Urban Safari: Staycation at the Seaport

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Last year at this time, when the nation was in the final chapter of the Covid epidemic, we staycationed at the Loews Boston in the Back Bay. The city was quiet and the hotel was spacious (made ever more so by the presence of so few guests). We highly enjoyed it though, because as residents of Boston we hardly ever get to “see” Boston the way the yearly 20 million+ visitors do (because they are always standing in front of the things we ourselves want to stand in front of).

We staycationed again this year; the weather, the air travel mess, the still-present threat of COVID, the seasonal flu, and the “what the…?” RSV made it easy to decide to spend our time in town.

Seaport

For this year’s staycation, instead of staying in the Back Bay, we chose the new-ish neighborhood of the waterfront Seaport District for our home-away-not-too-far-from-home base, and chose to stay at The Envoy Hotel.

Boston’s dock area had been disused for decades—fishing had dwindled and cargo ships got bigger—and so had basically sorta been abandoned. For a long time the area consisted of derelict piers, empty warehouses, and parking lots. After the the Big Dig was finally, uh, dug, and the Boston Harbor cleanup was, uh, cleaned, developers began revitalizing the waterfront and “The Seaport district” was born.

The best part about the controlled development (meaning: the city laid down the law, more or less, on the what/where/how things could be built) has been the public’s right to access waterfront areas. No business or residence is allowed to obstruct the continuous path that starts at the courthouse and goes all the way to he the Leader Bank Pavilion. The literal front of the water was considered an asset held in the public trust for the enjoyment of all Massachusetts residents, not just those wealthy enough to own property down by the water.

WWW – Weird Weather for Winter

A huge (HUGE) swath of middle of the country was experiencing severe winter weather during our staycation, but Boston was the beneficiary of the warmth swept up from the south by the same gulf stream that brought the cold down from the north.

One such consequence were the spectacular sunsets.

One of the benefits of staying in the Seaport is that many of the other neighborhoods—Chinatown, North End, Financial District—are within a 15-minute walk. A walk, I tell you! No vehicles of any kind required.

The Envoy – a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel

Public transit—a.k.a. “the T”—is our convoy of choice for getting around Boston, and we always use it when available. The Envoy has valet parking onsite, but getting to the hotel was a short walk from both Downtown Crossing (Orange/Red lines) or South Station (Red line, south-bound commuter/Amtrak trains) stations, so we opted for that instead.

Our home for five nights

Knowing that we would be at The Envoy for six days, we called ahead for a “quiet” room away from the noise of New Year’s Eve. The front desk was happy to accommodate. Check-in was around 3 p.m., but when we called at 10 a.m., they said the room was ready and we could come by anytime. Nice!

The particulars

• The bed was lovely: terrific mattress, lots of pillows, excellent sheets, light but warm duvet, great for watching tv from after a day of wandering the city;
• The lounge chair and foot rest were very modern, and nice for gazing out the window;
• The bathroom offered a stationary rain shower-head as well as a handheld version, and glass partitions/doors;
• The vanity and mirror were large and the amenities high-quality (hair dryer, body wash, travel kits, etc.)

Ok – the Coffee Maker

The  disappointing aspect of our time at The Envoy was the coffee-maker: made specifically for an Italian brand known for its espresso, the disposable cups provided were far too large for the amount of coffee the individual pods (espresso and regular) dispensed. Perhaps, generally speaking, coffee is consumed in smaller amounts but more often in Italy, but it was a frustration and an annoyance that I couldn’t get a decent, standard cup of coffee in the morning from the device allotted (and without leaving the room). The breakfast coffee in the restaurant was excellent, though.

Food & Festivities

Fabulous food is everywhere down at the Seaport, but the North End (Italian) and Chinatown (Chinese) (duh) were a quick walk, and we took advantage of both.

Our North End Dinner

Oh…mye gawd.

Our dinner at Ristorante Lucia on Hanover Street was hands down fantastic. The location, the menu, the bar man, the cocktails, the server, the food—excellent in every way. You wouldn’t think a PoP (Plate o’ Pasta) would transport one so, but oh, you would be so, so wrong. Great ambiance, the hostess handled the crowd with professionalism and dexterity, the place was lovely and busy and wonderful in every way.

Final Thoughts

A staycation is a low-stress way of maximizing vacation time and vacation money, especially if you already live in a place that has a lot to offer.

The trick to making it feel like a getaway is to:

• stay at a hotel,
• eat out, and
• use public transport and your own locomotion to get around.

Final Note: because you are saving a ton of money by not needing airfare, tip the hotel staff really well.