Explore Boston · Where to stay

Where to Stay

Pick the neighborhood first; the hotel follows.

Where should I stay?

Neighborhood	Vibe	Pros	Cons
Allston	Young, loud and well fed: rock clubs, cheap global kitchens and student apartments, with a few hotels out by the river and the Turnpike.	Live music, cheap and varied food until late, the B branch and 57 bus to Kenmore, and Charles River paths a walk north.	About 40 minutes to Downtown Crossing on a slow, stop-heavy Green Line, few hotels, hard night parking, and crowded, noisy main drags on weekends.
Back Bay	Polished brownstone Boston on a flat, alphabetical grid, with plenty of hotels, from grand old names on Copley Square to towers along Boylston.	An easy first-visit base: the Green and Orange Lines, Amtrak at Back Bay station, and the Public Garden, Newbury Street and river on foot.	Hotels tend to cost more than those farther out, street parking is scarce and often permit-only, and late-night character is thin.
Bay Village	Hushed 1820s brick, gas lamps and sunken gardens on a few residential lanes, with big hotels on its Stuart Street and Park Square edges.	Quiet streets five minutes from the Theater District, Boston Common and the Public Garden, with Chinatown, Back Bay and the South End close by.	The quiet lanes have no hotels, so you sleep on its busy edges; few shops or restaurants inside, and resident-only street parking.
Beacon Hill	Gas lamps, brick sidewalks and the State House dome; a quiet, steep, lived-in hill with one luxury hotel on Beacon Street and more a short walk away in the West End and Back Bay.	Postcard old Boston at your door, the Common and Public Garden below, Downtown about ten minutes on foot, and the Red Line at Charles/MGH.	Steep streets and uneven brick that punish rolling luggage, few rooms to choose from, resident-only street parking, and quiet evenings if you want nightlife.
Boston Harbor Islands	Islands in the harbor, not a neighborhood: no hotels, only seasonal tent sites and yurts on Peddocks Island, a ferry ride from Hingham.	A night on an island with the city on the horizon, quiet trails after the last day boat leaves, and Fort Andrews to explore.	Camping only, on set nights in a short season; reserve early, bring your own food, and plan every move around the ferry schedule.
Brighton	Settled and residential, with village squares, reservoir loops and triple-deckers, student pockets along Commonwealth Avenue, and only a few hotels.	Calmer than Allston, with the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for morning walks, pub dinners in Brighton Center and Oak Square, and Commuter Rail at Boston Landing.	A long way out: about 45 minutes on the slow B branch, sparse midday trains at Boston Landing, spread-out sights and little nightlife. No hotel in this book.
Cambridge	A separate city across the Charles, built around Harvard and MIT: busy squares on Massachusetts Avenue, bookshops, music clubs and university museums.	The Red Line reaches downtown in 6–15 minutes, Harvard Square and Kendall are walkable hubs, and evenings in Harvard and Central squares are lively.	Few hotels, and those fill at Commencement and in the fall; the Freedom Trail, the harbor and the ballpark are across the river; parking is scarce.
Charlestown	Steep residential streets of brick and clapboard rowhouses between the Monument and the Navy Yard, with only a few hotels near the water.	The Freedom Trail’s finale at your door, harbor views from the Navy Yard piers, quiet evenings, and a year-round 10-minute ferry to Long Wharf.	Few hotels, a steep climb to the Monument, resident-only side streets, and only a handful of neighborhood restaurants and bars, with little nightlife.
Chinatown	Dense, busy and working: dim sum halls, bakeries and groceries, with hotels and a hostel on its Theater District and Downtown edges.	Very central: five minutes to Downtown Crossing, the theaters and Boston Common, South Station close by, and good-value food late into the evening.	Few hotels in the core, narrow and crowded sidewalks, highway ramps and hospital buildings pressing in, and garages rather than street parking.
