joannpadgett

I am frustrated at how much taxes, location fees and parking add to the hotel's price. But I wonder if I stay outside city limits if I will end up paying as much on transportation to and from.
Does anyone know clean and safe location with good subway access and decent accommodation? I am suspecting that Uber or Lyft in Boston costs close to taxi prices. I was thinking of Best Western in Quincy but it had so many negative reviews it scared me away.

We will be wanting to go to Fenway for a game and to Isabella Gardner Museum plus Freedom Trail and regular tourist stuff. I would hate to skip Boston because 3 nights will cost me around $1400. And pretty much is sold out now probably with graduation etc.

We are traveling up the coast and I see some other cities like Portland Maine can be pricey too and charge for parking but at least there are options like chain hotels. .Would like nice night's sleep but we are there to see things and not spend a fortune. Prefer to spend our money on activities and meals.

fourfortravel

Well, I recently (as in, just a week or so ago) Amtrak-ed from D.C. to Providence RI to spend a weekend with our grad student daughter, who was flying in for a conference. The Amtrak to Boston was fast, inexpensive and flexible for our day trip, and I think there might even be a T? Those more in the know can correct me. The airbnb I selected was fabulous, a 10-minute walk to Whole Foods and a 5-minute ride share to the Providence train station. Might be something to consider?

joannpadgett

Thanks for your suggestion. Hope your visit with daughter was fun.

suze

Like anywhere, I'd say it just depends your priorities. Do you want to spend 30+ minutes on public transportation, or paying for a taxi or uber that far (using Quincy as an example)? It's not only about bottomline cost of a hotel room, location also determines somewhat how you will spend your time (and money) to get to where you actually want to be in the first place.

dfrostnh

We stayed years ago at Best Western Plus which offers free parking. There is supposed to ne a free hotel shuttle to T. When we stayed there it was a different name and no shittle. A long walk to T. We used taxi at night. This year we are staying at an air b&b in Revere in September. Supposed to be easy walk to public transportation and very close to beach. I'm a little nervous about Revere but it has good reviews. We have previously stayed at an air b&b elsewhere and ubered in but there are four of us sharing costs. The ride was about 20 minutes and we did not go into Boston at night.

Another idea is to leave your car someplace else while you stay in Boston. I have paid for parking in Woburn and taken bus to Logan prior to flights. I believe parking at Londonderry NH bus station is free. It definitely is in Concord NH. Bus goes to south station and Logan. You could taxi from there to any Boston hotel or drag suitcases on T at South Station. It's really nice if your hotel is near a T station.

tomfuller

Woburn and Haverhill MA have stops on the Amtrak Downeaster line. Several trips per day from Boston North station. Many years ago we stayed at a hotel in Braintree and rode the T into the city. Key is finding a hotel close enough to walk to the T station.

Madam397

My daughter graduated from Brandeis in Waltham and then lived for a year in Somerville. While we were always there with a car, there are many hotels in the suburbs of Boston and you should be able to park by a train station take commuter rail into the city. Can't give you any specifics as it has been a while since I've done that. I also used to travel to the area over many years and frequently had meetings in hotels around Harvard Square as well as meetings and conventions in Boston itself.

Fra_Diavolo

You can indeed take the "T" into Boston from Rhode Island. https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Pr...nce-6cae46be-1

The stop at Wickford Junction (see link) is the end of the line and provides free parking. We left a car there for three nights this past December with no issues. Note however that the trip is longer, but much cheaper, than Amtrak.

So you can save the outrageous hotel parking fees, if not their high room rates, by parking outside the city. I always recommend staying where you want to be if at all possible. I once stayed at a suburban location and regretted it on the long green line trips.

Vttraveler

It sounds as though you are looking for a hotel room soon, and this is a bad time of year to do that because of graduations.
I'm not sure how much hotels are charging for parking in Boston. I find the city expensive especially when you add in parking charges.

I have been looking at Boston/Cambridge hotels in late May for months on booking.com and availability changes pretty often. You could book somewhere with free cancellation and see if you can find something else later.

You might look at some of the hotels in Cambridge near the red line of the T (subway) We have stayed at The Cambridge House Inn near Porter Square and Davis Square. It has free (!) parking.
We are scheduled to stay at the 1868 hotel in Porter Square in a few weeks. It is well-reviewed and less expensive than many Boston hotels.
Davis Square and Harvard Square are both interesting areas to explore. There are buses down from Massachusetts Avenue to Harvard Square and it's also walkable.
The red line of the T takes you directly to Park Street so is convenient for The Freedom Trail.

HappyTrvlr

We stayed in Cambridge for two months and used buses and the T to easily travel around Boston.

joannpadgett

Thanks to everyone for feedback. 1868 Porter Square was full up for our dates, and yes, graduation and memorial Day added to lack of options.
We selected Staybridge Suites hotel near airport at Revere Pkwy near two T stations and 2 train stations.Yes, it might take 35 to 40 minutes, but we will check Lyft prices first and can alwasy ride local transportatin one way and cab or Lyft back at night. I hear you when you say do you want to waste time on public transportation but the fees are so excessive for both taxes, locality fee and parking fee every day it adds $200 per night for 3 nights or $600 and I think I won't spend that much ieven if I cabbed back and forth daily, but I may be wrong and regret my decision. Live and learn. We got great seats for Saturday game at Fenway and have plotted T path to ballpark but plan to leave early to arrive and sightsee beforehand..

thanks fo everyone for their useful feedback. I always go to Fodors Forum for help and it pays off. Reddit was useful as well.

TDudette

Good luck, joannpadgett. Please share how it goes!