What did you opt for in the end? Re Saturday - Using the MVP rate (http://stay.hilton.com/mvp/) you can get the Hilton Back Bay for £117 inc tax which isn't bad (partic if you have status). Boston Park Plaza Hotel (nothing to do with Club Carlson) is £77 on Amoma (via hotelscombined), and seems fine apart from small rooms. The Godfrey is £98 on there too (via Trivago) and looks good. For something really quite nice, the Fairmont Copley Place is £139 on Amoma (via trivago), and Fairmont offer to knock 10% off as a best rate guarantee if you ring them (http://www.fairmont.com/best-rate-guarantee/) so potentially ~£125, although I've never tried the Fairmont BRG. That's not cheap, but fantastic value for a lovely looking 5* in Boston. If you signed up for Club1 Hotels when that was free, the Park Plaza is ~£72 (the doubletree looks cheap on there too but is actually miles away in burlington or something)
I snagged a couple of the Thomas Cook flash sale £200 tickets from MAN in May (which turned out to be £260 each after adding in bulkhead seat reservations! - but still a bargain) - only to then look at hotel rates and have my eyes water. I'm not sure what's going on the week we're there, or if Boston is always that bad - $443 BEFORE TAX FOR A HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS!!!! However, this did present an ideal opportunity to use my InterContinental Ambassador certificate. I've booked a Club Intercontinental King Water View for ~$650 for the two nights including the discount. Still pricey - but I don't mind paying $325/night for a 5* hotel with club lounge access, and the potential for a suite upgrade - rather than $443 for a HIE!!!
Boston in the summer is expensive. But it is really crazy around May/June when parents fly in to see their Harvard, MIT, etc. children graduate.
Ahhh I see never thought about that. Glad I was organised and got it booked early as the IC is now sold out on those dates - most likely with Harvard parents as you suggest!
Ames Boston Hotel in Hilton Curio Collection Hampton Boston Crosstown Boston Park Plaza Indeed, that was tempting. So was the Hampton Inn Cambridge until I realised I hadn't added on the tax. Damn the American system and adding on tax at the end. It's very annoying. Thank you. Found it for £72.44 on Travelbag and I couldn't turn that price down, especially being in the middle of Boston. I did find the Westin Copley Place for £102 on 7ideas.com, and it's more expensive on the Marriott website, so I could have tried to get the 25% off using BRG. But never having done it before, and wanting to get the hotel booked tonight, I didn't want to linger (Park Plaza price would have gone by tomorrow, only a couple of rooms left) I also considered the Courtyard Downtown as you suggested earlier but I'd rather save my Starwood points for something bigger. Club1 was the only loyalty program on Inside Flyer that I *haven't* signed up for. Fortunately Travelbag matched that price! Yes, the regions were confusing. I had to check where the likes of Burlington, Waltham, Peabody and Andover were because they had some good prices... sadly nowhere near Boston, or on the 'T' line. Thanks for everyone's help!
Yeah prices in Boston can be absolutely insane these day. Obviously $325 per night is still expensive (generally too rich for me anyway!) but as you say, it's relatively good value once you factor Club access etc. The Intercon is great and in a wonderful location too. I would highly recommend getting the shuttle from the airport down to where you can get the boat across (it stops 30 secs from the Intercon). The whole thing doesn't take very long, costs about $5, and is one of my favourite memories or arriving anywhere - it was an absolutely stunningly beautiful sunny day though.
Pleasure- glad you got it sorted! I'm interested to hear what the Park Plaza is like anyway actually - rates are often quite reasonable even when other hotels have silly prices, so as long as it's at least 'ok' then that'd be really good to know.
It was $325/night or stay well out of town - as we're only there for a few days (I decided to add on a short hop to Washington DC where prices were more reasonable) I don't want the hassle of having to spend nearly an hour getting back into the centre. That's a great shout about the boat - my fiancé loves boats so any opportunity to incorporate a boat into a trip is welcome (currently writing this from his family's boat in Norfolk). That might get me some brownie points back after forcing him to "endure" economy for MAN-BOS...
I'm in Peabody Essex Museum in Salem right now. Outside it is -11! I cannot recommend Hampton Inn Boston Crosstown. The air con is very noisy and automatically turns on every ten minutes to blow a cold blast of air over my bed. I couldn't turn it off and had a sleepless night (and the engineer who was supposed to come at 4am never turned up). I have complained to the manager. Hopefully get some points for that. I had a lovely night's sleep at the Ames Hilton Hotel and they gave me an upgrade.(no such luck at the Hampton).
Oh no that's rubbish! I always dread any issues in the hotels as since I book all our travel - obviously it's MY fault if there are any issues (at least in my finacé's opinion!) Hopefully the weather will be a little warmer in May...
I was going to do the Salem Witch Walk but it's too cold, plus it's 2.5 hrs until the next train back to Boston. Besides, I've done enough guided tours today! Useful tips: The Silver Line Airport station offers free travel into the city (only that station). Get a Charlie Card for lowest prices on the Metro (like Oyster cards on the Tube). Every MBTA train carriage has free wifi.
New York Newark to Manchester: UK immigration 45 minutes. Boston to Dublin: Irish immigration 10 seconds. I love Dublin Airport. Everything is such a breeze there.
Yeah, boats are great (don't tell anyone round here, but I think I prefer them to planes!). There's a free shuttle from the airport and then you ring a boat using a phone they've got by the quayside if there isn't one already there. It seems to be $12 these days which is more expensive than I thought, but still decent value and definitely a fun way to arrive: http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/water-taxi-from-logan-airport.html
It was things being in different places that drew my attention in the first place. Then I saw the leaflet. Also, bits of the plastic inside the case have broken off. Not bothered about that as this case is on its last legs anyway. More annoyed than anything else. Everything else seems present and correct though. As regards getting into Dublin this morning, wonderful. The aforementioned 10 second immigration followed by a free shuttle to Hilton Dublin Airport at 6:15am. They gave me a room straight away so I could get some sleep, and booked me in on the afternoon shuttle (also free). Apparently the shuttle is free from the airport to the hotel, and free for Diamond members going from the hotel to the airport. Relaxing, easy, and no stress.
Another handy tip for you. Aer Club members (of ANY tier, including the bottom one) get to board with business class passengers, before everyone else. I was surprised at that when I boarded in Boston. I thought the caller at the gate had made a mistake, but she confirmed it's true! So, if you register for an Aer Club account now, you've got a free perk!
Good to hear- lack of hassle makes such a difference after an overnight flight. I really hate having to deal with the nonsense that you can sometimes encounter when I'm knackered. Great tip re Aer Club!
It only happened on the Boston flights and not my flight to Manchester this afternoon, which was just ofr the higher tiers of Aer Club. Long haul only? By the way, I wish Aer Lingus wouldn't move its operations from T1 to T3. There is no proper domestic arrivals facility in T1, so we all have to get on two buses and go round the back of the terminal. It wastes time.
Surprised to find that my one night stay at the Ames Hotel (using a free night certificate) has netted me 8,380 points!
