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Best Hotel Bets
- Best Historic Hotel: The Fairmont Copley Plaza, 138 St. James Ave. (tel. 800/257-7544), opened in 1912 on the original site of the Museum of Fine Arts. Designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh (also the architect of the Plaza in New York), it has entertained presidents and celebrities since the day its magnificent gilded lobby opened.
- Best for Business Travelers: If your corporate travel department hasn't booked you into the default chain megahotel, live a little. For about the same price, enjoy posh surroundings, personalized service, and excellent business features at the Millennium Bostonian Hotel, 26 North St., at Faneuil Hall Marketplace (tel. 866/866-8086), or the independent Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave. (tel. 800/962-3030).
- Best for a Romantic Getaway: The intimate atmosphere and elegant furnishings make a suite at the Eliot Hotel, 370 Commonwealth Ave. (tel. 800/44-ELIOT), a great spot for a rendezvous. If you and your beloved need some time apart, close the French doors -- you can be in separate rooms yet maintain eye contact.
- Best for Families: The Doubletree Guest Suites, 400 Soldiers Field Rd. (tel. 800/222-TREE), offers two rooms for the price of one, with two TVs and a refrigerator, and a nice pool. The location, straddling Boston and Cambridge, is especially good if you're driving from the west -- you leave the turnpike before downtown traffic shatters the peace in the back of the minivan.
- Best for Travelers with Disabilities: The Royal Sonesta Hotel, 5 Cambridge Pkwy., Cambridge (tel. 800/SONESTA), trains its staff in disability awareness and offers 18 rooms (some of which adjoin standard units) equipped for the hearing, ambulatory, and vision impaired. A wheelchair ramp for use in conference rooms is available. The Westin chain (tel. 800/WESTIN-1) is particularly attentive to the needs of travelers with mobility issues; check out the Westin Copley Place Boston, 10 Huntington Ave., and the Westin Boston Waterfront, 425 Summer St.
- Best Lobby for Pretending That You're Rich: The Boston Harbor Hotel, Rowes Wharf (tel. 800/752-7077), overlooks the harbor on one side and displays a museum-quality collection of paintings, drawings, prints, and nautical charts in its grand public spaces.
- Best for Eco-Sensitive Travelers: Listing hotels that aren't going "green" might be quicker. Every large hotel chain is boosting its environmental awareness, with Hyatt and Kimpton on the cutting edge. Boston's Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter St. (tel. 800/225-7676); Seaport Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane (tel. 877/SEAPORT); and Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave. (tel. 800/962-3030); are especially sensitive but by no means the only earth-friendly properties in town.
- Best Pool: The Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39 Dalton St. (tel. 800/325-3535), has a great indoor-outdoor pool with a retractable dome. Across the river, the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 5 Cambridge Pkwy., Cambridge (tel. 800/SONESTA), has a similarly enjoyable arrangement.
- Best Views: Several hotels offer impressive views of their immediate surroundings, but for a picture-postcard panorama of Boston and Cambridge, head to the upper floors of the Westin Copley Place Boston (tel. 800/WESTIN-1).
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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