Dorchester	Boston’s biggest neighborhood, a string of village squares and triple-deckers, with one hotel in this book, a DoubleTree at Columbia Point by JFK/UMass station.	Red Line stops 10 to 20 minutes from Downtown Crossing, the JFK Library and Harborwalk, Vietnamese food in Fields Corner, and easier parking than downtown.	No single center, so you ride between squares; the one hotel sits by the expressway, and the Freedom Trail sights are a train ride away.
Downtown	Colonial landmarks wedged between office towers, at the hub of every subway line, with plenty of hotels, old and new.	Every subway line meets here, more than half the Freedom Trail’s stops are nearby, and the North End and waterfront are within a 15-minute walk.	Weekday commuter crush, Financial District blocks that go quiet on nights and weekends, crowds at Faneuil Hall, and pricey garages rather than street parking.
East Boston	Working, residential and multilingual, with triple-deckers, taquerias and harbor parks facing the skyline, plus a cluster of airport hotels by Logan.	Logan is in the neighborhood, the Blue Line reaches Aquarium in minutes, and Piers Park gives you the whole skyline with your morning coffee.	Planes overhead, airport hotels set apart from the neighborhood squares, resident-permit streets, harbor-tunnel traffic for drivers, and few classic sights.
Fenway–Kenmore	Ballpark, art museums and Olmsted’s Fens in a few blocks, with a good spread of hotels near Kenmore Square and Fenway Park.	Walk to a Red Sox game, the MFA and the Gardner; ride three Green Line branches from Kenmore; run the Fens in the morning.	Game and concert nights pack sidewalks, bars and trains, Kenmore Square stays loud late, and event days bring resident-only parking rules.
Hyde Park	Boston’s southernmost corner: a small-town square, woods, a river and single-family streets, with almost no hotels to speak of.	Stony Brook woods and the Neponset River path, easier parking than central Boston, and weekday trains reaching Back Bay in about 13 minutes.	Hardly any places to stay, trains on a schedule rather than a subway, 40 minutes or more by Orange Line and bus, and quiet evenings. No hotel in this book.
Jamaica Plain	Green, easygoing and local: Jamaica Pond, the Arboretum and Centre Street’s cafés and pubs, with almost no hotels in the neighborhood.	Morning laps of Jamaica Pond, the Arnold Arboretum nearby, good neighborhood dinners on Centre Street, and the Orange Line about 15 minutes from Downtown Crossing.	Very few places to stay, the classic sights a train ride away, Centre Street a walk from the Orange Line, and tight weekend street parking. No hotel in this book.
Leather District	Nine quiet blocks of brick-and-cast-iron lofts beside South Station, with almost no hotels inside but plenty within a 10-minute walk.	South Station at the corner for the Red Line, Silver Line to Logan, Commuter Rail and Amtrak, with Chinatown, the Greenway and Seaport museums nearby.	Hardly any rooms within the district itself, busy highway-ramp traffic along its edges, few street meters, and far fewer restaurants than Chinatown next door. No hotel in this book.
Longwood	A campus city of hospitals, brisk on weekdays and quiet on weekends, with a hotel or two geared to patients and their families.	The practical pick for hospital visits, with the Gardner and the MFA a short walk away and the E branch stopping at the hospital doors.	Few places for a long dinner, almost no street parking, E branch stops without elevators, and about 25 minutes by T to Downtown Crossing.
Mattapan	Quiet streets of family houses around Mattapan Square and Blue Hill Avenue’s Caribbean kitchens; better as a half-day trip than a base.	The 1940s trolley, Neponset River trails and the Boston Nature Center close by, good Caribbean takeout, and easier street parking than most of Boston.	No hotels to speak of, about 35 minutes to Downtown Crossing by Red Line and trolley, little nightlife, and the famous sights across town. No hotel in this book.
Mission Hill	A steep, church-crowned hill of triple-deckers and brick rowhouses shared by students, hospital staff and families, with almost no hotels of its own.	Skyline views up top, casual pubs at Brigham Circle, the MFA and Gardner nearby, and the Orange Line about 15 minutes from Downtown Crossing.	Hardly any hotels, steep streets that are hard going with luggage, scarce parking, and no long restaurant row or shopping street. No hotel in this book.
