Interstate 90 stretches across the country, but the 138-mile portion slicing the commonwealth from the New York border on the west to Boston on the east is also known as the Massachusetts Turnpike. Follow this route for luxury accommodations, bargain motels and every other type of lodging to hang your hat for the night.
Springfield is slightly south of the turnpike at Interstate 91, but if you want to take a short detour into the heart of Hoop City you'll discover a cluster of hotels along each bank of the Connecticut River including Sheraton, Marriott, Candlewood Suites, Ramada Limited and more. Once you pull into Boston, you'll begin finding places to stay past the turnpike junction with Interstate 95: the Boston Marriott Newton along the Charles River to the north and the Hotel Indigo to the south. The Crowne Plaza is just off I-90 and along the rail line at Washington Street. Once you pass Boston University and head into downtown there are many places to stay along the turnpike including the luxurious Mandarin Oriental and Eliot Hotel, the historic Lenox Hotel and Copley Square Hotel, and the elegant Loews Boston Hotel and The Fairmont Copley Plaza. As the turnpike winds into the harbor you can settle down for a waterfront view at the Seaport Boston Hotel or the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. Interstate 90 ends at Boston Logan International Airport, with airport hotels including a Hyatt, Hilton and Embassy Suites.
In the Springfield suburb of Westfield, there are two hotels just south of the turnpike at the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport: Econo Lodge and Holiday Inn Express. Keep driving east over the Connecticut River into Chicopee and two junctions here have collections of places to stay for the night: Hampton Inn, Days Inn, Residence Inn and Quality Inn are off Memorial Drive, and Motel 6, Econo Lodge and Plantation Inn are along Burnett Road. Before you leave the suburb there will be another Holiday Inn Express just south of the turnpike on Center Street. In Auburn, south of Worcester, the collection of hotels at the Interstate 290 junction includes La Quinta, Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn and Comfort Inn. As you inch closer to Boston, you'll find Sheraton, Residence Inn and Motel 6 clustered around the Worcester Road exit for Framingham.
Just east of the New York state line, the Pleasant Valley Motel welcomes travelers to Massachusetts in tiny West Stockbridge. Take a slight detour south of the turnpike on State Route 102 for the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge and a pair of quaint lodgings off Main Street: the Red Lion Inn and Seasons on Main Bed & Breakfast. Directly off the turnpike in Lee, Massachusetts, you'll find a handful of discount motels along with two more B&Bs: the Crabtree Cottage and Applegate Bed & Breakfast. As you head east and hit the small town of Palmer, the only place to stay is the Wedgewood Motel along Palmer Road. Stubridge offers greater variety south of the turnpike, with an Economy Lodge, Super 8, Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn, Stubridge Host Hotel and Conference Center and Publick House Historic Inn.
If you're looking for a lodging experience that's more than just a pillow to rest your head for the night, try a turnpike stop steeped in rural flavor. The Berkshire Lakeside Lodge in Becket rests along the Appalachian Trail and is nestled against Greenwater Pond, where you can kayak in the summer and ice fish in the winter. Take Palmer Road off the turnpike to the New England Motel in Brimfield if antiquing is your thing, as hundreds of dealers converge upon the motel's field a few times a year. Country Living magazine notes that the motel's field is just one of 20 pavilions that comprise these week-long megashows of collectibles. And south of I-90 between Auburn and Interstate 495 spend a cozy night at the Grafton Inn, which dates back to 1805 and includes a dining room and bar.
