<p>Planning a college visit to BU and NEU third week in March; hate driving in Boston...</p>
<p>Where is the best place to stay? on which subway line?</p>
<p>We are Marriott points hogs if anyone knows of a Marriott, Courtyard, etc that we can use points, that would be peachy......</p>
<p>BU and NEU are on different branches of the Green Line:</p>
<p>[MBTA</a> Subway 'The ‘T’ > Maps, Schedules, and Fare Information for the Boston Area Subway System](<a href=“Subway | Schedules & Maps | MBTA”>Subway | Schedules & Maps | MBTA)</p>
<p>There is a Marriott hotel in Copley Square, in Boston, another one in Kendall Square/MIT in Cambridge (close to the Red Line).
There’s a Marriott Courtyard in Waltham, which is probably a lot cheaper, but it’s 6 miles from the Green Line subway station (I think it’s the end of the line).</p>
<p>The Marriott at Copley Place would be perfect. It’s within walking distance of Northeastern (or hop on a Green Line E train at Prudential right outside the hotel, and it’s just two stops away), and you’re a couple of blocks from the Copley stop where you can get a Green Line B train that will get you to BU very quickly.</p>
<p>^^thanks nightchef; that works…</p>
<p>The Courtyard in Cambridge is also (kinda) convenient, and usually less expensive than the Marriott. Not walkable to the T, but the Courtyard has a shuttle that will drop and pickup at Harvard Square red line.</p>
<p>Not sure if I’m too late to the party, but if none of those work, the Courtyard Boston Brookline, in Coolidge Corner, is right on the Green Line (C-train), a few blocks from Boston University’s ‘South Campus’ dorms, and a few underground stops from the Green Line (E-train) up Huntington Ave. to Northeastern.</p>
<p>rodney, a few months ago I asked for advice on a Boston trip – BU was more of a “driveby” for us, but this is the advice I got from Thumper1:</p>
<p>“I think your original post and trip plan sounds perfectly fine. I do think, however, that driving down Commonwealth Ave is NOT the way to see Boston University. I would agree that it’s worth the time to take the T (Green line) and walk the length of Comm Ave…and head to Bay State Road which is on the side of BU closer to the Charles River. I’m sorry, but I do not agree that BU has “no campus”. It’s an urban campus for sure…don’t expect to see the “college gates and a green”…but it has a nice defined central campus core that is great to see if your kid is interested in an urban college. My kid is a BU grad…PM me if you want more info.”</p>
<p>I have not yet gone on this trip, but take it for what it’s worth! You could search on my name and “Boston area visit” for the whole thread, though it doesn’t mention Northeastern.</p>
<p>We did this trip two years ago, my D’s Spring Break. Stayed at the Sheraton Prudential Center, right on the Green Line. Good thing, too, because constant blowing snow made the trip very unpleasant. Anyway, we toured/visited the campuses of Northeastern, BU and BC over the course of 3 days. The trip itself was unpleasant, but the location of the hotel was convenient for visiting those schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>Be advised that the Marriott Copley is right in the mall - it has an odd, sterile atmosphere. This is one of my least favorite hotels on the planet - it actually gives me the creeps. Because of the mall location, the security is not great as well - this is where the “BU Killer” murder took place last year.</p>
<p>If you want a Marriott, the Long Wharf is more pleasant, and really, they are about the same distance to the colleges you want to visit.</p>
<p>By the way, my daughter loved the BU campus and applied RD.</p>
<p>Marriott Long Wharf is on the waterfront at the other side of town, while Marriott Copley is right on Huntington Ave less than a mile from Northeastern and very easy to catch the Green Line from Copley to BU. For Marriott Long Wharf, you have to take the Blue Line to Government Center and change to Green Line, the transit time is probably 5-10 minutes walk/subway versus 20-25 minutes subway each way. Long Wharf is a much nicer hotel but the distance is definitely not the same.</p>
<p>Still, the distance is not that great. I would just take a cab to BU and Northeastern. The Long Wharf location is a few steps from Fanuiel Hall and the North End, and it would really give them a better feel for the city than Copley.</p>
<p>You know…the T is fabulous public transportation. If you are looking for something a little more “homey” try the John Jeffries house. It’s actually on the “other end” of the T…on the Red line…but it’s a neat bed and breakfast type of place. It’s at the end of Charles Street on Beacon Hill…almost across from Mass General Hospital. However, it’s quite easy to hop onto the T right there at the MGH stop (red line) and take it to hmmm…I can’t remember the stop…where you switch to the green line. The other option is to walk the length of Charles and then walk through the Public Garden to the other side and pick up the T there (easy to get to Northeastern that way).</p>
<p>PG, thanks for finding my old post. I still say…BU is an urban campus, but there are a lot of nice areas of that campus that you cannot see with a “driveby” on Commonwealth Ave. </p>
<p>I just got back from Boston (Oh…and I stayed at that “sterile” Marriott Copley Place and LOVED it…very comfortable…but a bit expensive). Drove on the Mass Pike past BU where I saw the new Student Village 2 which is complete. It looks great…wonderful views from that building and Student Village 1.</p>
<p>Thumper, I guess if you found the Marriott Copley “expensive,” than you wouldn’t notice that it is “sterile.”</p>
<p>I’ve liked the Marriott Copley fine, and I think you want to be able to get a sense of the BU NEU area… Hotel Commonwealth is very, very nice and right smack at BU…might be $$$ though.</p>
<p>I love the Hotel Commonwealth and stay there whenever I visit my D at BU…you can’t beat it for convenience! In my experience its not nearly as expensive during off-season, like now…prices go way up for parents weekend and move-in. The only downside is there’s no pay per view movies :)</p>
<p>On another note, Kimberly’s on Newbury is a great restaurant, as is Cafeteria.</p>
<p>
Ironically, given the suggestion of the Long Wharf as an alternative, one of the first news items I found when googling about this murder had this to say by way of defining the context for the crime:
Escort services do business in swanky hotels. This is reality. They don’t usually get killed, and neither does anybody else.</p>
<p>“quite easy to hop onto the T right there at the MGH stop (red line) and take it to hmmm…I can’t remember the stop…”</p>
<p>The stop is Charles/MGH and you again have to do one leg to Government Center and change to Green Line and get on B or D train to either BU or NEU.</p>
<p>Yes, Long Wharf has Faneuil Hall and North End but Copley has Newbury Street and Prudential Center. They are both nice in their own ways. And it is definitely an easy walk to NEU from Copley, but a little too long of a walk to BU from there but the subway is so easy for this. This is not true for Long Wharf so like you said a cab might be better from there.</p>
<p>The OP indicated a preference for a Marriott. I don’t like any of the Boston Marriott’s - I usually stay at the Boston Harbor Hotel. While this activity is obviously a problem in many hotels, the easy access to the hotel elevators at the Copley location would seem to make an even more attractive spot for illicit business.</p>
<p>As someone noted, there is a Courtyard in Brookline. It’s a new hotel in a very nice area that’s not suburban*. (I live around the corner.) It’s on the T. You can walk to BU.</p>
<p>*Brookline is surrounded on 3 sides by Boston and turned back 5 annexation attempts in the 19th C.</p>