Neighborhoods

Downtown

The Waterfront & Faneuil Hall Marketplace--At all hotels in these neighborhoods, ask for a room on a high floor -- the Big Dig is more or less complete, but construction continues to plague this entire area.

Financial District & Downtown Crossing--Besides being great for business travelers, the hotels in this area are closer than their Waterfront competitors to the major shopping areas and the start of the Freedom Trail. All offer sensational weekend packages, especially in the winter.

Beacon Hill/North Station/North End

Less expensive lodgings in this area are mostly B&Bs.

Very Expensive--The Regent Boston (tel. 800/545-4000; www.regenthotels.com) at Battery Wharf, off Commercial Street at Battery Street, is the lodging component of a luxe-plus condo-hotel-retail development with a projected opening date of late 2007. The only hotel in the North End, it's a 150-unit boutique property with abundant water views, lavish facilities (including an 18,000-sq.-ft. spa), and prices to match.

South Boston Waterfront (Seaport District)

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Seaport World Trade Center, Institute of Contemporary Art, and Waterfront Silver Line bus (which connects South Station to the airport) are just a few of the factors helping push this neighborhood from up-and-coming to genuinely desirable. It still has a way to go, though -- there's no shopping or entertainment to speak of, and dining options are few. Access to the airport is excellent, but downtown is some distance away by bus and subway or on foot (Faneuil Hall Marketplace, for instance, is at least a 15-minute walk). If you're in town for a convention, thank your corporate travel agent; if you're sightseeing, budget time for public transit, money for cabs, or both.

Expensive--The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, 606 Congress St. (tel. 800/HOTELS-1; www.marriott.com), is the latest addition to this previously lodging-challenged neighborhood. Scheduled to open in late 2007, the 471-unit hotel is 1 block from the convention center and 2 blocks from the water. There's a seafood restaurant on the premises.

The South End

Berkeley Street runs from the Back Bay across the Mass. Pike to the most convenient corner of the sprawling South End, where you'll find these two lodgings.

Copley Square/Hynes Convention Center

Very Expensive--The Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental chain's first New England property was under construction on Boylston Street next to the Prudential Center at press time. The 148-unit Mandarin Oriental, Boston (tel. 800/526-6566; www.mandarinoriental.com) is slated to open in the summer of 2008, with a 16,000-square-foot spa and the ultraluxurious brand's over-the-top appointments and service.

Expensive--Hotels in this neighborhood and price category are catnip for tour groups, especially during foliage season. Consider a different location or a smaller lodging if big crowds wearing nametags bother you -- but don't count on avoiding them completely.

Outskirts & Brookline

What Bostonians consider "outskirts" would be centrally located in many larger cities. Brookline starts about 3 blocks beyond Boston's Kenmore Square. Staying in this area means essentially becoming a commuter to downtown Boston (unless you're in town only to visit Fenway Park or the Longwood Medical Area). It's not a great choice if your destination is Cambridge because of the unwieldy public transit connections.

Moderate--The 188-room Brookline Courtyard by Marriott, 40 Webster St., Brookline (tel. 866/296-2296, 800/321-2211, or 617/734-1393; fax 617/734-1392; www.brooklinecourtyard.com), is off Beacon Street in Coolidge Corner. The eight-story hotel has a breakfast cafe, an indoor pool, an exercise room, and shuttle service to the nearby Longwood Medical Area. The double rate is $159 to $399, which includes high-speed Internet access.

Inexpensive--A summer-only hostel occupies a former Howard Johnson hotel just outside Kenmore Square: Hostelling International -- Boston at Fenway, 575 Commonwealth Ave. (tel. 617/267-8599; fax 617/424-6558; www.hifenway.org; T: Green Line B, C, or D to Kenmore). The 485-bed hostel offers well-equipped accommodations in a building that doubles as a Boston University dorm during the school year. Rates are $35 per bed for members of Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels, $38 for nonmembers. Private rooms for one to three guests cost $89 to $99.

Cambridge

Across the Charles River from Boston, Cambridge has its own attractions and excellent hotels. Graduation season (May and early June) is especially busy, but campus events can cause high demand at unexpected times, so plan ahead.

Expensive--A former Radisson was shuttered at press time, undergoing extensive renovations in preparation for emerging in October 2007 as a Courtyard by Marriott, 777 Memorial Dr., Cambridge, MA 02139 (tel. 800/321-2211 or 617/492-7777; www.marriott.com). The 204-unit, 16-story hotel is across the street from the Charles River, meaning the views are great but public-transit access isn't. The property has an indoor pool and a Japanese steakhouse, and the best accommodations have private balconies.

Moderate--The Hampton Inn Boston/Cambridge, 191 Msgr. O'Brien Hwy., Cambridge (tel. 800/HAMPTON or 617/494-5300; www.bostoncambridge.hamptoninn.com), is a 5-minute walk from the Green Line Lechmere stop. Rates at the 114-room hotel start at $159 for a double in high season and include parking, expanded continental breakfast, and high-speed Internet access. The Hampton Inn is a block closer to the T than the Holiday Inn Express, but on the opposite side of a busy street from the station.

At & Near the Airport

Expensive--The Embassy Suites Hotel Boston at Logan Airport, 207 Porter St., Boston, MA 02128 (tel. 800/EMBASSY or 617/567-5000; www.embassysuites.com), is a 273-unit hotel with an indoor pool, exercise room, and business center. Each suite in the 10-story hotel has a living room with a pullout couch. Room rates, which start at $169, include breakfast, high-speed Internet access, and shuttle service to the airport and the Airport T stop.

Moderate--If you can't get a room at the Comfort Inn, consider the Hampton Inn Boston Logan Airport, 2300 Lee Burbank Hwy., Revere (tel. 800/426-7866 or 781/286-5665; www.hamptoninn.com), on an ugly commercial-industrial strip about 3 miles north of the airport. A free shuttle bus serves the 227-room hotel, which has a pool; rates start at about $129 for a double and include continental breakfast.