Hey all, I'm going to Cambridge for the first time and was hoping to see some sights. I'll be flying in around 10:30 and staying at the Royal Sonesta. Anyone stay there before? I'll have about 5 hours to kill. Any tips on things I can do (walking)? Good places for dinner?

No rental car, so things close by would be nice to 1 Rogers street would be nice.

P.S. Would it be better to stay at the hotel marlow?

mbtmsu, since you're looking for tips on the sights and not planning to arrange a meeting with FTers, I'll move this to our NewEngland Travel & Dining forum for further discussion where, coincidentally, you'll find a similar thread seeking info. Ocn Vw 1K, Co-Moderator, CommunityBuzz

If flying Y class, and no food is offered on your flight from Boston...pick up a lobster roll at the Summer Shack in the DL Terminal. A great "meal to go."

In terms of location, the Sonesta and Marlow are pretty much identical (one's across the street from the other, about a 2-minute walk to 1 Rogers St).

The Sonesta is a larger, nicer hotel than the Marlow, and the Sonesta is on the Charles River. A river view room at the Sonesta would by dynamite: you get a terrific view of Beacon Hill in Boston.

For eating, Davio's in the Sonesta is a better-than-decent choice. The mall (next to the Marlow, across the street from the Sonesta) has the usual chain food places.

The best cheap eats, by far, is at Boca Grande, a taqueria on 1st Street (about a block from either hotel).

If the weather is nice, you can go for a great walk around the river: cross the bridge by the Science Museum, down the Charles River bank, then back across to Cambridge either via the Salt and Pepper bridge (short route) or the Harvard Bridge (Mass Ave) long route), then back down the river bank on the Cambridge side.

If the weather is not so good, the Science Museum (5 mins walk from either hotel) is certainly worth the time. There's also an OmniMax theater in the Sci Mus.

I have no idea of when your 5 free hours fall, but there's a shuttle from the Galleria mall to Kendall Square (stops in front of the Marriott). This is also walking distance (10-15 minutes?) if you walk like a non-American, but if you're the car type, it may be a longer stroll than you are up for.

In Kendall Square, you can grab a snack or meal at Legal Seafoods, wander the tech areas, or visit that corner of MIT's campus. Actually, the brand new Stata Center designed by Frank Gehry is just a few blocks down Broadway (away from the river, towards the center of Cambridge)....It's the bizarre looking building that seems to have melted or been through an earthquake The center of MIT's campus is behind those Broadway buildings and also makes an interesting walk.

Of course, if you really want to see Cambridge, you should visit MIT, then walk or T (local name for the subway) from Kendall Sq to Central Sq, wander down to Harvard Square, and then take the T back. Kendall, Central, and Harvard Sqs are all on the red line, while the Royal Sonesta is on the green line with a not-terribly-convenient connection (requiring going into Boston).

Of course, the science museum or strolling along the river are great suggestions too!

The Stata Center (and the start of the rest of MIT's campus) is actually up Main Street (away from River) and then down Vassar Street from Kendall Square. Broadway heads off in the wrong direction compared to Vassar; NW opposed to SW. Regardless, unless you have some particular desire to see MIT, I don't recommend it. It's mostly ugly and there are plenty of more interesting things to see in Cambridge/Boston. If you're not opposed to a short walk (20 min) I recommend going across the Longfellow Bridge (first bridge South of your hotel) into Boston from Kendall Square where you can find Beacon Hill, the Esplanade, Boston Common, and Public Gardens; all of which are more interesting that MIT.

note to OP, if you will have the time to kill on a weekend, both Kendall Square and the MIT campus are pretty quiet. Perhaps it's more fair to term Kendall Square as "dead" and the MIT Campus as "snoring".

While people without MIT ID cards can easily get in and out of the MIT campus buildings (including the Stata Center; note that the first syllable in "Stata" rhymes with "rate") during the week, it's more difficult on weekends. YMMV.

