PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

Hotel Marlowe reminds me of Cambridge as a whole -- it's fun and funky, but serious when it needs to be. The hotel opened in 2003 in a new eight-story building adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria mall, around the corner from the Museum of Science -- a great location for families. It offers abundant amenities for both business and leisure travelers. The good-size guest rooms are elegantly decorated, with quirky-boutique-hotel touches like leopard-print carpeting and a faux-fur throw across the foot of the bed. They're big enough to hold a work desk and an armchair. Rooms have down comforters and three phones (one in the bathroom), and suites have spa tubs. Views are of the river (across the busy boulevard), a small canal, or the landscaped courtyard/driveway that shields the lobby from the street. The hotel is part of the detail-oriented Kimpton chain, best known for the beloved Hotel Monaco brand. The closest competitor is the Royal Sonesta Hotel , across the street, which has a pool and health club, better river views, and correspondingly higher prices.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Boston 2008, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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