Historic Inns

Boston, Massachusetts

Historic Boston Hotels & Inns

Thirteen historic hotels and B&Bs, from an 1851 jail on Beacon Hill to Back Bay brownstones and the Omni Parker House on the Freedom Trail.

13 historic places to stay · verified October 2026 · by Historic Inns editors

The short answer

Six of the 13 verified historic stays are in Back Bay, which is flat and easy to walk; the rest are on Beacon Hill, downtown on the Freedom Trail, in the West End and in the South End. For the classic, book the Omni Parker House, opened in 1855 and rebuilt as a 14-story tower in 1927, which the hotel calls the longest continuously operating hotel in the U.S. and which is on Historic Hotels of America’s 2026 most-haunted list. For a grand hotel, book the 1912 Fairmont Copley Plaza; for a quiet Beacon Hill base near the State House, XV Beacon; for the most unusual building, The Liberty, in the 1851 Charles Street Jail. For a small stay, the College Club of Boston rents 12 rooms with breakfast in an 1864 Commonwealth Avenue brownstone. Budget about $65 to $75 a night for valet and 14.95% in room taxes and fees.

Our top picks

Best overall

XV Beacon

Built 1903

A 1903 Beaux-Arts office building whose first tenant, Historic Hotels of America says, oversaw the nation's first subway. Now 61 rooms.

Check ratesBook direct

Oldest

The Liberty

Built 1851

The 1851 Charles Street Jail, which held prisoners until 1990, now a 298-room hotel with 18 of its rooms in the original…

Check ratesBook direct

Compare them side by side

InnAreaBuiltRoomsTypePriceHaunted
The LibertyBeacon Hill1851298Grand hotel–Rates
The College Club of BostonBack Bay186412B&B–Rates
Clarendon Square Bed and BreakfastSouth End1867–B&B–Rates
Newbury Guest HouseBack Bay188135Inn–Rates
XV BeaconBeacon Hill190361Boutique hotel–Rates
Eurostars The BoxerWest End1904–Boutique hotel–Rates
The Whitney HotelBeacon Hill1908–Boutique hotel–Rates
Fairmont Copley PlazaBack Bay1912–Grand hotel–Rates
Charlesmark HotelBack Bay191540Boutique hotel–Rates
The Langham, BostonFinancial District1922–Grand hotel–Rates
The Eliot HotelBack Bay192595Boutique hotel–Rates
Omni Parker HouseDowntown1927–Grand hotel–YesRates
The Newbury BostonBack Bay1927–Grand hotel–Rates

Price is a typical nightly rate: $ under $200, $$ $200–349, $$$ $350–549, $$$$ $550+. Rates vary by season; check the inn for exact prices.

Where they are

The neighborhoods

Where to stay, by area

Back Bay

Back Bay is 19th-century filled land laid out on a grid of brownstone blocks around the Commonwealth Avenue Mall and Copley Square. The Back Bay Historic District (National Register, 1973) and the local Back Bay Architectural District (1966) cover its residential core. Six of the verified historic stays are here: the Fairmont Copley Plaza and the Charlesmark on Copley Square, The Newbury facing the Public Garden, The Eliot at Commonwealth and Massachusetts Avenues, Newbury Guest House on Newbury Street and the College Club on the first block of Commonwealth Avenue. It is flat and easy to walk, and the Copley T stop is on Boylston Street.

Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill’s row houses, most built in the early 1800s in the Federal style, sit between Boston Common and the Charles River. The neighborhood is a National Historic Landmark district (1962) and has been a local historic district since 1955. Charles Street is its shopping street, with The Liberty, in the 1851 Charles Street Jail, and The Whitney at its north end; XV Beacon is near the State House. The north slope was home to a Black community and the African Meeting House, now the Boston African American National Historic Site.

Downtown and the Financial District

The Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile red line the city dedicated in 1951, links 16 sites; downtown it passes King’s Chapel, the Old State House and Faneuil Hall. The Omni Parker House stands on School Street, on the trail. A few blocks away near Post Office Square, The Langham fills the 1922 Federal Reserve Bank, and the Custom House District (National Register, 1973) covers the old waterfront commercial blocks.

