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What to expect: Guests enter the hotel through a grand archway where attentive doormen are always ready to hail a taxi. The spacious lobby is adorned with hand-carved wood, Italian marble, and framed historical maps of Boston. Elaborate floral arrangements give off splashes of color and delicately scent the air. At the back of the lobby, huge bay windows look out onto a lively yacht marina and a gold-domed pavilion, which can be booked for private functions.

Amenity highlights: All guestrooms have a work desk, three dual-line speaker telephones, and high-speed Internet connections. The hotel can accommodate intimate gatherings or groups of 500 in its 9,600 square feet of meeting space. Leisure guests enjoy indulging in a 60-foot lap pool, taking yoga classes, and Swedish massages and herbal body wraps. Traveling pets are welcome to stay in the guestrooms, and all get a free basket of toys and treats.

Insider tip: In summer, the hotel’s waterfront terrace opens for drinks, dinner, and entertainment. It’s a trendy spot, so it’s best to get a table by 6 PM. On warm Thursday nights, the terrace is alive with jazz. On Friday nights, guests enjoy outside dining and a classic movie on an outdoor screen. From January through April each year, the hotel sponsors New England’s largest wine festival; it’s wise to book early because tickets sell fast.

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What to expect: Hand-carved woodwork, crystal chandeliers, and ornate elevators with their original bronze façades create a luxurious and welcoming lobby ambience. Both business and leisure travelers appreciate the express check-in feature. Suites are decorated with art and informational placards honoring American political and literary figures.

Amenity Highlights: Hotel services include three restaurants, Internet access, 24-hour room service, and a 24-hour fitness center. "Get Fit" guestrooms with treadmills are available upon request.

Insider Tip: Start your self-guided or guided tour of the historic Freedom Trail, the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, or the Literary Trail of Greater Boston right at the hotel’s front door. The hotel is also rich in culinary history—Parker House rolls, Boston scrod, and Boston crème pie originated at the Omni Parker House, and are still served at the restaurant.

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What to expect: Guests enter a stylish, wood-paneled lobby with white Italian-marble flooring. Those pressed for time appreciate automated check-in and check-out machines, and 24-hour desk staff. The adjacent Club Room provides a homey feeling, with complimentary coffee, tea, newspapers and magazines, plenty of chairs and couches, a fireplace, television, and two computers with high-speed Internet access. The hotel’s clientele consists of mainly business travelers on weekdays and leisure travelers on weekends.
Amenity highlights: Centrally located in the Financial District, this hotel offers high-speed wireless Internet in guestrooms, business/conference center, and public areas, including the Elephant & Castle, the hotel’s traditional English-style pub. Commuting is convenient with limo and Town Car service, taxis, and a T stop one block away.
Insider tip: Travelers in search of nightlife find it three blocks away at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, with its restaurants, bars, and specialty shops. The hotel is a half-mile from the Theatre District, and one mile from Newbury Street designer shops and cafés.

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What to expect: The entire hotel was renovated in March 2002, and its 15-story atrium and views are superb from the hotel’s glass elevators. Common areas are nicely decorated with clusters of comfortable furniture for lounging. Upon arrival, guests are treated to a warm chocolate chip cookie.

Amenity highlights: Guests have free use of the fitness area with an indoor heated pool. Also free is the 24-hour business center with computers, high-speed Internet access, fax machine, and a copier. Ample parking is offered along with a free shuttle service to and from local area attractions from early morning to late evening.

Insider tip: Be sure to check out the schedule of Scullers Jazz Club located on the second floor of the hotel, featuring some of the best recording artists.

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What to expect: The lobby opens onto an expansive, atrium-style restaurant and lounge area decorated in a palette of green, gold, and purple. This area is the hub of the hotel. Its centerpiece is a large modernist fountain rendered in wood and steel, with three white washboard panels of cascading water representing a ship. The hotel caters to business and leisure travelers who enjoy its airport location and proximity to downtown.

Amenity highlights: The hotel features an indoor pool with floor-to-ceiling windows, a fitness facility, and more than 8,000 square feet of meeting space. Complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast is served each morning; a gift shop stocked with snacks and sundries is open 24 hours a day. A complimentary 24-hour shuttle goes to the airport, as well as to the nearby “T” subway station to downtown Boston.

Insider tip: The New England Aquarium, three miles from the hotel, features diverse marine exhibits, sea lion shows, and a six-story IMAX theater. The aquarium is also home to the sophisticated Aquarium Medical Center, which is among the few marine-animal hospitals in the United States. Visitors are privy to behind-the-scenes care of inhabitants, as well as to rescue operations performed on regional wildlife, through exhibits and video links.

