Travel Managers Share Tips For Boston Bargains

<H1>Travel Managers Share Tips For Boston Bargains</H1><H2>Newbury Street: Good eats, Boston Bargains</H2><H3>By Jay Campbell</H3>Both clean and safe, Boston is an attractive city in which to do business.

Unfortunately, Beantown isn't for bean counters. Ranked as one of the five most expensive business travel cities in the United States, "The Hub" can be quite a threat to the corporate wallet. There are, however, a few ways to make sure your money is well-spent, which helps justify that "cha-ching" sound that goes off in your head when travelers turn in their expense reports.

Food

Boston's best spots for power breakfasts and business dinners, say corporate travel managers, are the hotels, including the Four Seasons and the Hotel Meridien. But there also are some unique locales you might want to check out. One travel manager suggests that if you're looking for an offbeat but classy restaurant, try walking around the North End-the city's Italian section-and find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. "If you look inside and people are smiling, or if there's a long line, you know it's good."

Best lunch spot? "Anything on Newbury Street qualifies as a good lunch spot, but one in particular that I like is Cafe Mojo [94 Massachusetts Ave.], even though it's on the expensive side," said a travel manager.

There are several restaurants in Boston falling under the "cheap eats" category, most notably La Familia and the No Name. La Familia has locations at 19 Bennington St. in East Boston (near Logan Airport), 112 Salem St. in the North End and 250 Newbury St. "La Familia is a small Italian chain that serves huge portions-you won't have to eat again for days." The No Name is a highly authentic seafood shack on Boston's waterfront at 151/2 Boston Fish Pier, complete with paper cups and plates to keep distribution costs down.

For "fun foods," one suggestion was Quincy Market/Fanueil Hall. You may be a business traveler, but you're also a tourist at heart. "Of course, I don't go there anymore because of the tourists," one travel manager said. "The Blue Wave [142 Berkeley St.] is a funky place. It's very reasonable in price and it's got a Caribbean flair with a variety of exotic dishes. The chef does an outstanding job, and they have great beer on tap."

For hot new restaurants, check out The Fleet Center (the new Boston Garden). "There are two great places-one upscale and one midscale-and the suites there seem to be the in spot for informal company meetings. Also, Olive's in Charlestown is hot, as well as Rocco's on Charles Street."

Exercise

The best health clubs include The Sky Club, Gold's Gym or, if you want to travel a bit, the Colonial Hilton on Route128 in Wakefield-"they do a bang-up job." The hands-down winner for the best jogging route is the Charles River. Whether you're on the Cambridge side or the Boston side, you're on one of the most beautiful city jogging routes in the world-if the weather's good. Also, for an unusual way to stay fit in Boston, "use the stairwells at the 50-plus-floor Prudential and Hancock towers."

Getting Around

The best travel tip is to take the MBTA subway (known as "the T"), and that includes "getting from the airport to downtown, which is a bitch these days." The Airport Watershuttle is also good for that route, but "if you do have to drive, avoid the tunnel, take the Tobin Bridge-and forget it on Friday or Sunday evening, it's gridlock." Paul's Low-Cost Airport Parking, located on Bremen Street in East Boston, was suggested as an airport parking alternative.

Hotels

Some suggestions on how to negotiate hotel rates: "I do it verbally, over lunch. I don't do RFPs. We're a close-knit community here. We don't have 150 hotels like New York City." The community is so close, in fact, that one travel manager said, "I often piggyback my travelers on a friend's company's rate."

The best hotel for harried executives may be The Bostonian. "It's a tiny property in the North End-a stone's throw from the airport-and they have a great rooftop restaurant." The best hotels for training, technicians or extended stays include the Back Bay Hilton or Boston Park Plaza, "which has the best business center." These two hotels also were cited by one travel manager as being the best values, along with the Colonnade-"that's a great hotel, but they don't know how to sell themselves. Also, the Swiss&ocirc;tel is another steal, and it's fabulous." The Eliot Hotel was named by one travel manager, who cited reports that the property has been a "Back Bay secret" since its conversion to suites in 1990.

If you can't get a room anywhere, "call Marcy at the Westin Copley Place or Ken at the Copley Plaza Hotel."

Cars

When they say "sold out," call "Laurel at Hertz or Liz at Budget-they'll get you anything, within reason," said another TM. "Stay away September and October weekends because of conferences, foliage watchers and college homecomings." Also, if you're renting in Boston, "You need to know your way around. It's easy to get lost." For a car service, try Boston Coach: "They have the best drivers and really good prices."

Safety Tips

Boston is relatively safe, but the consensus is that travelers shouldn't go it alone on the lower Washington Street area, which is called "Chinatown" by day, but the "Combat Zone" by night.

Terminology

In case you haven't heard the Boston accent, remember this: There is no such thing as an R in the Bostonian alphabet (which many say is more closely related to the native English accent than any other American dialect). However, there are phrases obviously not taken from English English, such as "Wicked pissa!" Believe it or not, that phrase has a positive connotation.

Assistance provided by travel managers Dennis Dionne of TASK, Rayna Caplan of Analytical Systems Engineering Corp. and Fred Fischer of John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.