Boston Hotel for 4th of July Fireworks and Concert

Is there a good Boston hotel to stay in where you can both hear the concert and see the fireworks on July 4th?

DJ
Dallas, Texas

Top photo: People watching Boston's July 4th fireworks from the Esplanade along the Charles River

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Although you can see the July 4th fireworks from a number of Boston hotels, hearing the concert from your hotel would be tricky, if not impossible - especially if you care about sound quality.

However, most of the hotels with fireworks views in public spaces such as roof top terraces stream the concert onto big screens. If they don't you can always stream it on your phone or tablet.

Speakers line both the Boston and the Cambridge sides of the Charles River for quite a distance to broadcast the music to people sitting on the river banks and the Boston Esplanade (the linear park along the river where the concert takes place at the Hatch Shell).

If you're in these areas, the sound is normally excellent.

However, major roads run along both sides of the river, separating the river and the narrow parks along it from the rest of the cities.

So even though several hotels are within easy walking distance of the river, none are directly on it on the Boston side.

Although both roads will be closed on July 3 and 4, most hotels are too far away for you to get decent sound quality - assuming you're staying in one with windows that open.

The only hotel that that might possibly be positioned so that you can both see the fireworks AND hear the music is the Liberty Hotel on the Boston side of the river.

My understanding is that the Liberty's windows do not open, which would mean that you'd need a room with a balcony AND it would need to face the river.

To have a decent view of the fireworks, you'd also need to be on an upper floor - which might mean that you would not be able to hear the concert clearly.

So you'd need to do 3 things: 1) call the hotel and confirm that you could, in fact, hear the concert and see the fireworks from one of their balcony rooms, 2) reserve the room immediately, and 3) try not to faint when they tell you the July 4th rate.

If the stars all align and this works for you, the Liberty is a wonderful hotel and even without music and fireworks, you'd have a great experience here.

The other hotel that you could also try is the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge. Although it has great views, you would need to check with them to find out if their windows open, and if the concert would be audible.

However, what most people do is walk down to the Esplanade or the river bank on the Cambridge side and find a spot by the river where you'll be able to easily hear the concert and see the fireworks.

There are a number of foot paths over Storrow Drive that make getting across very easy. Two of them, the Fiedler Foot Bridge and the Charles Foot Bridge will be closed for the 4th, but there are six others and your hotel can tell you which one is closest.

The advantage of walking to the river banks is that you can basically choose any hotel in Back Bay or Beacon Hill that is near the river, or if you don't mind a slightly longer walk, Downtown Boston or the West End.

Here is a hotel map from Booking.com that gives you a quick, easy way to see locations. Enter the dates for your stay, and you'll see the cheapest rates for hotels available on your dates:

Booking.com

More about how to save on Boston hotels

Also, here's a list of hotels for Boston fireworks, including those that I mentioned above.

Near the bottom of the article, you'll find hotel phone numbers. You should call the hotel directly to make sure you'll get a room with the view that you want, and you can also check with them about the music.

Once you know your travel dates and select your hotel, make your reservations as quickly as possible because it's unbelievable how fast they fill up for the July 4th period, and how much high the rates rise close to the time of the event.

Have a great time when you come to Boston!