Boston: can you suggest a convenient, budget friendly hotel

[Woth2982]

We have a room booked at the Residence Inn in Woburn during April school break. There will be 6 of us--so we needed either a large room or 2 rooms. We're hoping to use public transportation in to Boston for sightseeing/redsox game. Is this doable? I haven't seen Woburn mentioned in this thread--now I'm concerned we made a bad choice.

Woburn is not really near Boston. It is North of Boston and about a 30 minute drive without traffic. Problem with sites like Travelocity is they give you the mileage, but in Boston we don't measure in distance we measure in traffic.

 

[Woth2982]

OP, I haven't been to Boston in ages so I was hoping a local would chime in. Wellesley is nowhere near Fenway Park. You cannot get to Wellesley on the T (subway system). I don't recall if you can even get there on the commuter rail. You can get to the general vicinity of Boston College on the T, but as I recall the school itself is not near the T stop. If you aren't planning to drive to each school, maybe you could take a cab, but it could be expensive. I think you need to think about transportation not just a nice cheap hotel. It feels like the comments here weren't quite addressing your original question about those particular schools.

I think there is a commuter rail stop near the college. I ran the Boston Marathon two years ago, even though I live local I don't take the commuter rail much, I made a detailed commuter rail map so my friends and Family could follow me if they wanted to hit multiple stops. It is the Worcester line which I think can be picked up in Newton via the green line, or South Station for certain.

For the OP - I have friends coming into town in July and I believe they are staying in the Holiday Inn in Brookline on Beacon street. Beacon street is very easily accessible walking wise for the Green line and will take you straight to Fenway. If you are really ambitious you could walk there from there.

 

[paladin]

We have a room booked at the Residence Inn in Woburn during April school break. There will be 6 of us--so we needed either a large room or 2 rooms. We're hoping to use public transportation in to Boston for sightseeing/redsox game. Is this doable? I haven't seen Woburn mentioned in this thread--now I'm concerned we made a bad choice.

Woburn is about 10 miles from Boston. The hotel is right off I93 which goes right into the city (easy drive - just depends on traffic), but assuming you want to use public transportation, there is a commuter rail station about a mile from the hotel (and I think the hotel has a van for local transportation). The train goes in to North Station (Boston Garden where the Celtics and Bruins play) and you can hop on the T from there and/or just start walking depending on where you want to go.

I would imagine the hotel would have train schedules, but you could also check with the MBTA for fares and schedules. Here is a link to the Anderson Commuter Rail Station. http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=LOWELL

 

[stiebermom]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. They have been very helpful

One more question please: just how congested is the traffic near Wellesley and Boston College? Most likely I will be driving from one to the next, because we are tight on time. We likely will be staying at the Newton Marriott (at a great rate!) and driving to Wellesley Monday morning around 8am.

 

[totallytigger]

Woburn is about 10 miles from Boston. The hotel is right off I93 which goes right into the city (easy drive - just depends on traffic), but assuming you want to use public transportation, there is a commuter rail station about a mile from the hotel (and I think the hotel has a van for local transportation). The train goes in to North Station (Boston Garden where the Celtics and Bruins play) and you can hop on the T from there and/or just start walking depending on where you want to go.

I would imagine the hotel would have train schedules, but you could also check with the MBTA for fares and schedules. Here is a link to the Anderson Commuter Rail Station. http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=LOWELL

Thank you so much for the great info. I feel better about our choice of hotel now.

 

[paladin]

Thank you so much for the great info. I feel better about our choice of hotel now.

Glad to be of help

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. They have been very helpful

One more question please: just how congested is the traffic near Wellesley and Boston College? Most likely I will be driving from one to the next, because we are tight on time. We likely will be staying at the Newton Marriott (at a great rate!) and driving to Wellesley Monday morning around 8am.

Well, the good news is they aren't far apart at all. It's a straight shot up Route 9 to get from one to the next. Route 9 is usually bit congested, and you will wait and wait to get through the traffic lights, but eh. It's Boston. If you drive, you sit in traffic.

 

[clori]

We have a room booked at the Residence Inn in Woburn during April school break. There will be 6 of us--so we needed either a large room or 2 rooms. We're hoping to use public transportation in to Boston for sightseeing/redsox game. Is this doable? I haven't seen Woburn mentioned in this thread--now I'm concerned we made a bad choice.

I've stayed there before but as a evening of swimming etc one winter night. It had a nice free dinner and breakfast. I live closer to Boston so don't use hotels to go there. I would check with the hotel and see if their shuttle matches the commuter rail schedule and how late it runs. http://mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=LOWELL or you could drive to Wellington Station, pay for parking and take the T from there. I would say staying there is like staying in Secaucus NJ and going into Manhattan. It is a bit longer of a commute but doable and can still be a great trip.

Hyatt Place in Medford is another hotel that has two beds and a sofabed, some free breakfast and indoor pool. I've also been there for swimming and you can get a bus from nearby to the subway but I think they have a shuttle.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We have a room booked at the Residence Inn in Woburn during April school break. There will be 6 of us--so we needed either a large room or 2 rooms. We're hoping to use public transportation in to Boston for sightseeing/redsox game. Is this doable? I haven't seen Woburn mentioned in this thread--now I'm concerned we made a bad choice.

I wouldn't change it, just go by what paladin said. You will be with the commuters, that's all. It's really not far at all, but it not really in Boston proper; it's near Boston.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. They have been very helpful

One more question please: just how congested is the traffic near Wellesley and Boston College? Most likely I will be driving from one to the next, because we are tight on time. We likely will be staying at the Newton Marriott (at a great rate!) and driving to Wellesley Monday morning around 8am.

It should be fine, and I wouldn't worry too much about the driving. It's not like driving right in Boston. It can be heavy, but not crazy, crazy out that way.

I think Waltham is a good location for you, but if you wanted more around you, you might consider staying right off the highway (95/128) in Dedham. There is a nice outdoor mall there, a Whole Foods where you can go in and get food, a Showcase Lux Cinema, a really great diner, and just about any other type of store you could possibly need. I'm talking right near the Fox 25 news station, as a landmark. From there it's a relatively quick ride to where you want to go, depending on traffic. I guess it depends on what times you're going. Everything depends on traffic around here, lol.

http://www.legacyplace.com/

 

[QueenIsabella]

I hear you on the traffic being worst, right in the city. We used to come in from the west (on Route 2), and it really didn't get bad until you were just a few miles out. Our preferred method was to park at Alewife and take the T. Now we've moved, so it's "fly into Logan and take the T". Skirting the city will have a lot of traffic, but it's not insane like driving down Commonwealth Ave.