Two Cambridge Center is indeed at MIT, not Harvard. It is right next to the Cambridge Marriott, a block from the Residence Inn, maybe two blocks from the Kendall, and if you could get any of those I would recommend them highly. It's not too far from the Sonesta, less than a mile. I think anything else you're looking at using public transportation rather than walking. (The Best Western Tria, despite being actually in Cambridge, is not very convenient because it's a long walk to the T, and it's at the far west end of Cambridge while MIT is at the east end.) Beacon Hill would be a good alternative. It would be a long walk from the Boxer, about a mile and a half, but a short walk to the T and a very short Red Line trip from there. Downtown/Faneuil or Theater District are also likely to be an easy trip because they have Red Line T stops. Brookline or Newton would be a bit of a pain, actually. I can't see doing that trip in 25 minutes, because the Green Line is slow out there and you have to change at Park St. But anyplace in Boston proper would be a quick taxi ride, since as thereuare noted the city is pretty small. Cambridge is typically a bit cheaper than the downtown Boston areas, but because the stock of rooms is so limited even a small conference can soak up availability and bump Cambridge prices. If you can save a bunch of money, you might try looking in the Quincy district. (This is not the area that used to be called 'Quincy Market' on Hotwire, but rather the southern suburb of Quincy.) That is a long Red Line trip, about a half hour, but it's easy and cheap. But I don't know much about the hotels in that area.