“Didn't get a no-smoking room”
I don't like to ding hotels, but when you pay in full for a no-smoking room, that's what you should receive. When our family showed up in the room, it had the distinct smell of cigarette smoke, plus an ashtray with two sets of matches in it -- pretty solid signs that I hadn't gotten what we paid for.
Even if we had shown up at 11 p.m., we should have had a non-smoking room, but this was mid-afternoon. I called up the desk and asked for a true non-smoking room, and they said that the hotel was full and they didn't accommodate me. They didn't offer anything in the way of compensation or any token of apology, which you think would be standard operating procedure.
Other than that, it was an OK hotel.
It's a quasi-industrial area, but doesn't seem particularly dangerous. It's literally across the street from the Lechmere Station, which gives you a direct shot to downtown, the Museum of Fine Art, etc. The free parking only applies as long as you're a guest. Once check-out time arrives, you have to leave.
The free breakfast was decent...
It's a moderate walk to MIT, and a reasonable bus ride to Harvard.
As for smoking rooms, I think that if smokers were told they had to go to a smoking lounge, it might cut down their consumption and they'd live longer.
Area recommendations
The North End seemed to have a lot of character and nice restaurants, and if we'd had more time, we definitely would have dined there.
Getting around
There is a bus that goes down Cambridge Street to Harvard, but if you've got more than two or three people, you might as well just park at the campus for $12 per day.
I think you can buy Charlie cards for the T train, but you can also just load up your paper ticket. in advance. I would strongly recommend doing this if you're returning from someplace at night. We did this when going to the Museum of Fine Arts, which meant that we were able to dash onto a train (there were other folks who didn't have tickets whom the driver wouldn't let board).
Must see
The Museum of Fine Arts is one of the best museums in the country, and has some fantastic special exhibits, and on Wednesday nights, it's pay-what-you-like. There are a number of Green Line branches, and one of them takes you directly to the MFA. Fortunately, on the way back, you're likely to find a train that will take you directly to Lechmere.
As a Bostonian colleague of mine points out, the North End of Boston is a more authentic Italian neighborhood than New York's Little Italy.
Dining
Durgin-Park is supposedly this great old institution, but it isn't to die for. I liked the schrod, and the prime rib was decent, but the Yankee pot roast had lots of gravy and wasn't much. The Boston beans portion is rather small. The Indian pudding was a tasty dessert. Ordering most of the specialty items will set you back a bit.
I would recommend just going around the North End restaurants that you find on the Freedom Trail, and I'm sure that you'll find one that you like. There were a couple of ones that sold sweets where the lines went out the door.
