Solo Trip Series: Boston
Have you heard? Solo travel is all the rage!
Recent research by Visa has unearthed some interesting trends — such as, one in five travelers set out on their most recent trip alone.
Check out our nifty infographic (left) for more stats on this trend.
As singles, this upward tick in solo travel offers up an interesting opportunity. Of course, this opportunity was always there — but, if you’re new to this concept, take heart that solo travel is widely acknowledged as quite the “badass” travel approach to take.
And since we all want to be fearless adventurers, the Heartalytics team has hatched a plan to encourage our readers to take the path less traveled…
Thank you for joining us to welcome into existence, The Solo Trip Series.
Our very own wander woman, Olivia Balsinger, will detail her own solo travels across the globe as a model for us to follow. Enjoy (and take note) as she details tips on lodging, food, activities and even a little history.
First stop? Boston. Where Olivia stays at the Verb Hotel in the Fenway-Kenmore locale.
Journey on brave singletons,
Valerie Presley Ackler, Heartalytics Editor
Solo Trip Series: Boston
Chances are, if you have learned about United States history at any point in your education—whether Kindergarten or graduate school— you’ve covered America’s gem of a city, Boston, Massachusetts.
There’s the Revolutionary War lesson, the Boston Tea Party lesson, even that 1761 “No Taxation Without Representation!” lesson you heard perhaps one too many times. Heck, if you’re a product of a New England education like me, then you even had that 8th grade field trip to Boston where you witnessed a rather chubby Benjamin Franklin impersonator give a tour down the famous “Freedom Trail” which snakes through the city.
But here is the thing about good ol’ Beantown. The city does an impeccable job preserving history— whether in the brick buildings along the Charles River, or through the traditions dating back to 1636 in the meticulously maintained gardens of Harvard University, or in that darn delicious and incomparable clam chowda’ made fresh at Quincy Market. But Boston is also a city of innovation, of recreating new from old, of fresh starts. Nothing exemplifies this transformation and innovation better than The Verb Hotel.
The Verb Hotel, at 1271 Boylston Street, is located right smack dab in the up-and-coming Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood on the eastern side of the city. Yes, we know that The Green Monster (err…Monsta’) is legendary in both Bostonian and American history.
The neighborhood has become so much more than home to the famous ballpark. Walk three minutes and you are lost amongst rock legends and Southern traditions at The House of Blues Boston. New bars and restaurants—like Tiger Mama, an artistic and funky fusion of South Asian street food— are constantly popping up in this dynamic neighborhood. A ten-minute walk and you are immersed in the splendor of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. In short, it’s perfectly exemplifies the idea of the new seamlessly woven into the city’s history.
In the center of all this energy is The Verb Hotel. Though sleek in design and modern in amenities, history pulses through its vibrant walls. The hotel opened as The Fenway Motor Hotel back in 1959, at the height of another cultural shift both in the city and around the world.
“With our authentic ties to Boston’s music history visually on the walls of the hotel, and audibly from our speakers, we strive to maintain the vibe that the area used to have with the abundance of music and art spaces and businesses that are now defunct,” explains Lauren Recchia, The Verb’s Marketing Director. “We also chose to pay tribute to the retro style of the time period when the hotel was built, but with modern upgrades and amenities and pleasing visuals.”
Hotel guests cannot miss the vintage red tour bus parked outside the hotel. Enter a kaleidoscope of colors— aqua walls, bright yellow sofas, black framed artwork. A guitar is propped in the corner and rock and music legends dot the walls. A plethora of records are accessible in the lobby. Guests have the opportunity to borrow (and groove!) to them in their rooms.
Each of the hotel’s 94 rooms is unique, colorful and a true time machine. Think record players, old-fashioned coffee machines, analog retro clocks and zebra print bathrobes. The funky pool area of the hotel is a private oasis in the midst of the bustling city. The heated pool is open 8am – 10pm daily from mid-April to mid-October, weather permitting.
The Verb’s on-property restaurant, Hojoko Boston, cooks up mouthwatering dishes: Robata grilled fish; a spicy salmon roll with smoked Oaxacan chile kewpie and cucumber; tuna poke with avocado and roasted macadamia dressing; and duck and foie gras pot stickers in foie umeboshi sauce with sesame, to name just a few.
The hotel’s website says it best: “Our Ambition? To return the site to its rightful place as the home of Fenway’s legends and good times while injecting it with all the things our modern guests could want.”
Boston is a historic city but it also embraces change, weaving the modern into the pages of an enchanting history book. And that’s where a hotel like The Verb comes in— to simultaneously host new experiences and honor the past.
Olivia Balsinger
The Carrie Bradshaw of Travel
Follow the Solo Trip Series tag to read all of Olivia’s solo travel guides. More to come next month!
