Browsing Tag

BOSTON

BOSTON, EVENTS, NIGHTLIFE

Event Alert: Social Boston Sports Hosting Second Birthday Bash at Felt Saturday, March 7

I’ve been to a few second birthday parties in my day and they typically don’t include a night of drinks, dancing and raffle prizes. On Saturday, March 7, Social Boston Sports (SBS), a great group dedicated to hosting social events and sport leagues for young professionals, is celebrating their 2nd anniversary in the form of a birthday bash at Felt. The party starts at 8:00pm – tickets are $10, or free if you have one of their new Varsity or Junior Varsity membership cards.

Birthday Cake - Candles by jessica.diamond from Flickr

The event will be a private party on Felt’s 4th floor club, which also hosted their first birthday bash last year. I’ve been to a few Social Boston Sports events in my day, and I love their ability to bring together local young professionals. It’s hard to make new connections – friendship or romantic – after college, and everyone that I’ve met at a Social Boston Sports event is friendly, outgoing and open to meeting new people.

Given their fun-loving persona and great social event and sport league options, it’s no surprise that they have grown from a small group of friends to a network of over 3,500 young professionals in just two years.

Tickets are available at www.socialbostonsports.com and will not be sold at the door, so make sure to purchase yours in advance. I’ll be there toasting to their success and eating birthday cake!

BOSTON, NIGHTLIFE

Improper Bostonian Rocks Foundation Room at The House of Blues

Last Thursday I attended the Improper Bostonian’s bash at Foundation Room, a member’s only club inside the new House of Blues on Lansdowne Street. Not to be confused with Foundation Lounge in the Hotel Commonwealth, Foundation Room is an upper-level restaurant and lounge space. The interior is warm and inviting with an eclectic (perhaps Moroccan?) décor. It has a nice balcony overlooking Lansdowne Street and a private entrance into the House of Blues concert venue.

While I really enjoyed Foundation Room, I heard rumors that membership fees start around $2,500, which means that this Savvy Bostonian will not be joining their elite ranks. It’s too bad, because if this club was open to the public as a lounge, it would be extremely popular with Boston’s trendy young professional scene.

Although I may never walk into Foundation Room again, I must give Kudos to the Improper Bostonian for giving us a glimpse into a hot new venue and attracting the hip twenty to thirty-sometime crowd that attended. As if you would have expected anything else from the Improper Bostonian! I’ve been to a few Improper Bostonian parties in my day, but this was my favorite one to date.

House of Blues Boston – 15 Lansdowne Street, Boston

Improper Bostonian – http://www.improper.com/

BOSTON

So Many Boston Sports Clubs, So Little Time!

I recently upgraded my Boston Sports Club (BSC) membership so I can go and try many of the different locations. I’m enjoying the opportunity to try so many new clubs, and wanted to share some feedback with my fellow Bostonians:

Dumbells by Rainer Brockerhoff from Flickr

Allston, MA

The Allston BSC is a decent-sized club. It uses the basketball court as a group fitness studio (which means they can accommodate a lot of people in a class), has squash courts, a spinning room and express line. The club has a small ab machine room off of the weight lifting area, which is great. I haven’t been to this club much after work, because I thought that they charged for valet parking.  I just went the other night and realized that it is free! Wahoo!  Despite having a weeknight valet attendant, I’ve had a few frustrating encounters when on-street, parking lot and valet garage spots were all filled. I’ve found that if you go around 7:00pm on a weeknight the gym is not crowded. A colleague keeps raving about their classes, so I plan on testing them out in the near future. This is also a great gym to go to on the weekends because they do not charge for parking and it’s never crowded.

Copley Square, Boston, MA

The Copley Square BSC is a basement-level club on Boylston Street. For its location, I was very impressed with the amount of space this club has. It has an indoor pool, express line and a group fitness studio. I went at 9pm after a business meeting and it wasn’t crowded at all. I’ve also had similar luck on the weekends. I haven’t had an opportunity to try it after work yet.

Downtown Crossing, Boston, MA

The Downtown Crossing BSC is an upper-level club with big windows and views of downtown crossing. It has a fitness room, pilates/yoga room, spinning studio and express line. I used to go after work and never had a problem finding a machine. I love this club’s close proximity to the Boston Common and Charles River running/walking path. I’ve tried the club strength and club abs classes and enjoyed them. The only drawback to this club is that the elevators are very slow and kind of ancient!

Newton, MA

The Newton BSC is a tinier club with a unique layout. It has an indoor pool, group fitness studio, four indoor tennis courts, spinning room, pilates/yoga studio, express line and an indoor running track. I recently played on their tennis courts and had a wonderful experience, although they do charge more for court fees than the Lexington BSC. I’ve also tried the indoor running track, which is one level above the gym floor. It’s less than 1/8 a mile, but I loved the opportunity to run indoors during the winter. I’ve only been to this club on the weekends and have never had a problem finding a machine or space on the track. Tennis court time is a bit harder to secure, so book in advance.

South Station

The South Station BSC is a tiny club, but is much newer than some of the other clubs. It has an indoor pool, group fitness studio, spinning room and express line. I love swimming at this club on the weekends because it is not crowded, does not have little kid birthday pool parties and street parking is ample. I used to go after work and found it hard to get a cardio machine at times, but enjoyed their club abs and club strength classes. There are also three small stretching areas sprinkled throughout, which is helpful.

Watertown, MA

The Watertown BSC is a large, airy club tucked inside the Arsenal building. It has a group fitness studio, pilates studio, basketball court, spinning room, express line and indoor pool. I’ve tried the club strength and club abs classes and enjoyed both of them. The gym is very clean and there is ample free parking. It’s extremely busy after work because it is located inside an office park, but I can usually find a cardio machine. If you’re very picky about the type of cardio machine, you may find yourself frustrated at times here. It’s a great club to go to on the weekends because it’s quiet and not crowded! Staff is friendly and helpful. They also have a small concession stand for protein shakes, water and snacks.

For more of my fitness content from around Boston and beyond, click here!

BOSTON, RECIPES, RESTAURANTS

Excelsior Update

One of my favorite Boston blogs, Chowder, from Boston Magazine, posted a blog entry about the future of Excelsior.  While I’m sad to see Excelsior close, it looks like we have one, possibly two new hot spots to look forward to this fall.  And you know how I heart inexpensive food/drinks in a chic atmosphere:

http://blogs.bostonmagazine.com/chowder/

BOSTON, NIGHTLIFE

Bond Restaurant and Lounge, Langham Hotel, Boston

I’ll admit it, I was a bit skeptical when my friends wanted to get drinks at Bond on a Friday night at 10:30pm. While Bond was getting praise as a new nightlife spot in the local papers, I couldn’t imagine Boston’s Financial District drawing crowds post happy-hour. I couldn’t have been more mistaken!

Bond has its own entrance along the side of the Langham Hotel, near the PO Square parking garage/park. After walking up a brief flight of stairs, you enter into a grand room, marked by high ceilings and dramatic chandeliers. The lounge floor is dotted with tables and comfortable chairs, perfect for sharing with a group friends. Cocktail servers attend to these tables, but there is no requirement for bottle service. The drink menu looked great and is on par (if not slightly more expensive) than the other lounge bars in town.

Overall, I enjoyed the stylish crowd, which ranged from 20-somethings and up. They also had a great DJ who spins atop the balcony, which we were lucky to gain entry to (it’s their VIP area). Bond offers food, but I just went for drinks this time around. The only downside I would highlight for Bond is that they do not have a restroom inside the lounge – you have to walk over to the hotel lobby, and it’s a twist & turn away, which is confusing. I hope that they can add facilities inside in the future.