Forums >Racing>Boston Marathon: if I get in, where do I want to stay?
Intro: I entered with the 'sea of humanity' this week. Won't know until 9/28 if I got in. Fingers crossed. I am a seasoned traveling marathoner who knows how one normally figures out the right hotels. On top of that, I get that searching for "boston marathon hotel" brings up all kinds of threads on all kinds of message boards about where one should stay for Boston.
And yet. Here I am starting up a comet topic.
Why not.
So, er, where do I want to stay for the Boston Marathon?
Guidelines:
1. I'm not really down with the b-and-b scene. No thanks. Hotels, please.
2. I will pay a little extra for convenience to the expo and/or the whatever-shuttles we use to get to the start area way-too-early.
2a. A *little* extra. I'm not expecting pampered hoidy toidy, I do expect gouging. None of that $350/night stuff, but I also know $100/night isn't happening.
3. I will not have a car. It's Boston, and I'm not a good driver anyway. Therefore: I'm not an idiot - no car.
Hayulp!
Well I go the craigslist route -- I found a perfect room to rent years ago, and always stay there. $50/night, right on the Red Line, cool people. But it sounds like that's not what you're after.
The one thing I'd offer is that convenient to expo is not necessarily the same as close. You want to be near a T station, preferably Red Line. If you want to stay downtown you'll definitely pay a premium.
And yeah, you definitely wouldn't want a car.
You don't want to be anywhere near the Green Line after the race!
And oh btw.
I did register for Boston 2012.
Twice.
Shut up.
It's Boston, and I'm not a good driver
Prince of Fatness
Irony?
Not at it at all.
Kind of liberating actually.
Hell, maybe I'll join the swamp next.
This will be my first Boston. I am looking at places through www.airbnb.com. I used them a couple times when I wanted to stay in town for the Philadelphia marathon and they worked out great. Plus my wife and 2 year old son will be coming to the race, I can imagine all of us in one hotel room the night before with me up pacing or tying to sleep might be tough. So I am trying to get a place with multiple rooms.
Oh roo roooo!
Two years ago, my brother and I stayed at The Inn at Longwood, which is a Best Western in the Longwood Medical area. We were like 2 blocks from a T station, so it worked out very well for us. I believe we paid $160-170 a night, no bargain but also not the huge ripoff of the downtown places. There was a Dunkin' Donuts out the back door for race morning coffee and we were a few blocks from the park system ("Emerald Necklace") for running/walking, which was really beautiful.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but it's a suggestion.
There was a Dunkin' Donuts out the back door for race morning coffee
This accurately describes every Boston hotel. America runs on Dunkin.
Yes, this is what my bro told me also...I guess I am living in my own private Idaho, as I didn't know!
Are we there yet?
Sheraton
The Northeast does.
The rest of America is puzzled by the Northeast's fascination with Dunkn Donuts coffee.
It's just coffee. It's not even particularly great coffee.
The Expo is at the World Trade Center in the Seaport district next year, not at the Hines. Keep that in mind.
Cambridge might be a good spot--Kendall Square area. You can take the red line to south station for the expo, then on race day take the red line to park street and connect to the green line to copley to get the BAA bus. The other option is you could actually walk from Copley back to Kendall if you were feeling spry after the race--it's not that far.
I'm thinking anything in Copley will be well over $350 a night on that particular weekend. But I could be wrong--I've never stayed in a Boston hotel that weekend.
Runners run