Wakefield MA (nr. Boston) Travel & Hotels

May 29, 2008

Venue: Lord Wakefield Hotel

595 North Avenue, Wakefield, MA, 01880

Phone: 1-781-245-6100 Fax: 781-245-2904

The hotel directly overlooks a large lake—Lake Quannapowitt—that has a

walking trail around it—just gorgeous in the fall.

Note: This is no longer a Best Western Hotel

Hotel Rates & Rooms:

For classes for 2008, it is $75. These rates are guaranteed for reservations made at least one month before class dates. After that, rates will vary. Sometimes cheaper rates can be found on the Internet.

Rooms all have TV’s, hair driers & phones. Local and 800 calls are free. There is no indoor pool, only an outside pool, open only in summer. There is no exercise room.

Travel:

By Air: Fly into Boston Logan Airport. Then either take a taxi to the hotel (about $50- $60 to the hotel), or follow one of the options described in detail below.

If you are going to rent a car, you also have the option of flying into Pease Int’l Airport in Portsmouth New Hampshire (50 miles away), or MHT in Manchester, New Hampshire (45 miles away). Southwest Airlines flies into MHT, and uses ATA airlines to fly into Logan Airport.

Taxi: Taxis are the easiest way from airport to hotel. For trips to Wakefield, they will charge by meter rather than a fixed rate. The cost should be somewhere about $45-$60, depending on traffic, not including tolls & fees (~$2.25 airport fee & $5.25 tolls). Calling a taxi service for a pickup there will not be any cheaper and there may an extra $3 charge that the airport charges them for doing a pickup there. The more luggage you have, or the longer your flight getting to Boston, the more attractive the taxi option will be. (Note: although very few cab drivers will ‘take you for a ride’, such drivers do exist. If you feel that you have been overcharged, it is recommended that you ask the taxi driver for a receipt showing the driver's name, the taxi company, the amount paid, and the medallion number. And then call his taxi company and/or the Massport Ground Transportation Unit Manager at 1-617-561-1659.)

For the return trip, you would need to call a local car service, which will charge about $45 - $55. You can try one of these: Wakefield Taxi 781-245-1111 // C & A Taxi 978-774-1772 // Danvers Taxi 978-774-8901 // Bostonia Taxi 617-816-9314 // Tri-City Taxi 978-922-6999 // Community Taxi 978-535-1800 // Boston Taxi ( a few dollars more) 617-633-8294.

Shuttle & Taxi: This combination of shuttle and taxi may save you $10 compared to taxi alone, if it is in the middle of rush hour and traffic is very bad, but also requires more connections. For 2 people traveling together, though, a taxi direct from the airport is still the cheapest way to go, regardless of traffic.

Take the Logan Express (the shuttle) from the airport (leaves from all terminals) to Woburn. (The Logan Express goes to other destinations as well; so only take the one to Woburn.) Woburn Logan Express is now at the Anderson Regional Transportation Center (ARTC)—located off Route 93 at Exit 37C (this is one exit north of Route 128/I-95 on I-93). There is a taxi stand there; if it is empty, a taxi can be called. Then take a taxi from there to the hotel. The Logan Express is $11 one-way or $20 round-trip. The taxi ride should be about $30 from ARTC (assuming it is the same as going to the ARTC from the hotel).

The schedule for leaving the airport is: Weekdays: 6.30am- midnight, every half hour. Saturday: 7am-11pm, every hour. Sunday: 7am-1pm, every hour. 1pm to midnight, every half-hour. Leaving Woburn to go back to the airport is: Weekdays: 4:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. every half hour. Saturdays: 4:00 a.m., 4:30 a.m. & 5:30 a.m. Then 6:00 am to 10:00 pm every hour. Sundays: 4:00 am, 4:30 am, & 5:30 am. Then 6:00 am to 12 noon every hour. Then 12:00 noon - 11:00 pm every half hour. Of course, schedules can change. To recheck these times, go to www.massport.com/logan/getti_typeo_logan.html

Subway & Commuter Rail: For this option, you’ll need to not be bothered by having to make a handful of connections—first you take a free shuttle, then 2 subways, 1 commuter train, and then a taxi for the last mile. This is the cheaper, but perhaps more exciting method.

To do this: The MBTA subway, often called the T by locals, has a stop at the airport, which you can get to from any of the terminals by a free shuttle. There are different subway lines in Boston, defined by a color. The Blue Line is the one that stops at the airport. You take the Blue Line toward Boston (coming back to the airport you’ll take the subway toward Wonderland). You get off at State St., which is the third stop. Here, you change to the Orange Line and go toward Oak Grove, but get off at the second stop, North Station. (Coming back, you’ll take the Orange Line to Forest Hills, getting off at State St.) To get to the Best Western in Wakefield, you take a commuter line train from North Station. You take the one going to Haverhill, but you get off at Wakefield. The Hotel is about 1 mile from the station. You can call Wakefield Taxi at: 1-781-245-1111; they should be there within 10 minutes if it is not rush hour, and the fee is only about $4.50 to the hotel. To check the commuter train schedule, go to: www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_commuter_linedetail.asp?line=haverhill

Be aware that commuter trains are not well designed to accommodate luggage, but most train-cars do have a small area for that. In addition, they run frequently in the morning and later afternoon, when they are also most crowded, but not so often at other times. Returning to the airport is easier because you can time your departure according the commuter train’s schedule.

Subway & Bus: This is a variation of the Subway and Commuter Rail, above. You follow those directions and get on the Orange Line toward Oak Grove, as above. Then, you can either get out and call Wakefield Taxi (1-781-245-1111), which is about $18 to the Lord Wakefield Hotel, or you can take a bus. You’d take the 136 or 137 bus to Wakefield—but keep in mind that large suitcases are not easy to navigate on and off busses. The bus lets you off on North Ave, where you’ll see the hotel about 2 blocks away.

By Car:

Locate the intersection of Interstate 93 & Interstate 95 on your map. From there, take I-95 North / 128 North, go a few exits to exit 39, North Ave-- toward Wakefield/ Reading. Take North Ave South, toward Wakefield, which is a right turn as you get off the highway, and go less than ¼ a mile to the hotel, on your left.

For general Boston Logan airport information, go to: http://www.massport.com/Logan/default.aspx