Accommodation near MBTA station query

[pwormald]

Apologies for the unusual query! A couple of engineers from UK and Australia are planning a visit in the Boston area in October.

We are struggling to find decent price accommodation within walking distance of an MBTA station which has a good train service.

I stayed in Motel 6 at Braintree last time but for some reason that one only has crazy prices this time around double the price of all other Motel 6 we can find, but near a station. We won't have a car so planning is difficult

If anyone can think of a motel close to a station we would be grateful and we can check things out

Many thanks for any help, much appreciated

[deathtopumpkins]

If you want to be near a subway station, you're probably out of luck. A friend of mine always make it a point to stay at the LaQuinta near Assembly, but if the Motel 6 is out of your budget I fear that would be as well.

I assume all of the hotels in the city proper are too expensive?

Have you tried the airport hotels?

Are you open to the idea of venturing out into commuter rail land? You might have more luck in towns along 128, but I'm not sure if any would actually be safe walking distance from a station (though they might have a shuttle).

[pwormald]

Thanks, yes it's an MBTA station we after, so out of town is exactly what we want...

The airport hotels would certainly be way over budget, to put a figure on it anything up to $100 a night is what we are looking at

Thank you

[jwhite07]

Not knowing your price point (and Motel 6 doesn't share online what they charge), the cheapest place I could think of that has good access to public transit is the Hotel Indigo next to Riverside Station on the Green Line in Newton. $149/night according to the internet. There are Holiday Inns on Beacon Street at Coolidge Corner (Green Line) and in Somerville near Sullivan Square (Orange Line) that are a little pricier, but not a lot. Downtown, pretty much fuhgetaboutit. Boston is simply an expensive place to stay.

You could potentially go further into the suburbs but both the headways and proximity of hotels to public transit tend to increase quite steeply.

[StefanW]

I thought there was a way to turn on the Transit map layer when using the Google hotel browser, but I guess not.

This Google search shows only one that's close to $100, but it's still a 25 minute walk to the Anderson Commuter Rail station.

Hopefully if you can browse that Google hotel tool around MBTA service areas you might find something.

[pwormald]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, about the best one so far is at Brockton, this is the sort of place we are after
Loads of bus stops on road but planner don't show much so far
https://goo.gl/maps/ctGAsm4oZ1w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://goo.gl/maps/Am6EhqvMU2A2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BandA]

Brockton is kind of far from Boston. Also, you mentioned Anderson -- that's in Woburn. I think you want to be near red/green/orange/blue rather than isolated on a Commuter Rail schedule. Unless you are fine with going in in the morning and coming out in the evening and that's it.

Let's face it, Boston is expensive for hotels and for parking. You may have to adjust your expectations, or look harder. I've been told that some of the fancy expensive/boutique hotels in Boston (like $300+) are worth it compared to a $150 generic dumpy room in the suburbs, and better experience than even more expensive hotels in say NYC. Course I am telling this second hand since I don't have the budget for that myself!

Midtown motel, a "2-star" on Huntington Ave is showing $159. Never stayed there, so I can't vouch for condition, but that is near Copley Square.

[pwormald]

Quite happy to come in on the Commuter Rail each morning and head back that evening. No problem with that

[rethcir]

Brockton is not a great base to visit Boston and not a touristy place. You will not enjoy bus travel there.

You need to be realistic here. 100 is too low for Boston. If you can double that to 200-250 you will start to find some good places to stay where you won't have to waste your precious time as well as lots of money on transit to and from your destinations.

Maybe you should check out Hostelling International.

[Fred Rabin]

Check the Trivago website. They sometimes post rates significantly lower than than the "official" rate. Including some in Boston.

[pwormald]

I use Trivago often I just don't understand why Boston area so expensive, I'll probably make another trip from UK - Poland then, good Accor hotels there for around $15-20 a night! I wanted to come and ride those HSP46's as I love GE sounds!

[njtmnrrbuff]

Brockton is not a safe city to stay and visit. The Transit options are limited. In Newton, you have many options near the Riverside terminus of the Green Line. You might find a few hotels in Quincy near the Red Line and some of the commuter rail stops.

[pwormald]

Ok. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

[TomNelligan]

I just don't understand why Boston area so expensive,

Unfortunately for visitors on a budget, Boston is a very popular city for both tourists and business travelers, thus hotels tend to be quite expensive. October is still a busy tourist month because of the autumn foliage in New England. Even the budget motels like Motel 6 and Super 8 will be in the $150 range in and near the city. Perhaps you should consider youth hostels or an Airbnb private residence.

[BandA]

October is the peak of tourism in New England due to fall foliage, which depending on the year and area peaks about Columbus Day or a little before. Conway Scenic Railroad viewtopic.php?f=126&t=90306 in New Hampshire (need a car to get to) and others have good leaf peeping if you are into that. Foliage timing/quality varies from year to year and is earlier in the north and higher elevations (although swamps also turn early).