum rate for 24 hours is $32. In addition, there is an early bird special - enter between 6am and 9am and exit by 6pm on the same day for $18. I suppose you could pull the car out on your last day between 6am and 9am, and then put it back in the garage, paying only $18 for that last day.

The garage elevators bring you up to the mall, and you can then walk inside to the Westin.

I don't think any of the suggestions relating to other places to park are worth the hassle.

The South Station (Amtrak) garage is $24/day. The South Boston lots and garages are the best deal. But the hassle factor or cost of taxis seems to outweigh in my view.