HELP :) - Planning Red Sox game Memorial Weekend for Hubby

Hi - I just booked a flight for memorial day weekend fri-mon and wanted to see what a great hotel would be to stay at ...... would love to stay around $300 per night range. We are early 30%26#39;s, never been to Boston and love all the ';touristy'; must see things while we are there. Would love hotel suggestions and well as recommendations on what to do while we are in the area ....... we really aren%26#39;t into club/bar scenes, but love a good restaurant :). Thanks so much!

HELP :) - Planning Red Sox game Memorial Weekend for Hubby

You have so many choices! Boston is a compact city, easy to get around by foot or by %26#39;T%26#39; (www.mbta.com - is our public transit system). First, thought is you look for accommodation in the Copley Square/Back Bay area. As for things to do, recommend you visit the Freedom Trail for history, and/or take a duck tour (www.bostonducktours.com). There are plenty of museums to choose from as well -- Isabella Gardner, Museum of Fine Arts, JFK Library, Aquarium, Museum of Science and more. Take a stroll through the Boston Common and Public Gardens, head down Newbury Street. Restaurants are plentiful. Definitely go to the North End for an Italian meal. The South End has many wonderful choices too. Lastly, if you are planning to go to a Sox game, you may have to go to the ticket resellers - right now I see nothing on sale for Memorial Day weekend. Folks have had luck with www.acetickets.com and www.stubhub.com. If you give us more specific parameters, we can narrow things down further for you. Check the side links for additional information.

HELP :) - Planning Red Sox game Memorial Weekend for Hubby

A couple of hotels that come to mind for your consideration are The Copley Square Hotel and The Lenox, both in the Back Bay. Great locations for reaching Fenway and other parts of Boston.

Boy oh boy do you have some options with that budget!

You can get into a fabulous hotel for about 1/2 to 2/3 that for these dates, so then it comes down to if you want to max out the budget to stay in a five star hotel.

I ran a brief search and here are the standouts in my mind:

The Taj Boston- rooms starting at $209/night on hotels.com. Deluze rooms at $228 and #247.

Fairmont Copley Plaza- rooms starting at $179/night on Orbitz.com. Deluxe rooms for $240/night.

Mandarin Oriental- Room averaging $279/night with the ';We Fan Boston'; package at mandarinoriental.com. Package also includes continental breakfast for two.

Nine Zero hotel- rooms starting at $187/night on kimptonhotels.com. Deluze rooms available for more.

Liberty Hotel- $235/night on orbitz.com

Colonnade Hotel- $155/night on hotels.com

Omni Parker House- you could get a suite here for about $240/ngiht. Check omniparkerhouse.com for best rates.

The Lenox- rooms starting at $188/night on hotels.com

And finally, on Hotwire there is a 4.5 star in the Quincy Market/Financial District Zone with the amenities of non-smoking, fitness, pool, restaurant, business center, high speed internet, spa for $134/night. This is very likely the InterContinental which makes it a tremendous value compared to those above. The total cost of this option with fees/taxes and all is $439.75. which is less than half of the stay at the Mandarin.

WOW I hope that wasn%26#39;t too overwhelming...!

There are other options of course, but these are the ones that stood out to me. Read some of the reviews for the aforementioned hotels and see if you could narrow it down. And lastly, I mention the hotel websites as a reference, but I will usually call the hotel directly to see if they will match a lower price on a third party site. You pay no fees in this case and only the tax on the room.

WOW!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!! ....... we really like an upscale newer room - we would like to be really close to things that we could do touristy wise throughout the day rather than always having to take a taxi to everything ........ we love to be right in the middle of things ........if it were you, where would you stay??? :)

Well, I%26#39;m not local but I%26#39;ll give my opinion anyways. I will be in Boston on my honeymoon the week before you (we fly out the day you arrive) and we are staying in both the Mandarin and Nine Zero.

Based on your mention of preferring upscale newer rooms, I think that narrows it down a bit...

To me, the following match that description:

Mandarin Oriental- Brand new (opened 4th quarter 2008) property in Back Bay connected to the Prudential mall(I think...). A true five star hotel experience on par with Four Seasons, Ritz, etc. Forum member eileengs2 informed me that the staff are all former Four Seasons people in fact. Chain is known for their amazing spas. Even offers complimentary chauffeured Mercedes car service. Smallest room is ~480 sqft. The package I referenced is an introductory special offer where the 3rd night is free. I see that Will007 and Mahj above recommended Back Bay as an area to base yourselves...so this may work.

Colonnade- Also in Back Bay across from Prudential Center and just went through extensive renovation with contemporary decor. rooms ~350 sqft I believe.

Nine Zero- Part of the Kimpton chain which I love. This hotel is located right on the Freedom Trail across from the Old Granary Buriel Ground. Closer to the city center than the Back Bay hotels. Smallest room is 280 sqft and increase in size from there. The next tier up (Premier room) is 350 sqft.

The Liberty Hotel- This is the old Charles Street Jail turned hotel in Beacon Hill area. Opened late 2007 (I think). You have to check out the lobby of this place (it%26#39;s on the hotel website)-WOW!!! Hotel website states standard rooms are 400 sqft, but based on the pictures I%26#39;ve seen, I don%26#39;t believe them. The only thing is, this place turns into a happenin%26#39; night club on the weekend and is apparently the place to see and be seen with the younger local crowd. Noise can permeate to the rooms, so I%26#39;d look elsewhere.

InterContinental- New hotel on waterfront in Financial District. Located next to the Aquarium and on the actual site of the Boston Tea Party, this hotel boasts large standard rooms (~400 sqft) with contemporary styling. A short walk to Faneuil Hall. A signinficant savings if bought on Hotwire @ $129/night (rack rate is $225/night).

Alot of the other hotels I mentioned in my original post feature that old world charm, with opulent, classy, traditional stylings which are nice in their own right, but sounds like not what you are looking for. I%26#39;d put the Taj (the original Ritz Carlton) and the Lenox, and to a lesser extent the Parker House in this grouping.

I will defer to the locals for any other opinions or if they have any corrections to this post. Hope this helps.

Do you have tickets to the game yet? That%26#39;s the most important part.