The Omni Parker House Hotel

Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X worked here in their youth. This hotel is also famous for being the birthplace of Boston cream pie. The Omni Parker House puts visitors right where they ought to be - where the action is. Located on the Freedom Trail in Boston's downtown Financial District, this hotel has accommodated comfort-seeking travellers since 1856. The hotel recently underwent a $70 million restoration, but has managed to keep its historic charm. Families will be pleased at the attention paid to making a stay with children a pleasant one. The hotel has a Kids' Program that serves up lots of goodies. Upon arrival little guests receive a bag filled with treats, coloring book and crayons, a slap band, foam boomerang, and a list of places to visit in town. Kids are also greeted with an enticing plate of cookies and milk when they enter their room. Other little person perks include cable television and Nintendo 64 in each room. It may be difficult to convince the kids to leave the hotel! A non-refundable $50 fee is charged for an animal stay. You'll pay less for your children - children under 17 are free. Most Haunted Hotel in New England? The recently refurbished Omni Parker House, apparently the most haunted hotel in New England since opening its doors in October of 1855, has seemed to tiptoe around its supernatural history. However, the marketing crew has recently been pushing its "exclusive haunted travel" package online here. The deep-link section here explores the various sightings of the misty apparition of the hotel's founder, Harvey Parker, who has reportedly been seen roaming the 10th floor annex. While they mention the close encounter of the Parker kind, they do stress that he hasn't been around lately. The last sighting was apparently two decades ago. However, there's a slew of other stories:

• Elevators are always called to the third floor (the floor Charles Dickens occupied) without a button being pushed or a guest waiting for the elevator.

• In a room on the 10th floor, guests have reported the sound of a rocking chair that kept them up all night. There are no rocking chairs in the hotel.

• Bellmen have reported bright “orbs” of light floating down the corridor on the 10th floor then disappearing.

Click here for the Omni Parker House's spirited backstory.