Sonesta and Marlowe are both fine - and I have stayed at both.
(I'm also attaching comments about a hotel in Kendall Sq., which is OK too)

SONESTA
I like the Royal Sonesta for its lap pool. That in itself is enough to make me stay here and forgo all the stuff that I like about the Marlowe. It's great to be able to swim in the morning.

On the other hand I dislike the blandness of the place and the unstable, circular glass table that they provide as a work desk... and sometimes I find the service less than friendly.

MARLOWE
I like the Marlowe for the free cup of coffee in the mornings and free glass of wine in the evenings. The bathroom is also quite nice (good showers - especially in the "wheelchair accessible" room). They offer a free shuttle car for short journeys (such as Kendall Sq) on weekday mornings. It's very "hip and trendy" in an over-the-top kind of way. The desk is not good, because the work surface is quite high and the chair that they provide is a low armchair, which makes it very hard to type comfortably (so I always ask them to provide a "banquet chair" and then I put a couple of pillows on top of the seat - which works OK). Some rooms can be too dark. (Triumph of style over function).

The Marlowe is slightly closer to the shops in the mall (Cambridgeside Galleria), which can be handy - particularly when the weather is so damn cold that every step feels like a polar expedition. And it's slightly closer to my favourite eating place in the neighbourhood - "The Helmand"

KENDALL HOTEL (in an old firehouse in Kendall square itself)
Haven't stayed here for a while. Location is better than the above two (although things are better at the Marlowe and Sonesta now that the Letchmere station has reopened). Service is really "off hand" - sometimes you wonder who is the guest. But the staff here are really warm people ... when you get to know them. I always feel comfortable here.
This is the one hotel where the desk actually "works" for me. And I like the rooms, which are all different and decorated in a twee, cutesy, homely style... Feels like staying at Grandma's. The "fireman's breakfast" is a monumental fry-up, for which your heart might never forgive you. It's terrific! But they don't have a gym or anything like that.


And the most disappointing thing about all of the above hotels.... their loyalty programs. I can't work out why I bother being a member of the Marlowe's loyalty program. I don't know about the Sonesta's. And I don't think the Kendall Hotel has a loyalty program. (I should probably look into the Sonesta's).

There's a Marriott in Kendall square if loyalty stuff is your main objective.

EDITED TO ADD - Hotel@MIT (a Doubletree Hotel)
So - this is finally a place in the vicinity of Kendall Square where I can earn some points that count towards a loyalty program and it is very close to the most fantastic sports facilities at the MIT Zesiger Center

(The Kendall Hotel is also just a short walk from these facilities)

Fitness center - MIT Zesiger Center $10/day or $30/week
http://web.mit.edu/zcenter/

Fabulous, deep, cool pool with wide, empty lanes. Dimensions = 50m X 25yds. They split it into two 25yds X 25yds pools most of the time.

They also have facilities for basketball / squash / huge room for machines and weights etc. - overlooking the pool. I think it's virtually unbeatable.

Bring a combination padlock for the lockers - if you have one. (Or buy one from the center for something like $10).

First day you go there, you need to register to get your pass for the day or week. They will automatically give you a towel token with the card.

They provide a towel - sometimes a little bit hard but it does the job. This works on a token system. (You hand over the token, get a towel - bring back the towel, pick up your token)

This is going to be my routine whenever I visit the Boston area from now.

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PLACE TO EAT near MARLOWE HOTEL AND SONESTA
The place I keep going back to is "The Helmand." It's an Afghan restaurant only five minutes walk from The Marlowe:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/boston/D39847.html
I've eaten here with colleagues from India and Iran, who argued about which dishes were "originally inspired" by India / which were "really" from Iran etc. But there was no argument about the fact that it was all delicious.

Was at the Sonesta last week. Davio's has closed - and it looks like they will replace it with a new restaurant in March 2006.

This means that the Sonesta has no "nice" restaurant at this time - only the cafe/bar/breakfast place on the first floor. Not recommended.

Also - the pool was decidedly murky and my room was looking rather "tired" with no bathtub. Not impressed.