North End, West End and the Waterfront

The Freedom Trail continues into the North End past the Paul Revere House (c. 1680, the oldest remaining structure downtown), Old North Church and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, then crosses to Charlestown for USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument. The Blackstone Block (National Register, 1973) keeps its historic street network, and Long Wharf and the Custom House Block are a National Historic Landmark. The one verified inn here is Eurostars The Boxer, in a nine-story flatiron in the West End’s Bulfinch Triangle Historic District that was once the Bulfinch Hotel.

South End

South of Back Bay, the South End is a neighborhood of Italianate and Second Empire row houses, protected by the local South End Landmark District (1983) and the National Register South End District (1973, enlarged 2014 and 2025). Its one verified historic stay is small: Clarendon Square Bed and Breakfast, in an 1867 townhouse. The neighborhood’s squares include Blackstone and Franklin Squares.

The inns

1864The College Club of Boston

Built 1864 · Back Bay · B&B

The College Club of Boston

Why stay Twelve Victorian rooms with breakfast in an 1864 Commonwealth Avenue brownstone, home of what the club says was the first U.S. women's college club.

Good to know Breakfast: included

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1867Clarendon Square Bed and Breakfast

Built 1867 · Italianate / Second Empire row house · South End · B&B

Clarendon Square Bed and Breakfast

Why stay Builder Silas Merrill's 1867 South End townhouse, a B&B since 1999 that kept its curved staircase, ceiling medallions and moldings.

Good to know Breakfast: none · Parking: street · No elevator · No pets

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1881Newbury Guest House

Built 1881 · Queen Anne / Rustic · Back Bay · Inn

Newbury Guest House

Why stay Three Victorian Newbury Street houses joined in the early 1990s into a 35-room hotel that kept their ceiling medallions and decorative fireplaces.

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1904Eurostars The Boxer

Built 1904 · Classical Revival (per MACRIS) · West End · Boutique hotel

Eurostars The Boxer

Why stay A nine-story brick flatiron at the edge of the Bulfinch Triangle, once the Bulfinch Hotel and relaunched as The Boxer in 2013.

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1908The Whitney Hotel

Built 1908 · Colonial Revival · Beacon Hill · Boutique hotel

The Whitney Hotel

Why stay A 1908 Colonial Revival building at the north end of Charles Street, once the John Jeffries House, renovated with a 12,000-square-foot addition.

Good to know Breakfast: available · Parking: on-site paid · Pets welcome

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1915Charlesmark Hotel

Built 1915 · Neo-Gothic Revival (per MACRIS) · Back Bay · Boutique hotel

Charlesmark Hotel

Why stay A 40-room Boylston Street hotel on Copley Square with breakfast included, which it says is under 50 yards from the Copley T stop.

Good to know Breakfast: included

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1925The Eliot Hotel

Built 1925 · Georgian Revival · Back Bay · Boutique hotel

The Eliot Hotel

Why stay Built by former Harvard president Charles W. Eliot's family to lodge visiting lecturers; the Ullian family has run it since before World War II.

Good to know Breakfast: available · Parking: on-site paid · Pets welcome

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
Omni Parker Houseajay_suresh / CC BY 4.0

Built 1927 · Classical Revival · Downtown · Grand hotel

Omni Parker House

Why stay Harvey Parker opened it in 1855; the current tower dates from 1927. The hotel calls it the longest continuously operating hotel in the U.S.

The ghost story Reported lore centers on founder Harvey Parker, whom guests and staff say they have seen as an older gentleman in period dress on the upper floors. The tenth floor is linked to orbs and unexplained voices, and the third floor to phantom cigar smoke and elevators that stop without being called.

Good to know Parking: garage nearby · Elevator

Check ratesFull storyBook direct

Before you book

Planning your stay

Getting around

From Logan Airport, the Silver Line SL1 bus stops at every terminal and is always free toward South Station, where it connects with the Red Line and Commuter Rail. A free Massport shuttle runs from the terminals to the Blue Line at Airport station, which connects with the Green Line at Government Center and the Orange Line at State. Downtown, Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the North End are walkable, and the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail ties the historic core together.

