Where to Stay: Westborough, MA, Marlborough and Hopkinton

People asking where to stay in Westborough, MA, or in Marlborough or Hopkinton next door, are usually here for work, a youth tournament or a family occasion, and the default answer is a business hotel beside I-495. That answer is often right. This guide covers the five towns that ring Southborough, what each is for, and the cases where one house in the middle beats a block of rooms at the edge of an office park.

Why the middle of the ring works

Southborough sits where I-495 crosses Route 9, a few minutes north of the Mass Pike (I-90). That is the practical case for it. Westborough and Marlborough are one exit away on 495. Hopkinton and Ashland are a short run south. Northborough is just up the road. When part of your group has business in one town and the rest has plans in another, nobody draws the long straw.

From Southborough town center, by car and approximately:

• Westborough center: 10 minutes
• Marlborough center: 10 to 15 minutes
• Hopkinton common: 10 to 15 minutes
• Ashland center: about 15 minutes
• Northborough center: about 15 minutes

Times vary with traffic, especially on Route 9 and the Mass Pike. The I-495 interchanges with Route 9 and with the Pike both clog at commuting hours, so add ten minutes on weekday mornings and evenings.

Westborough and Marlborough: the work towns

These two hold most of the area's corporate campuses, labs and hotels, spread along I-495 and Route 9. If you are visiting for one night of meetings, stay in the hotel closest to the meeting and be done.

Longer stays are different. A project team in town for a week, or a company bringing eight people together for planning, gets more from a house: one kitchen, one big table, space to work apart and then together. Southborough Garden Retreat has an office with two desks, several living areas and a dining table that seats 12. Daytime working sessions are possible by arrangement; our off-site guide covers how that works and where the limits are.

Marlborough is also where you take a restless group. Apex Entertainment, in the Apex Center development off Route 20, has bowling (ten-pin and candlepin), an indoor electric go-kart track, laser tag, mini golf, an arcade and a restaurant. There is no fee to walk in; you pay per attraction. It is loud and large, and busiest on wet weekends.

For a quieter hour, the Assabet River Rail Trail runs about five paved miles from Marlborough to Hudson, flat enough for small children on bikes.

Two places to eat, each with its own website for menus and hours: Arturo's Ristorante in Westborough, an Italian restaurant that has been in town since 1999, and Welly's, an American restaurant and bar on Main Street in Marlborough.

Hopkinton: where the marathon starts

Hopkinton has been the start of the Boston Marathon since 1924, and the town does not let you forget it. The painted start line crosses the road beside the town common all year. Next to it stands "The Starter", a bronze of George V. Brown, who fired the gun from 1905 to 1937. The 26.2 Foundation, a local nonprofit, looks after the marathon sculptures around town and has the background on each.

On a normal weekend the photograph takes 20 minutes. Marathon weekend in April is another matter, with road closures and runner buses. See our guide to staying near the marathon start for that.

The rest of the year, Hopkinton's draw is Hopkinton State Park, about 10 minutes from Southborough, with swimming beaches, seasonal boat rentals and wooded trails around the reservoir. DCR charges for parking in season, more for out-of-state plates. The Hopkinton Center for the Arts runs concerts, theater and exhibitions in a 200-seat space and a gallery.

Ashland and Northborough

Ashland is where the marathon began. From 1897 to 1923 the race started here, before the line moved west to Hopkinton, and the Ashland Historical Society tells the story. Marathon Park now marks the spot. Runners will want to see both towns. Afterwards, Stone's Public House, in a building that opened in 1834 as the Railroad House, does dependable pub food by a fireplace.

Ashland State Park has a reservoir loop trail of about three and a half miles and summer swimming.

Northborough's main attraction for visitors is Tougas Family Farm, a pick-your-own fruit farm that runs from strawberries in June through apples and pumpkins in autumn, with a playground and barnyard animals. Picking conditions change daily, and the farm asks you to check its site before driving over.

Where to stay in Westborough, MA and nearby: hotel or house

Take a hotel in Westborough or Marlborough if you are travelling alone or as a couple, if your employer is paying and the meeting is next door, or if you need a front desk and a shuttle.

Look at a house if there are six or more of you, if the stay is longer than a couple of nights, or if the trip mixes work and family. Southborough Garden Retreat is a private whole-house rental with four bedrooms plus sofa beds (it sleeps 14 comfortably), a chef's kitchen, a gym with a Peloton and a Tonal, and over an acre of garden with a pond. Evenings there mean a pool table and a projector room instead of a hotel bar.

It is on a quiet residential street. No parties, no smoking, and events only in the daytime by arrangement.

For more on the town in the middle, read the Southborough guide.

Useful links

• Apex Entertainment, Marlborough
• Assabet River Rail Trail (Town of Hudson)
• 26.2 Foundation: The Starter
• DCR: Hopkinton State Park
• Hopkinton Center for the Arts
• Ashland Historical Society: The Starting Line
• DCR: Ashland State Park
• Tougas Family Farm
• Arturo's Ristorante
• Welly's Restaurant
• Stone's Public House