North End	Boston’s Italian quarter: narrow brick streets, church bells and espresso, with only a few places to stay, the largest on the waterfront.	Freedom Trail stops on your doorstep, Italian dinners and pastry steps away, the Harborwalk close by, and Downtown 15 minutes on foot.	Loud, crowded weekend nights on Hanover Street, narrow sidewalks that are tight for luggage, resident-permit parking almost everywhere, and few hotel rooms.
Roslindale	A railroad-era village square ringed by leafy residential hills; bakeries and a Saturday market, but hardly a hotel in sight.	A walkable square with station, library and bakery minutes apart, Peters Hill’s skyline view nearby, and South Station about 17 minutes by train.	Almost no hotels, few weekend trains, about 35 minutes downtown by Orange Line and bus, little nightlife, and no museums. No hotel in this book.
Roxbury	The heart of Black culture in Boston, with colonial houses on its hills, Nubian Square and Franklin Park, and only a few hotels.	History most visitors miss, Franklin Park and its zoo, easier parking than downtown, and the Orange Line about ten minutes from Downtown Crossing.	Few hotels, sights spread over steep hills with limited visiting days, and a train or bus ride to the Freedom Trail and waterfront.
Seaport District	Glass towers, wide sidewalks and harbor views, polished and modern, with plenty of newer hotels around Fan Pier and the convention center.	Flat, wide sidewalks good for strollers and luggage, the Harborwalk and ICA nearby, plenty of garages, and the SL1 straight to Logan with no transfer.	Corporate on weekdays, little old Boston outside Fort Point, convention weeks that fill rooms, Silver Line buses instead of a subway, and winter wind.
South Boston	Southie: triple-deckers, corner pubs and Broadway up top, beaches and Castle Island below, with only a few hotels, near Broadway station.	A long public shoreline for beach walks, pubs and neighborhood restaurants on Broadway, and the Red Line about five minutes from Downtown Crossing.	Few hotels, Castle Island and the beaches a bus ride from the Red Line, tight resident-permit streets, and St. Patrick’s parade crowds in March. No hotel in this book.
South End	Leafy Victorian bowfronts around fenced garden squares, restaurants on Tremont and Washington, and only a handful of small hotels.	Strong dinner and brunch streets, pretty blocks to wander, Back Bay a short walk away, and the Orange or Silver Line about ten minutes downtown.	Few hotel rooms, a long neighborhood to cross, permit-only side streets, meters that fill on weekend nights, and long brunch waits without a reservation.
West End	Modern towers, hospitals and an arena where an old neighborhood once stood, with several hotels clustered around North Station and Mass General.	Flat streets, four T stations, TD Garden and the Museum of Science on foot, and Beacon Hill and the North End a short walk away.	Wide roads and slow crossings at Leverett and Charles circles, little old-Boston charm, and packed platforms and vanishing curbside parking on game and concert nights.
West Roxbury	Boston at its most suburban: single-family homes, one long main street, parkland by the Charles, and almost nowhere to stay.	Easy parking by Boston standards, Millennium Park and the Stony Brook woods, pub dinners on Centre Street, and quiet nights.	Almost no hotels, about 40 minutes downtown by Orange Line and bus, weekend trains hours apart, and spread-out sights best reached by car or bike. No hotel in this book.
Wharf District	The downtown harbor edge of wharves, ferries and Greenway lawns, with several hotels, including big ones on Long Wharf and Rowes Wharf.	Harbor views, the Aquarium and Harborwalk at the door, most harbor ferries including the Harbor Islands boat, and Faneuil Hall five minutes away.	Summer crowds at the Aquarium and Long Wharf, waits at waterfront restaurants, a serious harbor wind in winter, and costly garages rather than street parking.

The hotels in this book

Every hotel is numbered in book order and has its full listing in its neighborhood chapter; those in central Boston are also on the hotels map that follows.