This post was in partnership with Cambria Hotels, but all opinions are my own.
A couple weekends ago, Geoff and I spent a full weekend in Boston and it was such a blast. It was our first full weekend in Boston since moving out of the city two years ago. As most of you guys know, Boston was such a huge part of our lives and where I lived for 7 years. Geoff spent even longer there – over 10 years. It’s where I first started building my career, where we fell in love, it’s where we had our first apartment together, and it’s where we went back to after getting engaged. As you can probably imagine, it was very bittersweet when we made the decision to move out two years ago. We LOVE Boston and love any opportunity to visit when we can. We’ve been back for a handful of concerts over the past couple years, but they’ve been odd days here and there – not full weekends.
We opted to stay at the Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown – South Boston which is a part of Cambria Hotels. If you’re not familiar with its location, it’s in the heart of Boston where Southie meets the South End and is just steps away from restaurants, bars, and other fun nightlife. As you know, we love a fun night out (maybe too much sometimes, ha!) so it was perfect! It’s also just a few blocks away from The Lawn on D which is a fun outdoor space that has lawn games, often has live music, food/drinks, etc.
A Weekend in Boston at the Cambria Hotel Boston
We headed down to Boston early Friday morning. Geoff works for a company that’s based in Cambridge and he usually spends once a week in the office, so we opted to work from Boston for the day to make things easy. He worked from the office, and I purchased a day pass to work from a co-working space (by the way, I highly recommend this if you’re ever in a pinch and don’t want to jump from coffee shop to coffee shop all day!).
Late Friday afternoon we headed to the Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown – South Boston to check in for the weekend. We stayed in their King Bed Suite which was perfect – and huge! It felt like we were back to apartment living, no joke. Except I think this hotel room was more square footage than our Boston apartment was, haha! It felt luxe. I loved that the room had a sitting area with a huge TV (in addition to the TV in the bedroom). Sometimes it feels weird when you’re in hotels and you come back to your room after dinner, but you’re not quite ready to get in bed… but there’s nowhere to sit… so you just end up laying in bed in your full dinner outfit with a glass of wine. Didn’t have that issue here! It was really nice to relax in what felt like a true living room to unwind for the night. I feel like it would be a great option if you have young kids and/or a baby – the kids can sleep in one of the dark rooms (the bedroom even had a door) and you can still hang out if you’re not quite ready for bed yet.
Once we checked into our room, we immediately changed and went up the elevator one floor to the 14th Floor to the Six West Restaurant and Bar Rooftop Lounge. The views were great and by the way, they had an amazing playlist (!!). We also had super yummy drinks. They carry premium liquor, wine, and local craft beers. Definitely get the ‘Crimson Dawn,” if you’re a tequila drinker! It had altos blanco, hibiscus sugar water, rose, lemon, and sparkling water. Super refreshing and light! Geoff went with the Sixpresso, the Six West Restaurant and Bar’s version of an espresso martini. Tasty too! We loved that there was a rooftop bar right at the hotel – no need to go to other rooftop bars in the city when there was one with beautiful views right at the hotel!
That night we headed to Back Bay for dinner which was a short Uber ride away. We went to the Little Whale which was a new restaurant to us and is new as of the past couple years. Great service, very yummy dinner (get the lobster pasta), and we both had delish beer and wine. As a heads up, they do not serve cocktails, only beer and wine.
After dinner, we were not quite ready to call it a night so we walked to Lolita (a Boston classic!) for a night cap margarita and some good people watching. We’re not as young as we once were, so after one cocktail at Lolita, we headed back to the Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown – South Boston for the evening.
On Saturday morning we woke up and got ready, then headed to Tatte at their One Boston Place location. I’m incapable of going to Boston without going to Tatte, so it’s always a must. The best breakfast option in the city in my opinion! This was the Tatte location I always used to go to when I was working in the city in late 2019 and early 2020 when my office moved to that area. It had me reminiscing on old times! Since we were in a bit of a rush, we grabbed coffees and a couple pastries to go and then walked down to the Aquarium to get ready for our Duck Tour to start. I know everyone says this, but one of the best things about Boston is how walkable the city is. Since it’s a fairly small city, you can often walk to another neighborhood or entirely different area of the city in just 5-10 minutes.
I know it’s touristy, but if you haven’t done a Boston Duck Tour, you have to! We hadn’t done one since 2014, and it was fun to do it again. It’s a great way to see a lot of the city in a short amount of time since it’s only an hour and 20 minutes long. You explore land and sea (yes, really!), so you can’t beat it. There’s tons of time slots available, so it’s very convenient for whatever your plans may be. Just make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time.
After the Duck Tour, we went to an old favorite, The Landing. I’ve been going to The Landing since before I lived in Boston when I would visit my brother and his friends in the North End. Then I used to go all the time when I lived in Boston, after work, etc. And then here I am going again after I’ve moved out of Boston. It was a super hot day in Boston, so we both opted for a refreshing and spicy, spicy margarita.
After we cooled off a bit at The Landing, we walked down to James Hook & Co. which has always been my favorite spot in Boston to grab a lobster roll. They now have an outdoor food truck and a lot more outdoor seating, so you can either order inside in the building, or outside at the food truck.
The heat made us a little tired, so we headed back to the Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown – South Boston to relax for a few hours. It rained for a few hours and we enjoyed watching the lightning from the view from our hotel room. By the way, we were in a suite on floor 13 and the views were absolutely incredible!
After relaxing, we got ready for dinner in the Seaport. We’ve been wanting to go to Nautilus Pier 4 for years and finally had the opportunity! While it’s not a place I’d bring my parents, it’s great for a lively date night or a girls’ dinner. Definitely get the “Teach Me How to Dougie” cocktail (with a name like that, how could I resist?!) and the Tempura East Coast Oyster Tacos.
After dinner, we headed back to the Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown – South Boston and had some wine and ice cream, then went to bed.
One of our favorite parts of the hotel and our hotel room were how design-forward it was. The rooms and hotel are contemporary and sophisticated. Sometimes at hotels you feel like you’re sacrificing aesthetics for a convenient location. We felt like we got it all here! The bathrooms are spa-style (and great lighting, I shot this Reel in the bathroom of the hotel), there’s free Wi-Fi, and there’s also meeting space, a business center, and a fitness center.
On Sunday, we woke up and got ready and then headed to the hotel’s restaurant, the Six West Restaurant and Bar for breakfast which is located near the lobby. They also serve brunch, lunch, and dinner. We both got coffees to start and then I got the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes which were topped with a blueberry compote and were so delicious! Plus real maple syrup – you can’t beat it! Geoff went with the Avocado Toast with an egg.
After breakfast, we went back to the room and I changed to get ready to go to the Patriots game, and then we checked out.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading about our recent trip to Boston! Definitely consider the Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown – South Boston for any of your upcoming Boston travel. Or, if you’re headed to my neck of the woods, Portland, Maine, check out their Portland location here! Or, if you’re interested in reading about more Boston, check out some of my other posts:
Boston Travel Guide: The Local’s Guide to Boston, Massachusetts
The Arnold Arboretum: Free Boston Date Idea
5 New England Day Trips From Boston You Need to Take
and 10 Ideas for the Ultimate Girls’ Weekend in Boston