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What to expect: Boston's only downtown Hilton has an elegant and intimate feel, beginning with the lobby and its marble floors and cushy chairs and couches. The Lobby Lounge is a quiet place to meet friends and coworkers over cocktails. The hotel attracts a business clientele during the week and vacationers on weekends. Amenity highlights: A new shuttle service travels within a 2-mile radius of the hotel. A 24-hour business center is equipped with computer workstations, Internet service, overnight mail service, and access to a notary public. In summer, guests with children receive a Vacation Station Welcome Packet with information on local family attractions and a special gift for those under age 12.

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What to expect: This new upscale hotel attracts both business and leisure travelers with its stopover convenience, classy decor, and services. The spacious lobby reflects a maritime theme with ship figureheads and blue wingback chairs. Nearby are a coffee shop, pub, restaurant, gift shop, and health club. Amenity highlights: Traveling is easy when you stay here, with 24-hour room service and free 24-hour shuttle service to airport terminals and a subway station, as well as a water shuttle with service to downtown Boston. A climate-controlled skybridge connects the hotel with terminals A and E. Insider tip: The hotel's business center is open from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM, but will stay open late and on weekends with prior notice. Guests may use computers on-site or rent them. Fax, copy, and blueprint machines are also available, as well as meeting space for conference calls.

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What to expect: A black-and-white marble entryway with cherry-wood columns and an exposed-brick wall opens onto a sitting area illuminated by a lofty sloping skylight. Business travelers socialize by a large marble fireplace flanked by torch-like light fixtures. Leisure travelers attracted to the Hilton's 15-mile proximity to downtown Boston frequent the hotel on weekends.

Amenity highlights: A spacious, skylit lobby steps down into a lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, comfy bench seating, and whimsical light fixtures. Wide hallways lead to the hotel's formal dining room by way of a Starbucks coffee bar. Recreational opportunities abound at the Hilton, from outdoor tennis courts and half-court basketball to the indoor skylit lap pool, upgraded fitness center, and racquetball courts.

Insider tip: The hotel is 5 miles from the entrance to the 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation, with 125 miles of hiking trails. Great Blue Hill, with an altitude of 635 feet, is the highest of the 22 hills in the chain and affords panoramic views of the metropolitan area from its craggy summit. Rattlesnake Hill attracts rock climbers, and Houghton's Pond is a popular swimming hole.

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What to expect: This is a high-technology lifestyle hotel, where academics join business and leisure travelers in the robot-filled lobby, and where moving sculptures display physics principles and the elevator circuitry is proudly exposed. Guests have free use of two computers for checking e-mail via high-speed Internet access, as well as a library with leather sofas.

Amenity highlights: The hotel's rooftop garden, which can be reserved for private functions, is especially beautiful at night. City parking is a plus, with a 950-car garage connected to the hotel. The hotel's first-floor restaurant offers outdoor seating in summer. On the second floor, guests have access to a full supermarket, which is open until midnight seven days a week, along with a bank.

Insider tip: The Hotel @ MIT is only 1 block from the rich and diverse ethnic community of Central Square, which hosts numerous multicultural events in summer, including the International Food Festival, Charles River Festival, and Greek Festival. The Charles River is 3 blocks away and this hotel acts as host for rowers and their families during the Head of the Charles Regatta festival each October.

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What to expect: The stage-like lobby is framed by floor-to-ceiling curtains and furnished with leopard-print seats, throne-like sofas, funky lamps, and a gas fireplace. Hallways decked with intricate compass designs accentuate the hotel’s nautical theme. Marlowe caters to business and leisure travelers attracted to its high-tech rooms, Cambridge location, and pet-friendly atmosphere.

Amenity highlights: Named for English Renaissance dramatist and poet Christopher Marlowe, this hotel pays tribute to its literary origins by hosting frequent readings with notable local authors in the lobby. The lobby is also the site of complimentary morning coffee and a wine hour every evening by the fireplace. The hotel is across the street from the Charles River Esplanade and adjoins the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping center. Complimentary car service to Cambridge and Boston destinations, including the Financial District, is offered weekday mornings.

Insider tip: Guests can borrow one of the hotel’s complimentary mountain bikes and ride along the Charles River Esplanade, a scenic 17-mile loop past bridges, parks, and marinas that afford spectacular city views. The Esplanade’s tree-lined paths, which include both paved and unpaved trails, are also popular for jogging and in-line skating.

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What to expect: Both business and leisure travelers appreciate the hotel for its ample business services and city and harbor views. The Harborside is just a 7-minute water-shuttle ride (fee) from Boston's financial district and historic areas, and it's a popular spot for weddings and romantic occasions.

