In three words...STAY AT ANN'S!!!
In more than three words...I have to say this listing is slightly misleading as it is far more wonderful than the pictures and description can capture. Our family of four (dad, mom, college age daughter, and teenage son) absolutely LOVED our stay at Ann and Salim's. Not only was everything better than pictured (bedrooms, location, everything!), Ann was an absolutely fabulous hostess. She left us snacks and drinks and just went above and beyond to ensure we had a fantastic stay.
It was far more liberating than we had realized to be able to come back to a "real home" than all be crowded into a hotel room. Ann's had three bedrooms, two baths, a fully stocked kitchen, dining area, and a very comfortable living room where our family vegged out and watched Game Show Network at the end of a long day of playing tourist.
The location is just perfect. It's on a quiet street, but one block away from a Whole Foods in one direction and one block away from a 24 hour CVS in the other direction. Right next to the CVS was the subway entrance. It was so ideally situated that when our walking-intensive days were through we didn't mind getting on the subway because we knew how close we were. It was the perfect blend of a nice, quiet street, but still located close to everything you needed.
Ann had the best bookshelf - she had something for everyone - from the Bible, to Football for Dummies, Dilbert collections, the most popular fiction titles, classic fiction titles (like Nancy Drew!), and even books that just are "popular" (like the "Hamilton" musical book). The desk offered a fantastic selection of Boston guides as well as a large, framed subway map on the wall. We had requested a tip for a local pizza place the first night we arrived and Ann had several menus to choose from and her comments regarding each. Thanks to this, we got delicious pizzas from a local pizzeria and didn't have to use a chain.
With Ann and Salim, you're getting top-notch service (without being intrusive), extreme considerations for your comfort, such as herbal tea, regular tea, K-Cups and coffee maker, enough pots, pans, spices, plates, that you could actually cook in the kitchen.
I don't know if we'll ever visit Boston again, but next time, finding a place will be easy! I wouldn't stay anywhere but Ann's. If she was booked I'd move my dates just so I could stay there. Yeah....it was THAT great!