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Extra touches, such as handmade quilts hanging on the walls, personalize the surprisingly comfortable rooms at this modern hotel on the edge of Harvard Square. There’s an indoor pool, an outstanding jazz club, Reggatabar (see Regattabar), and a leading Boston restaurant, Rialto (see Rialto).

Carved marble fireplaces, Victorian furniture, and some of the finest linens in town give the nine rooms in this Beacon Hill hideaway a feeling of sumptuous luxury. High-speed Internet, mini-fridges, and stereos provide the finishing touches.

Set in an 1892 Back Bay townhouse, the 33 rooms of this boutique hotel feature custom-made furniture, light-toned woodwork, and Italian tiles. Breakfast is included in the astonishingly low (for the area) rates.

A South End brick townhouse inn with magnificent 19th-century public areas, large suites with contemporary styling, wood-burning fireplaces, and decadent bathrooms. Excellent value for elegant lodgings.

This private club devoted to promoting higher education also has 12 guest rooms available in its sophisticated Back Bay townhouse. Several smaller rooms share baths (only adequate for singles).

Frequently used by upscale bus groups, the Colonnade has some of the largest and most comfortable rooms in Back Bay, as well as the city’s only outdoor rooftop pool. Very family-friendly.

This suave 150-room hotel (opened end of 2002) has all the high-tech essentials but the architecture and decor of France’s Second Empire.

Handy for Back Bay, this former private residence usually rents room by the week or month. Each has kitchenette, cable TV, free local phone calls, and maid service twice weekly.

Officially listed as an “Armed Services YMCA,” this 147-room facility in Charlestown Navy Yard welcomes all. Rooms are clean, bright, and modern – some have twin beds, others queen-size doubles.

This well-kept Back Bay hotel is frequented by conventioneers who balk at the rates of other nearby chains. Rooms are small, quirky, and old-fashioned in character.