Amenity highlights: The spacious fitness room is equipped with treadmills, stationary bikes, stair climbers, and weight machines, as well as a TV and stereo system. Its floor-to-ceiling windows provide views of the hotel's quarter-mile walking path, Boston Harbor, and the downtown cityscape. Adjacent to the fitness area is a heated swimming pool surrounded by lounge chairs, and a spa with the same views.

Insider tip: The hotel is situated for perfect views of Boston's fireworks displays on the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve. And when the city is hot and humid, a boat ride on the harbor is a refreshing option. A water shuttle (fee) operates to Boston's Long Wharf, where harbor cruises or whale-watching excursions are available.

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What to expect: The elegant, third-floor lobby has polished marble floors, plush carpeting, antiques, and Waterford-crystal chandeliers. In the evenings, a comfortable lobby bar becomes a great place for socializing. It opens into a spacious sitting area with chairs, settees, and cocktail tables—a nice place to unwind with coworkers and friends after business and shopping.

Amenity highlights: All the tastefully decorated guestrooms have views of Boston’s historic landscape. They are equipped with dual-line telephones and modem Internet access. The hotel’s business center offers administrative services, personal computers, printers, faxing, and copying.

Insider tip: Boston Common is only two blocks from the hotel. In winter, children under 13 ice skate for free on the Frog Pond. In summer, guests see free performances staged by the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (it’s wise to bring something to sit on). Filene’s Basement, one block from the hotel, has superb discounts on designer clothing and accessories.

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What to expect: The lobby is part of an impressive 16-story atrium with glass elevators that rise in front of the Charles River. Interior balconies are lined with planter beds, adding a pleasant natural touch. The hotel is popular with business guests during the week who use the hotel’s meeting facilities for conferences. On the weekends, the hotel attracts couples and families.

Amenity highlights: The hotel is designed for meetings and conferences, offering 24,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and a new ballroom. The health club is equipped with treadmills, exercise bikes, stair climbers, and views of the Charles River and the Boston skyline. Free towels and sunscreen are available at the lap pool, as are summer sun and breezes on the sundeck, if the retractable roof is open.

Insider tip: Traffic is barred from a 2-mile section of Memorial Drive between 10 AM and 6 PM every Sunday in summer, when it becomes a path for walkers, runners, inline skaters, and cyclists. Guests can take part on foot or on wheels, because the hotel rents 18-speed mountain bikes for adults and children, along with helmets, locks, and maps. In October, the riverbank in front of the hotel is a prime spot for viewing the Head of the Charles® regatta, a huge and popular rowing festival nearly four decades old.

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What to expect: Constructed in Renaissance Revival style in 1922, the hotel retains many original details, including marble entryways, bronze doors, Corinthian columns, and coffered, gold-leaf ceilings. Its five-block proximity to the financial district attracts business travelers, while leisure travelers are within a quarter-mile of Boston Harbor, Faneuil Hall, and the Freedom Trail.

Amenity highlights: The hotel’s decor, which includes original oil paintings by N.C. Wyeth, antique-style furnishings, and a collection 16th-century maps, lives up to the building’s status as a historic landmark. An on-site fitness facility features a swimming pool and Jacuzzi bathed in natural light, state-of-the-art fitness equipment, and massage treatment rooms.

Insider tip: The sky-lit Café Fleuri features an indulgent “chocolate bar” on Saturday afternoons that attracts locals and guests alike. The buffet of chocolate delicacies includes mousses, tortes, éclairs, and crepes, as well as inventive offerings such as chocolate lasagna.

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What to expect: Guests staying in this modern hotel can reach two malls and the Hynes Convention Center via a skywalk on one side, and stairs and an escalator on the other. They can also walk about 3 blocks without ever leaving a climate-controlled environment. The focal point of the ground-level registration area is a set of escalators to hotel restaurants, lounges, and a gift shop.

Amenity highlights: In addition to its 74,000 square feet of meeting space and 36 meeting rooms, the hotel claims to have the largest ballroom in New England. The full-service mailing facility provides shipping materials and services to and from conferences, with UPS and Federal Express package delivery. All guests receive free access to the large health club with a heated lap pool, spa, and fitness room. Massages are available for a fee.

Insider tip: Tickets for historic tours of Boston with Old Town Trolley Tours may be purchased at the concierge desk, and the trolleys are accessible in front of the lobby. The hotel plans to provide easier access to Boston Duck Tours in the summer of 2003, when the amphibious vehicles will be parked across the street from the hotel. This hotel is 1 block from the exciting Boston Marathon finish line.

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