Given the number of colleges in Boston, I thought I would be proactive and book a hotel for move-in ahead of time. Can anyone recommend what has worked for them in the past. I note the Revere Hotel is within walking distance of the hotel but the parking fees are really high. Does the school have a partnership with any local hotels that may offer a discounted rate?
I expect we need to stay about two nights for move-in and parent orientation.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
Air bnb and Bed & Breakfast places may be a romantic interlude. There will be plenty of “down time” when your child is off making new friends during move-in.
You can always visit a school’s website to see if they have any discounts with local hotels. Beyond that you can check the usual hotel websites, triple A, etc. You can stay further out as well. Both Waltham and Newton have many hotel options. You do want to stay in a place with secure parking.
Hi there is a Facebook group for Emerson parents called Emerson College Parent Programs. Everyone is very helpful so join and post your questions there. I’m sure everyone will have suggestions on where to stay for move in. We have stayed at the Revere and it is a nice hotel however we did not have a car. Congratulations to your student!
Hi Justwell. Thank you for that info. I did not realize that.
Second the recommendation to check out the Emerson Parent page on FB. Super friendly, helpful, active group. My daughter is a rising sophomore and it has been a life saver for pertinent information over and over again. Because my daughter is a theater student, we have made a number of trips to Emerson beyond move-in and move-out and Revere Hotel is our favorite for comfort and convenience. We stayed there during move-in last year. I wasn’t able to get a room there at move out and I had Marriot points to use, so I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott. Also very convenient, but they do off-site parking so I guess the risk is a little bit higher for parking a car full of stuff. Hard to beat the Revere for that. With that said, everything went fine at both places. Best of luck to your family @lia_b Please let me know if I can answer any questions or be helpful to you in any way! Welcome!
We saved a bundle of cash when our daughter moved into Boston University by NOT renting a car, ordering most things ahead at Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon, and then using Uber to take one trip to Target. Would strongly recommend against a car in Boston. When movein time came, we rented a Greyline airport shuttle van - I think they charged us $40 to load up the van with her stuff, drive her the 2 miles to campus, and unload it. We left the other parents in the dust -= easy peasy. The other thing we did is rent a condo through VRBO - that way, we could wash everything and take off packaging, etc before move in. Much easier!!! Tip: pack your bedding “bottom up” in a big garbage bag (e.g. pillows on bottom, mattress pad on top). It is infinitely easier in a tight room to unpack your bed completely first, and then pile your other stuff on top while unpacking. You’ll be surprised how much smaller the rest of your stuff looks when all the bedding stuff is on - it’s bulky!
Hi Shoot4moon. Thank you for all the good tips. @ Kelly, I have joined the FB page and find that the parent page is very active with lots of helpful info. Much better than the FB page at D1’s school. We are driving distance (3hours) from Boston so we will pack our car and drive up. I did find Emerson had discounts at hotels like the Hilton double tree and Park Plaza but I guess they fill up fast. We did get a good rate at the Hilton but parking is a huge fee. I hope one day to get a good rate at the Revere. If we come up for fall parent’s weekend, we might just take the Amtrak and not worry about the parking.