<p>I visited MIT too and stayed in Boston. I went everywhere in my 3.5 day visit. I visited MIT twice, visited Harvard Square/Harvard (for kicks), went to almost every big historical site (Freedom Trail FTW! :D), excellent shops (Copley Place, Prudential Center, etc), and rode the subway everywhere.</p>
<p>I think what your son wants to do on campus is great. As for places to eat, you should definitely check out Quincy Market in Boston. It’s a few stops away from the Kendall station. One thing you will find is that you can go ANYWHERE via the subway in minutes. The subway system is also incredibly easy to navigate. I could go on and on. Send me a message if you want to know more because even I am surprised by how much I was able to see and do (all of which was through walking or public transportation – no car).</p>
<p>^^^ Boston is also a pretty small city, so be sure to check to see where things are before you get on the T - a lot of the time you can just walk from place to place. Chinatown, for instance, is a super short walk from Park Street but requires going out of your way and transferring to the Orange Line if you’re coming from MIT, so it’s definitely worth walking there rather than taking the T.</p>
<p>There’s a Holiday Inn in Cambridge, northeast of campus, that I usually find has lower rates than most of the hotels in Boston. It’s within walking distance of the Lechmere Green Line stop, for easy connection to other things in Boston, as well as the Cambridgeside Galleria mall, which has a frequent shuttle that runs to Kendall Station and campus.</p>
<p>I, also, used to be a morning person until I went to MIT. There I learned that freshman had physics lecture at 9:00 am while the upperclassmen had their first classes of the day typicially at the more genteel time of 10:00am.</p>
<p>I played varsity hockey and the coach wanted us to get back in shape after Christmas break. So, he called for two a day practices. The first practice was to be at 6:00am. One player responded; “Hey coach, isn’t that awful late for us to be staying up?”.</p>
<p>I found that the Kendall Hotel is convenient. It’s next to the T station and close to MIT main buildings on the East Campus side. It serves complementary continental breakfast. It also gave me one complemetary ticket for lunch. The rate is not high. Although the hotel has no affiliation with MIT, when I booked I called the hotel to ask for special rate for MIT events and the hotel manager gave me some discount lower than the on-line rate.</p>
<p>CW,
Thanks. I’ll call them. Le Meridien offered no MIT discount rate. Someone mentioned the location isn’t much, tho near MIT. The Marlowe has best price for the rate, but I’d rather not stay by the Galleria.</p>
<p>I suspect a lot of parents who never have seen MIT will be interested in hotel news, after tomorrow.</p>
<p>When I was looking for hotels for room blocks for my wedding, I also liked the Harvard Square Hotel – it was a little less expensive than most hotels in Cambridge, although I’m sure they raise the rates for useful Harvard/MIT hotel-booking times like orientation and parents’ weekend. </p>
<p>Our experience with the Kendall was the same as coolweather’s. It was very convenient, offered a good breakfast and another free meal. The original part of the hotel was a fire station and the decor of the hotel is part fire-related, part colonial. It was a great choice. Making the reservation by phone saved us money as well. </p>
<p>The MIT bookstore and Legal Seafood Restaurant were across the street from the hotel.</p>