My wife Teres, after a great deal of inner argument, is flying to Boston for a Bon Jovi concert next week. Problem: she has never been there, has in fact never been to a large city on her own, and has no experience with mass transit. Generally she handles the research and once we leave the house, I handle all the actual interaction with people and such. But we couldn't afford for both of us to go.
Can anyone suggest a cheap-but-safe motel somewhere near either Logan or the TD BankNorth Garden Arena? She has the concert tickets and airfare handled but isn't sure what to expect once she arrives, and is hoping for maybe a hotel with shuttle service to both places. Can't be much, though.
Also, soothing reassurance would be appreciated.
[ July 13, 2008, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Boston is a cool city, but I have only passing experience with it. I can offer reassurances, at least about the city....it is very cool, and very safe as far as cities go.
Then again, she IS going to a Bon Jovi concert....
I hope she has a great time!
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
To echo Kwea, I can't help with directions, but I can reassure you that Boston is a nice place, and all the people I met were extremely friendly.
I hope your wife has a great time.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
I can't say there are any cheap hotels near the New Garden (the actual name is to long to type). There are the usual assortment of hotels (Best Westerns and the like) around the airport. The airport area isn't great, but as long as you are there or heading to the T, it should be fine for a weekend.
The T (subway) runs to the airport, both the Blue Line (which requires a shuttle bus to get to, but that is free) or the Silver Line, which can take you to the Red Line. The Silver Line picks up people at the terminal since it's an extended bus, but with it's own road and the like, so it's much faster, and convenient.
The Green and Orange Lines go right to the New Garden. If she stays at the airport, it's simple enough to take the Blue Line to the Green Line to the Garden. From the Green Line stop it's about 2 minutes walk (and there will likely be throngs of people going in the same direction). The Silver Line to Red Line to Green Line alternative route sounds more confusing, but shouldn't be too bad.
In fact, the MBTA (T) website is actually pretty good these days. You can type in two addresses and get directions on busses/subway from it. You can also get the latest fares (which are around 2 bucks one-way on the subway). Ignore the train "schedules". Generally on weekends they come every 20-30 minutes, but you can sometimes have back-to-back trains or 45-minute wait. The bus schedules are somewhat more reliable, but still aren't perfect. In any event, so long as you allot a little extra time, they both come frequently enough to be a great option to navigate this old-fashioned town.
I would only use taxis as a last resort. They aren't dangerous (though you get the typical crazy taxi driver driving habits) but they are very expensive. It seems like it's 20-30 bucks for a trip no matter where you are in town. Depending on when the concert ends though, Teres may need to avail herself this option, as the last busses/subway trains are at 12:30AM.
I know some other non-Bostonian Hatrackers have stayed in town before, they might have other, better hotel locations.
Oh, and if you'd like to email me, Chris, feel free. I don't mind being a phone contact/virtual tour guide, though recent family stuff may preclude me from actually being in town over the weekend. I can certainly give basic directions and the like. Also Myr and Syn and Senoj are all nice people in the area (and there are a few others I know I am forgetting) who I can personally vouch for. You may want to email them if they make their emails public in their profile.
-Bok
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
BTW, Use the "minimize time" option, not "minimize transfers" (the default) when doing trips from the airport to the garden. The MBTA planner gives you a really stupid itinerary otherwise.
Also, the T stop for the Garden is "North Station". NOT to be confused with "South Station". The TD Banknorth Garden is also NOT the "Public Garden", which while beautiful, and have the famous swan boats, will not have Bon Jovi. Most locals call it the "New Garden" since it sits adjacent to the site of the original Boston Garden (which is now a parking lot.
-Bok
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I'm working in the Boston area, and I don't live far from Boston.
Also, I am not sure if there are cheaper hostels around here. They are less expensive than hotel rooms, and I used one when I saw Dir en grey in California.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
Chris-
I don't have any better advice than Bok. Hotels will be expensive; if the concert goes later than midnight, don't plan on public transit (although there are night owl runs on many of the buses).
The cheapest hotel I could find with shuttle service to Logan airport was Comfort Inn & Suites, with single night rooms for about $140. That's better than the $250 most hotels in the city will charge, but it's certainly not Motel 6. It's also quite a distance from TD Banknorth Garden (I'm not local, so I have to write the whole name out), but they might have some sort of shuttle service. You could call to find out.
Good luck, and tell Teres to have a good time.
Posted by ambyr (Member # 7616) on :
Have you considered using Priceline? Though I don't know how good they are for last-minute trips.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
Senoj, they discontinued the Night Owl service a couple years back. They blamed lack of ridership, but that wasn't all that surprising since the service was terrible.
Most hotels around Logan itself will have airport shuttle service, and I'd imagine some sort of service to the T station. You'd have to call to make sure though.
-Bok
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Teresa finally found a $108 room in Winthrop, with a bus stop in front that goes to the nearest train station. She is now assembling her luggage, will be whatever she fit in her purse and a small bag as she doesn't plan to haul much around. And she'll probably be cabbing back to the motel, for safety's sake.
Thanks for the thoughts everyone, I'll post again when she gets closer and has more specific questions than her current ones, which are mostly "help, help..."
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
What is the train station? It could be either the commuter rail (which actually works out really well for Teres) or the Blue Line.
-Bok
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
She said it's the Blue Line, Orient Heights.
Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
I just got back into Cambridge from Nashville earlier today. It sounds like she's got everything figured out. I've always taken the silver line from the airport (because I live on the red line), but it shouldn't be any trouble finding a shuttle to the blue line. Nice price on the hotel.
There's a good chance they'll keep the trains running for the after-concert rush from the Garden. They always have a few more trains run after 12:30 when Sox games get out late. She'll have to call the hotel to get picked up from Orient Heights, though (that's my guess).
Hope everything goes smoothly for her.
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
Both the blue line and the silver line connect directly to the airport. I've taken the blue line to the airport, but never from the airport, but honestly I'm sure the two shuttles are pretty easy to find. The silver line drives around to all the terminals, and the airport stop on the blue line has you transfer to a shuttle that drives you around to all the terminals.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Teres went to Boston, had an amazing time at the concert, got back safely. Thanks to everyone, the info was very helpful.
She hasn't tried writing about this yet, but she did take lots of pics and I posted some on my Flickr account. The blurriness is mostly due to neither Jon or Teres staying still for very long Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
Glad everything went well. Nice pics.
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
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