Hello Everyone!

As promised, I wanted to give you advance notice of the two special hotel packages I was able to arrange for those wishing to come to Boston to attend the Third Annual FDR Memorial Lecture:

1) The Charles Hotel, Cambridge is offering a Deluxe King Room for $269 (plus tax) which includes breakfast at the award winning Henrietta’s Table (famous for its farm-to-table menu) as well as a personally signed copy of Chef Peter Davis’ Cookbook “Fresh and Honest”. The Charles is located right in Harvard Square, and is surrounded by several great restaurants, including Legal Seafoods and Jody Adams’ spectacular Rialto, which has consistently been voted one of the 20 best restaurants in America. (Jody’s a friend of mine, and I’ve cooked with her on TV, so I can personally attest this is true!)

2) The second pacakage is at Boston’s newest luxury hotel, the Mandarin Oriental. Nestled in the heart of Back Bay, it’s minutes from almost anything: Boston Common, Newbury Street shopping, the Museum of Fine Arts, and loads of fine dining. (And a quick taxi hop to Cambridge.) The Mandarin also hosts one of Boston’s most luxurious spas: at 16,000, sq. feet, you can while the day away to your heart’s content. (Just don’t miss the lecture!) The Mandarin has offered us a special rate of $295.00 per night (plus tax) for their Deluxe accommodations, which will include breakfast.  As an alternative, you may also consider a special rate of $370.00 for an upgrade from a Deluxe room to one in the Mandarin room category (essentially a suite) with breakfast included each morning, and a special $100.00 credit to be used in The Spa. (Rooms at the Mandarin, and the Charles, can be viewed online at the hotels’ websites.)

Both these packages represent a considerable savings off the normal room rates, and are for a limited time only. Reservations must be made by phone before January 25th, 2010. After that date, both hotels will release their reserved rooms back into the general pool, and will honor the rate only on an availability basis. Identify yourself as part of the FDR Suite Restoration when you call to make your reservations. Reservations may be made for one or two nights. (Personally, I recommend coming for two, and enjoying yourself; besides, we all know what winter travel is like, so come early and relax.)

Also, we are still in the process of costing out the Lecture and Gala evening, but it looks like ticket prices will be the following:

Lecture Only: $20 (10 for students)

Lecture and Cocktail Reception Only ($45)

Full Package, including lecture, cocktails, dinner and dancing: $165; seating at the President’s Table with Curtis Roosevelt (limited to 8 on a first come, first served basis) $275

This will be a black-tie event.

I’ll be confirming these prices in the next two weeks, and tickets will go on sale, most likely through the Harvard Box Office, beginning in December. Remember, if you are a Restoration member, there are considerable discounts (and freebies) associated with each membership level, so please consider joining!

That’s all for now. Our next post will get back to FDR scholarship, with Nina Ranalli, one of our student researchers, reporting on her impressions of College life in 1900 through the eyes of a member of the class of 2010.