Please consider carpooling, or taking public transit. The hotel is not far from the World Trade Center station on the Silver Line (change at South Station or Logan Airport) or a 3/4 mile walk from South Station (Amtrak, Commuter Rail, and Red Line).
Westin Boston Waterfront
425 Summer StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02210
View Arisia - Westin Boston Waterfront in a larger map
From Logan Airport
If you're arriving by plane, you can take the Silver Line bus from Logan Airport (the Silver Line will be free) to the World Trade Center stop and then follow the directions below.
You can read about other transportation options at the airport's web site. (Taxis are about $20 (plus tip) each way)
From T.F. Green Airport in Providence
You can take a moving walkway from the T.F. Green Airport to the new InterLink station, and then take the train to South Station in Boston and follow the directions below.
The Commuter Rail trains now stop at the new T.F. Green/InterLink station, Monday to Friday, including MLK Holiday.
By Train or Intercity Bus
From North Station (Commuter Rail) cross the street to the North Station subway stop and take the Orange Line to the Downtown Crossing or take the Green Line to Park Street (grab which ever subway train arrives first at North Station). Then change to the Red Line subway (direction "Braintree" or "Ashmont") to South Station. Once at South Station, follow the directions below.
From South Station (Bus, Amtrak or Commuter Rail), take the Silver Line bus (SL1 - direction "Logan Airport" or SL2 - "Design Center") from South Station to the World Trade Center station.
From the World Trade Center Station, go up two levels to the World Trade Center Avenue bridge and cross the bridge to the lights at Summer St (some maps show WTC Avenue as "Viaduct St"). Go across Summer St to the Westin Boston Waterfront.
You can also take the #7 bus from South Station (Summer St & Dorchester Ave) to the hotel (Summer St & WTC Ave). The #7 bus does not run on Sundays. On the Monday of Arisia (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), it runs on a Saturday schedule. Additionally, on Friday, the #4 bus runs from North Station to South Station to the hotel.
Transferring from the Red Line to the Silver Line is free, but transferring from the Red Line to the #4 or #7 bus will cost an extra $2 unless you have a CharlieCard. The #4 or #7 will get you closer to the hotel than the Silver Line does.
Taxis from South Station are about $7 or you could walk from South Station to the hotel. It's about 3/4 of a mile along Summer St. and is not an easy walk if it is cold and windy.
For more information about public transit and fares in Boston, please visit the MBTA website. For more information about T passes in Boston, please visit the MBTA site (fares and passes section). You'll need one to ride the subway system. You can buy plastic CharlieCards from a booth at subway stations and save $0.50 per ride over the CharlieTicket bought from a vending machine.
At the moment (12/30/19), no track work is planned for the MBTA subway lines during Arisia weekend, but please check their website foralerts before traveling.
Cars
The City of Boston has lowered the default speed limit for the city from 30 mph to 25 mph for all streets that do not have a speed limit sign. In some areas, the signed speed limit may be lower.
From all directions, keep an eye out for signs with arrows that say "BCEC - Convention Center" (which is next door to the Westin).
From the North (I-93)
- Take I-93 South to Exit 20, South Station (it's the third exit, once you enter the tunnel (exits 21 and 22 do not exist)).
- As you approach the exit, get in the far right lane, so you don't accidentally end up on the Mass Pike (I-90), which shares the exit.
- At the top of the ramp turn left onto Summer St.
- Go about 3/4 mile and the Westin Hotel will be on your right, just after the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (curved roof).
From the West (Mass Pike/ I-90)
- Take the Mass Pike (I-90) East to exit 25, "South Boston".
- Go up the exit ramp and bear left following sign for "Seaport Blvd".
- Turn right onto Congress St at the first traffic light.
- Turn right onto D Street.
- Go over the bridge and turn right onto Summer St, and then immediately turn left into the hotel.
From the South (I-93/ SE Expressway)
- Take I-93N to the Mass Pike (I-90) East (Exit 20 "Logan Airport/South Boston").
- While on the ramp, take the left fork for I-90E.
- When underground, take the exit for "South Boston".
- Before the traffic light take the right fork onto Congress St.
- Turn right onto D Street.
- Go over the bridge and turn right onto Summer St, and then immediately turn left into the hotel.
Trucks
The loading docks are under the Westin Hotel on Fargo St., off D. Street. To get to the loading docks from the front of the hotel, turn right from Summer St onto D St, and then turn right onto Fargo Street. If you're coming from the Mass Pike (I-90) continue on D Street past Summer St, and then turn right onto Fargo St.
The loading dock for the Grand Ballroom is on the left. The loading dock for the Galleria Exhibit Hall (Art Show, Dealers, ...) is on the right. Despite what some maps might show you, Fargo Street does not continue past the loading docks. (there are jersey barriers to stop folks from using Fargo St., as a short cut)
If you'll need to park your vehicle after you unload, and it's too large for a normal parking space, please see the section for Oversize Parking.
Bicycles
The Westin no longer has a bicycle rack. There are covered bike racks under the overhang of the BCEC next to the Westin.
There's a Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway) docking station next to where Food Trucks will be located.
Accessibility
Getting from the Silver Line to the hotel:
The station has two levels of out, and you want the upper one. It brings you to the side of a street. You will want to head left, along the sidewalk on the same side of the street. The street is actually a bridge that goes over the Pike, which presumably you'll be able to hear just fine under you. Because it's a bridge, there's almost no normal city obstructions -- no driveways, no mailboxes, no houses or stores, just bridge. Google maps show three street lights. There can be a mighty stiff breeze from the openness, the fast traffic below, and being up in the air.
The end of the bridge is the end of the block, and at what we'll model as a four-way intersection with Summer Street, the hotel is on the far left corner. The crosswalk you want (conceptually, you're going "straight ahead", however, this being New England...) is slightly left down Summer Street. Like, 20 feet. The curb you'll be at, at this corner is rounded in a large-radius arc. The crosswalk has a audible walk signal.
Once you've crossed the street, things get more complicated because you're now on hotel property and they have all these traffic features, like a ramp to a garage, and a half-circle driveway for taxis. Most of these can be avoided outright by heading left, along Summer Street. Shortly, there will be a curving wall to your right, that will lead you to a flight of stairs, that will take you to the sidewalk right in front of the hotel entrance. This is sort of making the two sides of a right triangle, and thus is a bit longer (and involves stairs) than doing the hypotenuse, but it's the hypotenuse path that crosses all the driveways.
For more information about accessibility at Arisia, please see our Accessibility page.