Places to stay in Boston

[MaryM]

DH and I are going to Boston in a few weeks.  Can anyone recommend a nice hotel?  We will be there for our anniversary!

[Macabre]

Please come to Boston
For the springtime
I'm stayin' here with some friends
and they've got lots of room...."

[Macabre]

You are no doubt too young for that to be memorable.

DS was in Cambridge a few weeks ago. I'll ask him where they stayed, but I don't think it's anniversary material. I'm sure becca and others will chime in.

[twinturbo]

Boston meaning stay around the waterfront to hit Faneuil Hall, Milk Street, see the Green Monster, transformed Combat Zone and so forth? Or stuff like Sturbridge Village, resort stuff like vineyards, outer areas?

The former would probably be more hotel but the latter I wonder if a B&B would be better.

Say... have you two had any recent cab experience in the area? If not I have to give you the 411. Boston area cabs are nothing like NYC yellow taxi.

[MaryM]

We haven't been to Boston in years.  We want to stay in the city, not the outer areas.  What are the cabs like?

[GoingNuts]

We stayed at a fancy place the las time we were there. I think it was The Eliot.  Very expensive normally, but DH found a coupon.  the place was Ok, but the location was great. We were able to walk everywhere.

Boston rocks. 

And I'm definitely old enough to remember that song!

[twinturbo]

Definitely walk wherever you can. There's plenty to do/see and the walkway is very pedestrian friendly, the combat zone is totally gentrified.

Reasons to not take a cab there's not a whole lot of regulation and the city levied a 6% charge or tax on the drivers. No matter where you go the card reader will be "broken" doesn't matter if you ask if card is okay before you go. Google Metro Cab on Yelp you'll see what I mean. In NYC you can get a yellow taxi, Boston it's every man for himself. Too many yelling matches, threatening sometimes that you better have cash. I've had about 50-50 incidences. If you do take a cab either be prepare to yell back if they give you s**t about the 'broken' card reader or just carry enough cash for the cab ride.

[PurpleCat]

Definitely walk wherever you can. There's plenty to do/see and the walkway is very pedestrian friendly, the combat zone is totally gentrified.

Reasons to not take a cab there's not a whole lot of regulation and the city levied a 6% charge or tax on the drivers. No matter where you go the card reader will be "broken" doesn't matter if you ask if card is okay before you go. Google Metro Cab on Yelp you'll see what I mean. In NYC you can get a yellow taxi, Boston it's every man for himself. Too many yelling matches, threatening sometimes that you better have cash. I've had about 50-50 incidences. If you do take a cab either be prepare to yell back if they give you s**t about the 'broken' card reader or just carry enough cash for the cab ride.

Walking is great!  It's how I prefer to get around Boston....but I love walking.  You need good shoes for it!  The brick sidewalks can be quit bumpy!

The Subway is easy!  Except Gov't Center Stop is closed for renovations starting on March 22.  That is where the blue and green line cross.  Easy enough to plan around.  They have a great website.  http://www.mbta.com/

The above is not my experience with cabs in Boston.  I don't doubt those things happen, but not all cab companies are the same.  TT certainly has had bad experiences.  Your hotel doorman can get you a good cab.  As for a broken card reader, which I have not experienced, you can ask first and if broken, chose not to get in and hail a different one.

My favorite Boston cab story.....I arrived in Boston in January from Orlando.  My winter coat was packed in my luggage.  I was wearing a light suit with a short skirt and tank top.  My luggage went to Dallas. It was snowing! So not helpful!  I had my briefcase.  My meeting was in 45 minutes in Cambridge so I grabbed a cab outside the terminal.  The driver was Irish...he kept looking at me all funny and finally, he could take it no longer.  He asked in his heavy brogue where in the heck I came from and didn't I know it's cold and snowy in Boston in January?  We both had a good laugh and he turned the heat up for me!   My cab trip to my next meeting back over the river in Boston (no time to shop) was with a driver from Jamaica...he did not know what to make of me since by now there was a good 6" of snow on the ground!

As for where to stay, there are many nice places.   What part of the city do you want to be in?

[twinturbo]

No, it's not just TT's experience. It's more that there's a lot of private cabs running around without the type of regulation that NYC has. Some companies may be better than others, in particular I'd avoid Metro, but the 6% surcharge is all cabs. There are no broken meters, they're 'broken' once you arrive at your destination. The reason they'll do that is to avoid the 6% surcharge they have to pay.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/metrocab-boston
http://www.yelp.com/biz/metro-cab-allston

A sampling of others reporting the same.
[spoiler]

Once I told the dispatcher that I intended to pay with a credit card and I was assured this was no problem, all cabs are equipped to take cards. As a courtesy, I told the driver upon getting into the cab of my intentions.

He basically refused to drive me to my location. We argued, I called Metro Cab while he proceeded to drive me not to where I wanted to go, but around Boston with the meter running. MetroCab tells me he is supposed to take my card and if he won't, I should CALL THE POLICE. That is literally the advice I was given. Eventually, he takes me to where I want to go. He also insinuated that I must be crazy to not be carrying cash and didn't believe me until we literally arrived and I was like, well, if you can't take my card, I'm not paying, SMELL YA. 

.then they didn't take a credit card on a day I had NO cash. Why ask? Why ask "cash or credit" if you really only mean "cash or I'll scoff at you and get pissed".

.then that same cabbie yelled at my bf because he didn't have cash. Again. Why. Ask. Cash. Or. Credit. If. You. Don't. Take. Cards. Ended up essentially throwing him out of the cab (bf didn't pay)

2) The entire Mastercard industry needs all new IT people because their credit card machines never work....apparently.

I dealt with another cab driver who tried telling me the credit card machine wouldn't work so I could pay cash.  This was after getting me to where I needed to be.  You couldn't tell me this upfront?  Anyways, turns out he was lying.  When I told him I did not have cash, he told me I could try the machine.  It worked fine.

At one point a driver refused to take my credit card although dispatch had notified him I'd be using one. He proceeded to yell at me and not let me out of the cab for 20 minutes, until he sulkily took the card (while telling me what a terrible person I am for not carrying cash). The guy was a little deranged and I was actually scared for my safety several times.

[/spoiler]

That's only a fraction of the reviews regarding 'broken' card readers and angry drivers demanding cash. There's more. NYC isn't like that at all. You might have to exit a cab if NYPD pulls it over and finds the driver's on a suspended license but then you just flag down another yellow taxi and it's smooth no problems with card reader like Boston.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2013/03/04/square-boston-taxis/

Because the credit card readers in taxis charge drivers a 5 or 6 percent processing fee—much higher than the rate paid by retail stores—cabbies feel like they're getting robbed when we use plastic. Tales of drivers with "broken" readers—broken until riders profess they have no cash, that is—are common.

Why Some Boston Cab Drivers Might Lie About a Broken Credit Card Machine

It's not imaginary or isolated. Just take enough cash if you're taking a cab in Boston if you don't want to get into it with one of the drivers who'll flip about it. If not, fair warning luck of the draw.

[buttons]

A splurge for us, but my dh and I stayed at http://www.ninezero.com/   A great location near the common, very cozy beds.  We liked the restaurant.

The Four Seasons is in a perfect spot too.

There are many classic downtown hotels.  Also the Intercontinental is fun and in a little different area, near the ICA.

Maybe there's a show at the Opera House.  So much to do!

[paparenttoo]

Please come to Boston
For the springtime
I'm stayin' here with some friends
and they've got lots of room...."

For the young ones who haven't heard this classic  .

Dave Loggins - Please Come To Boston - good audio quality