Business travelers really seem to love The Grove. The location is fantastic—right in downtown and across the street from Goldy’s—and it has all the amenities you’d expect from one of the top Boise hotels; the lobby is grand, with a grand piano, lots of warm wood, granite, fresh flowers and textured fabrics, and some rooms—more warm wood, fresh flowers and textured fabrics—have great views of the city and foothills. This isn’t a hotel you’ll be excited to come back to, though. For many people, this is the only place they’ll stay in Boise, but it’s not like anyone’s landing at Gowen Field thinking: “Oh yeah! I get to go back to The Grove.” Yes, The Grove has a doorman, valet parking, a sauna and fitness center, and is one of Boise's nicer hotels—perhaps the nicest if you judge by the rooms and public spaces alone—but it’s a little lacking in personality. The most interesting thing we’ve seen there was a lobster tail corndog on the restaurant menu. But if you don’t need personality and just want the assurance of one of the nicest, cleanest, most recently updated rooms in Downtown, The Grove is for you. Especially if you’re a Goldy’s addict.
The best Boise hotels tend to be casual, economical affairs. You couldn’t find a room that cost upwards of $250 a night if you tried. That doesn’t mean you should expect poor service and dirty rooms. It just means Boise is a bargain. There are no luxury chains, but every two- and three-star chain in the country seems to have at least one venue in Boise (often, the public has evaluated the properties here as some of the chains’ best venues). Boise also has plenty of independent hotels and motels that are full of personality. These tend to be around downtown, while the chains are out along the interstate. Though the hotels along the interstate are convenient when you first arrive in town—easily accessible by car and from the airport—our favorite places, and some of the best Boise hotels, are downtown, where several days’ worth of activities are within walking distance.
Hotel 43
Neighborhood: Downtown Price Range: ModerateIdaho was the 43rd state admitted to the Union. The 43rd parallel goes through (or at least very near) Boise. Hotel 43 was Boise’s first design hotel, managing to strike a comfortable balance between mod and Zen. Really. There’s often live jazz in the lobby-level lounge. Jetsonian furniture is tempered by work from local artists. What? Landscapes? Cowboys? How does it temper? Well, with pillow-topped beds and soft linens. “Urban cozy” is what Hotel 43 correctly calls itself. “Sunset” magazine calls it one of the top-10 city hotels in the West, so it goes without saying that it is one of the best Boise hotels as well. Hotel 43’s 112 rooms and suites have views of the Capitol dome, the city lights or the Boise foothills. And it’s right by Chandlers Steakhouse—43 steps from the lobby—which sources as many ingredients as possible from local producers.
Homewood Suites by Hilton
Neighborhood: West Boise Price Range: BudgetThe Homewood Suites’ Boise outpost is said to be one of the chain’s best by regulars, and it's walking distance from Wal-Mart, an Edwards movie theater and several chain restaurants. We can say this hotel is clean, the manager’s reception Monday through Thursday evenings is a nice bonus, and the complimentary breakfast food—make-your-own-waffles, fruit, Danishes, muffins, bagels, eggs, bacon, sausage, hot and cold cereal—is better than most. We can also say we can’t remember a thing about the décor of the room. Look up “cookie cutter” in the dictionary and you’ll probably see it, though. Despite the unremarkable interiors, Homewood Suites is still one of the best places to stay in Boise. Downtown is a 15-minute drive away.
Oxford Suites Boise
Neighborhood: West Boise Price Range: BudgetIf value is what matters to you, or if you like your hotel rooms to be Tuscan-inspired, look no further than Oxford Suites, which, although shabby in some other locations, is still relatively shiny and new here. You get free cookies when you arrive (on weekdays), there’s an evening cocktail reception Monday through Saturday with complimentary wine (although it’s worth the nominal charge—maybe $1—to upgrade to a slightly better wine than the one offered for free), beer or soda, and the free breakfast buffet in the morning includes some hot items cooked to order. You’ll have to drive to downtown, but with the money you saved on drinks and breakfast, you can buy several gallons of gas. Besides, it’s always cool to pull up to a porte cochere topped by a Tuscan campanile.
Shilo Inn Boise Riverside
Neighborhood: Downtown Price Range: BudgetAsk for one of the second-story rooms that face the Boise River and you won’t guess you’re staying at a Shilo Inn--and for the same amount of money as a decent dinner costs in New York City. The public areas and rooms are a little tired—especially the veneer furniture in the rooms and the patterned carpets in hallways—but the staff does its best to make up for that, directing you to all the freebies—local and long distance phone calls, coffee and free breakfast.
Idaho Heritage Inn Bed & Breakfast
Neighborhood: Warm Springs Price Range: BudgetSleep where a senator did. And a governor. And be welcomed by hot cookies. A classic Victorian built in 1904 for one of Boise’s early merchants, the Idaho Heritage Inn was the home of Governor Chase A. Clark in the 1940s. Later Clark’s daughter Bethine and her husband, Sen. Frank Church, lived here when the Senate wasn’t in session. Since 1987, the home and its two resident cats, Simba and Yoda, have hosted guests in six fully-restored Victorian rooms and two rooms in a separate building that was originally a fire station in 1912. Allergic to cats? Don’t worry, they’re not allowed in rooms. More impressive than the restoration that helped get the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the breakfasts—apple skillet cake, apricot cream cheese stuffed French toast, or German pancakes making the Idaho Heritage Inn one of the best Boise hotels. The inn rents Trek bikes to guests looking to explore the nearby Boise Greenbelt.
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POPULAR Boise THINGS TO DO
- Whittenberger Planetarium
- Boise Train Depot
- Bogus Creek Outfitters and Ranch
- Old Idaho State Penitentiary
- Hoff Building
POPULAR Boise RESTAURANTS
- Berryhill & Co.
- Bittercreek Alehouse
- Gernika Basque Pub & Eatery
- Merritt's Country Cafe
- Goldy's Breakfast