Boston Yacht Haven ★★★★

An inn inside a marina

Boston Yacht Haven stands at the end of Commercial Wharf, the granite pier between Long Wharf and the North End waterfront, and it is one of the rare places to sleep in Boston that sits inside a working marina. The 100-slip harbor around it fills with sailboats and motor yachts through the season, and the inn's nautical architecture, all wood siding, decks and glass, has won awards of its own. With only ten rooms, it runs like a house: a Captain's Lounge with lemonade and hot drinks, a small team, and the quiet of the water once the day-trippers have gone home.

Rooms with decks over the harbor

Most rooms have a private deck or balcony over the water, and the categories are simple. The Superior King with Balcony, at 400 square feet, has a sitting area, a dining table and a deck facing the harbor; the Deluxe King with Balcony stretches to 700 square feet with a spacious private deck; the Corner King takes in the harbor and the city at once, and the Deluxe Queen with two beds and a kitchenette suits families. The Penthouse is the prize, with three large decks and a 180-degree view of the skyline and the harbor. Interiors keep a crisp nautical line, with navy and white, pale wood, high-end linens, Beekman bath products and, in some rooms, heated bathroom floors and electronic skylight blinds. A fitness room and a billiards lounge are available to guests.

Breakfast at the door

There is no restaurant, and none is needed: a fresh breakfast is delivered to each room every morning, with pastries, fruit, cereals, quiches and sandwiches on a rotating seasonal menu, and complimentary snacks wait in the room. The restaurants of the North End begin two minutes away, and the seafood houses of Long Wharf are just beyond the park.

The waterfront on foot

Christopher Columbus Park and the Rose Kennedy Greenway are at the head of the wharf, the New England Aquarium and the harbor cruise piers of Long Wharf are five minutes' walk, and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market about seven. The North End, with Hanover Street, the Paul Revere House and the Old North Church, is the inn's own neighborhood. Water taxis to Logan Airport leave from Long Wharf, and the Aquarium Blue Line stop is five minutes away. Check-in runs from 3 pm to 5 pm and check-out is at 11 am.

Why we selected it

Between the harbor and the North End, Boston Yacht Haven offers something the big waterfront hotels cannot: a room with its own deck on the water, breakfast at the door and a marina for a front garden. We recommend it to couples, to sailors and boat lovers, and to small families who want the Aquarium, the harbor cruises and the Freedom Trail within a short walk.