The Eliot Hotel

Location: 370 Commonwealth Avenue at Massachusetts Avenue in Boston.

Rating: Mobil Four Star

Amenities: Multilingual concierge staff: complimentary morning newspaper, valet parking, baby-sitting, overnight complimentary shoe shine, laundry and "secretarial services."

Accommodations: Italian marble baths, two televisions, private pantries and fully stocked mini bars.

Rates: $195 to a high season rate of $320.

Notable Architect: Charles Eliot, then president of Harvard.

Famous Guests: ICA Artists, BSO guest musicians and conductors.

What the Eliot Says About You: "I'm class of '64."

The Scoop: Boston marathon runners would gather at the Eliot Lounge after the race, where their wacky antics went unquestioned. The bar closed two years ago. According to Eliot concierge Michael Kauer, the hotel was robbed many years ago. The robbers entered into the hotel and held up the manager on duty. After forcing him to hand over the contents of the hotel's vault, they proceeded to infiltrate various guests' rooms. Later that evening, when a 70-year-old female resident returned to the lobby, she was shocked to find the hotel manager-naked, bound and gagged. At first, she thought that the manager was involved in a bizarre sexual advance so she did not aid the manager. Instead, she called the police. His embarrassment was ended only after Boston's finest charged into the building.

The Four Seasons Hotel

Location: 200 Boylston St. overlooking the Public Garden

Rating: New England's only AAA-Five Diamond Accommodation. One of the top five hotels in the U.S.

Amenities: Indoor health club (complete with pool sauna, massage rooms and exercise equipment), free town car service, and 24-hour multilingual concierge, overnight shoeshine.

Accommodations: 288 Rooms including 72 suites and one Presidential Suite. The most exquisite of the guest rooms is this 1,925 square foot, 2-bedroom suite. The room has its own private dining room with a hand painted mural depicting 18th century Boston and a parlor that holds a baby grand piano and a private patio which looks out onto Public Garden. In the boudoir stands an elegant four poster bed trimmed with extravagant linens and a down filled comforter. The Presidential Suite also boasts a miniature garden, ceiling-high mirrors and an oversized sunken marble bathtub (large enough to accommodate a intern?)