IMS2009 Official Hotel Update
If you have not done so yet, now would be a good time to reserve your hotel room for IMS. The 2009 Steering Committee has secured favorable rates for attendees at the official IMS2009 hotels located throughout the city of Boston. If proximity to the BCEC is important to you, consider staying at the Westin Waterfront, which serves as this year's headquarter hotel for the symposium and is connected to the convention center via a walkway. Nearby, the Renaissance Boston Waterfront is also within short walking distance. Further away but in the fashionable back-bay neighborhood is the co-headquarters hotel, the Sheraton Boston as well as the remaining official hotels - Westin Copley, Boston Marriot Copley, Courtyard Marriot Boston Tremont, Midtown Hotel and Boston Park Plaza.
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Complimentary Shuttle Service to and from the BCEC and the official hotels will be provided for those reserving their hotel room through the IMS2009 housing bureau. Those who have not booked their hotel room through the IMS2009 housing bureau may purchase a shuttle pass for $75 at registration located in the North lobby of the BCEC. This year shuttle eligibility will be electronically verified and attendees/exhibitors without an eligible name badge will not be permitted to board.
Boston hotel rates tend to be a little higher than most cities so be prepared to pay between $250 and $300 a night. The Midtown Hotel at $149 per night is already sold out to bargain conscious attendees. If budget is foremost on your mind, consider the Boston Park Plaza or the Courtyard Boston Downtown Tremont. Many business travelers are familiar with the Marriot Courtyard brand. The Courtyard Boston Tremont is a newly restored 1925 building offering fully updated rooms and hotel suites, high-speed internet, fitness center, and business center. Centrally located in the Theater District of Boston, the Tremont Hotel is adjacent to the Wang Theater and New England Medical Center. The hotel is also only blocks from Copley Square, the Financial District, historic Southend, China Town, and convenient to the historic sites of Boston.
For twenty dollars more per night, The Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers offers amenities well worth it for those traveling with their spouse. Created in 1927 by the great hotelier E.M. Statler as a grand American hotel, it was called a "city within a city". Today it takes pride in serving Boston as a destination itself, housing some of Boston's most famous restaurants and lounges, including Todd English's Bonfire Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant and Smith & Wollensky's Steakhouse located in The Castle at Park Plaza, beauty salon/barber shop, Business Center, full-service concierge, fitness center, shoe shine and more. Enter the hotel's palatial Grand Lobby and you'll experience the grace and warmth that is its signature.
In the evening, many attendees staying in the back-bay will find themselves close to their hotels if they are hitting the restaurants and bars in Kenmore Square, Newbury or Boylston Streets. By taking advantage of the shuttle bus, attendees will be able to easily get from the convention center to their room for a quick change of clothes and can start enjoying the city just outside their hotel front door. And for those who will be staying closer to the convention center, the back-bay is just a short metro (the T) or cab ride away.