Boston: Smart Splurges

Boston Harbor Hotel Sailboats glide past your window at this luxury waterfront property; twice-daily maid service, chauffeur service, and choice of newspaper. Waterfront; 70 Rowes Wharf; 617-439-7000; www.bhh.com
luxury | hotel

Clio This elegant, white-tablecloth eatery located on upscale Commonwealth Avenue takes its direction from highly regarded executive chef and co-owner Kenneth Oringer, who conjures artful French-American cuisine like sweet, butter-basted Maine lobster and slow-roasted Kobe rib-eye Au Poivre. Back Bay; 370 Commonwealth Ave.; 617-536-7200; www.cliorestaurant.com
restaurant | expensive | french | notable chef | american

Cooking classes Co-author of The Elephant Walk Cookbook, Longteine "Nyep" de Monteiro, teaches weekly three-hour cooking classes at the Elephant Walk Restaurant. Students get a crash course in making spring rolls or in Cambodian-style grilling before a light lunch at the restaurant. Sign up early as Nyep’s expertise is in high demand and classes sell out quickly.   Cambridge; The Elephant Room, 2067 Massachusetts Ave.; 617-285-1056; www.elephantwalk.com
culinary | things to do | cooking class | education

Landfish Charters Become a New England fisherman, at least for a day, under the expert care of businessman-turned-captain George B. Whitehead, who teaches fishing in the 50-square miles of the Boston Harbor. Both experts and first timers will appreciate his knowledge of the area’s hotspots. With six hours at sea, you’re sure to catch a few stripers and bluefish. Boston Harbor; Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marine, 256 Marginal St.; 617-240-5000; www.landfishcharters.com
outdoors | fishing | education

Salt Sam Hayward (owner and chef) and his wife welcome guests into their cozy Cambridge bistro as if it’s an extension of their own home. Named Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, Hayward cooks up organic local ingredients into mouthwatering mainstays like honey-glazed, whole-roasted, boneless duck with roasted spring onions and petit root vegetables. Cambridge; 798 Main St.; 617-876-8444; www.saltsrestaurant.com
restaurant | expensive | french | notable chef | organic

The Liberty Hotel Boston’s long-defunct Charles Street Jail, built in 1851, was reborn in 2007 as a 298-room luxury property with interiors by Alexandra Champalimaud, the A-list designer behind New York’s Algonquin, Pierre, and Carlyle hotels. Indulge in guilty pleasures in preserved cells at the lobby’s “jail” bar, then relax in rooms with touch-screen VOIP phones and flatscreen TVs. Beacon Hill; 215 Charles St.; 617-224-4000; libertyhotel.com
luxury | hotel | new | design | unusual | expensive

XV Beacon The pioneer of Boston’s boutique-hotel boom is the city’s address for luxury-lovers in the know; complimentary chauffeur-driven Lexus sedans jet you around town. Beacon Hill; 15 Beacon St.; 877-982-3226; www.xvbeacon.com
luxury | hotel | expensive