Parking

Historic hotels downtown and in Back Bay are mostly valet-only, at about $65 to $75 a night: XV Beacon $73, the Fairmont Copley Plaza $74, The Liberty, The Langham and The Whitney $75, and The Eliot $65 without in-and-out. Back Bay garages charge about $42 to $43 overnight. City meters cost $3.75 an hour in Back Bay and $2.50 in the Bulfinch Triangle and Fenway; most run Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and are free on Sundays and city holidays. Small B&Bs such as Clarendon Square point guests to garages a few blocks away.

When to go

The Boston Marathon runs on Patriots’ Day. The 131st race is Monday, April 19, 2027, with about 30,000 participants, so book that weekend early. The Liberty’s fall foliage guide puts the color from late September through early November, usually at its best in mid-to-late October. October is also peak season in nearby Salem, where the Stepping Stone Inn charges its highest rates and some weekends carry three-night minimums.

Accessibility

The MBTA is adding elevators and low-floor buses and runs The RIDE paratransit; check station elevator status before you go (elevator hotline 617-222-2828). Converted row-house B&Bs often have no elevator: every guest room at Clarendon Square is up stairs. XV Beacon lists three ADA rooms.

Before you book

Boston room rates carry 14.95% in occupancy taxes and fees: the 5.7% state excise, Boston’s 6.5% local tax and the 2.75% convention center fee. Some hotels add a 1.5% tourism fee, as XV Beacon notes. The Langham requires guests to be 21 to reserve and check in. The Fairmont Copley Plaza ($50 per pet), The Liberty ($100), The Whitney ($125 a stay), The Langham (dogs up to 50 pounds) and The Eliot take pets; Clarendon Square does not. Marathon weekend and fall weekends fill early.

Things to do

Tours of historic Boston

Tours from GetYourGuide

Tours are sold by GetYourGuide and run by local operators. If you book one through these links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Ratings and prices are GetYourGuide’s.

Questions travelers ask

What is the oldest hotel in Boston?

The Omni Parker House, opened by Harvey D. Parker on School Street in 1855, has the earliest start as a hotel of any we list, and the hotel and Historic Hotels of America call it the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States. Its current building was completed in 1927. The Liberty occupies an older building, the 1851 Charles Street Jail, but it became a hotel only after the last prisoners left in 1990.

What is the most haunted hotel in Boston?

There is no official ranking. Historic Hotels of America’s 2026 most-haunted list includes the Omni Parker House, where guests and staff report seeing founder Harvey Parker on the upper floors, orbs and voices on the tenth floor, and phantom cigar smoke and elevators that stop on their own on the third floor. Salem’s Hawthorne Hotel is on the same list. These are stories guests and staff tell, not documented fact.

Is it better to stay in Back Bay, Beacon Hill or downtown?

Back Bay has the most historic hotels and B&Bs, six of the 13, plus flat streets and the Copley T stop. Beacon Hill, with The Liberty, The Whitney and XV Beacon, is quieter, with Federal-era streets beside the Common. Downtown puts you on the Freedom Trail at the Omni Parker House or in the Financial District at The Langham.

Where do you park at a historic hotel in Boston?

Expect valet at about $65 to $75 a night at the big historic hotels, or self-park garages at about $42 to $43 overnight near Copley. Street meters ($3.75 an hour in Back Bay) mostly run Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and are free on Sundays and city holidays.

Are there historic bed and breakfasts in Boston?

A few. The College Club of Boston rents 12 rooms with breakfast in an 1864 Back Bay brownstone; Clarendon Square Bed and Breakfast, in an 1867 South End townhouse, offers in-room coffee, tea and morning snacks instead of a breakfast service; and Newbury Guest House joins three Victorian houses on Newbury Street. Two older B&B names, Encore in the South End and Taylor House in Jamaica Plain, no longer have working websites.

Keep exploring

Salem →All of Massachusetts →

How we chose these inns

Every place on this page is at least 50 years old, holds a credential we can check (National Register listing, a listed historic district, landmark status, or Historic Hotels of America membership), and takes bookings today. We verify each one against primary sources before it goes on the list, and last checked this list in October 2026. Read our criteria.

Planning details on this page (parking, transport, seasons and events) come from: libertyhotel.com, thesteppingstoneinn.com, whenandwhereinboston.org, baa.org, boston.gov, mass.gov, massport.com, mbta.com, thefreedomtrail.org, xvbeacon.com.

Sources (35)

Some links on this site may earn us a commission at no cost to you. It never decides which inns we include. Disclosure.