MA Boston Cambridge Hotel Marlowe

[Travlin1]

Last summer (August '06), my teenage children and I stayed at the elegant Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge (Boston). The hotel is part of an exclusive chain of boutique hotels, which even has its own wine label. The hotel offers complimentary wine-tasting every evening in its intimate "living room" on the first floor, and complimentary coffee and tea every morning. The hotel is on a canal which flows into the nearby river, and leisurely boat rides are available a few steps from the hotel. Guests can walk through an underground garage to the CambridgeSide mall, where an upscale food court offers numerous choices for a quick meal. The hotel, which is surrounded by small but lovely gardens, features a well-regarded but expensive restaurant, and there is an excellent Italian restaurant next door.

Although the hotel clearly caters to a mature and monied clientele, my children and I found it comfortable and cozy.

The rooms, like the common areas, are exquisite. The faux leopard comforters, though, are startling if you aren't expecting them. The beds are wonderfully comfortable. Nightly turn-down service is provided, as is complimentary use of the Internet in the business section of the hotel. The staff - mostly bright young college students - are friendly and helpful.

For a fee, the hotel will cater to your pampered pet, even providing special meals and doggy treats, and walking your dog for you. The pets can stay with you in special rooms. Although I saw a well-behaved dog or two, I never heard so much as a single bark.

The hotel is quite a distance from Harvard and MIT, but is in a nice area of Cambridge. (The area around the MIT campus is rather rough.) The only disadvantage to its location is that it is not as close as it might be to downtown locations.

We followed the advice universally given to tourists: don't try to drive in Boston. We thus did not rent a car. After arriving by plane, we unwisely attempted to travel from the airport to the hotel by mass transit, and discovered that such travel involved a bus and a subway transfer, followed by a walk of 4 or 5 blocks ... quite warm in August when you have luggage (even rolling luggage) with you. The taxi ride for which we opted for our return to the airport was $25, and well worth it.

There is a large and impressive science center across the street from the hotel. If you are going on a "Duck tour" (and you should, as it's great fun for adults and children alike) on one of the city's famed WWII-surplus amphibious vehicles, you can conveniently pick up a Duck at the science center.

The Hotel Marlowe is lovely and I wholeheartedly recommend it.