This year the Frog Pond introduces freestyle skating on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for $12 a session. Don’t forget to bring your own skates, because there are no rentals during that time.

Season Passes
Individual season passes are available for $100, family passes are $150, and a lunchtime pass good Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (holidays excluded), is available for $60.

Mass Transit:
Park Street Station on the Red and Green Lines.

The prime location of Frog Pond makes it easy to squeeze in just an hour or so of ice skating. Why not go skating while waiting for a movie at the Boston Common Loews Theater? Or go skating to relax after a crazy day of shopping in the nearby Downtown Crossing. And for the hopeless romantics out there, go skating under the starlit sky and finish it off with a stroll in the park.

For more information, call (617) 635-2121.

For more on Boston Common (click!)

If the ice seems too crowded, pause for a moment to gaze at the Common from Boylston and Tremont Streets: the gauzy, lamplight scene inspired Childe Hassam’s ”Boston Common at Twilight,” which you can catch indoors at the Museum of Fine Arts the next morning.

The completion of the Charles Street Jail in 1851 was a milestone of design, bringing the architect Gridley James Fox Bryant’s stately, rough-hewn granite style to the edge of the Charles River. The jail closed in 1990 and has been transformed into a luxury hotel after a $150 million restoration.

The result preserved much of the original stone and brickwork while adding touches like Gothic-style chandeliers that tower over a lobby lounge. Many cell bars remain as well, cleverly backlighted by ever-changing shades of lavender and chartreuse. And while most of the 298 rooms are stacked in a new tower, 18 are in the original jail, connected by catwalk-like terraces that guards once patrolled.

BEACON HILL LOCATION

Situated at the northern edge of Beacon Hill, overlooking the Charles River. It’s an easy walk to the Boston Common and the Back Bay neighborhood, and a stone’s throw from a subway station (Charles Street/Massachusetts General Hospital on the Red Line).

THE ROOMS

Book “Basic Jail” or “Breathtaking Jail.” The “jails” are both cozy and oddly airy, with exposed-brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows that offered river and city views. The modern furnishings included an off-white divan, black lacquered desk and dresser and an earthy merino throw at the foot of the plush white bed. A 32-inch flat-panel TV sat above the mini-bar, and an elegant vase was filled with flowers. Instead of the typical “Do not disturb” card, the doorknob sign read: “Solitary.”

THE BATHROOM

Spacious and well-equipped, including a large bathtub, glass-doored shower with excellent water pressure, plenty of towels, Molton Brown products, two luffas and a couple of silky, terry-cloth lined robes. A granite floor matched the overall design.

RESTAURANTS

Scampo, the hotel’s upscale Italian restaurant whereas Clink, a cool and casual place with a lot of exposed brick and original cell bars, offered a delicious array of small plates, including artisanal cheeses served with grilled cranberry-pecan bread ($10 to $15). The same menu is also served at the atmospheric lobby bar, a clutch of red velvet banquettes and leather ottomans popular with post-work crowds in business attire.

Later, the cocktail action moves to the Alibi bar, housed in the former drunk tank that now features real, blown-up mug shots of celebrities like Mick Jagger (who was spotted at Clink in September) and Lindsay Lohan.

AMENITIES

The gym is small, and there’s no spa. The hotel offers Wi-Fi ($10.99 a day), local car service in rush hour at no extra charge and, remote airport baggage check-in screened by the Transportation Security Administration.

ROOM SERVICE

Very good room service. Try the tasty Cheddar and asparagus frittata ($20) came with delicious potatoes and copious toast triangles.

THE BOTTOM LINE

It’s a well-done theme hotel that plays its schtick to perfection, making you feel like one privileged inmate. Doubles start at $319. Liberty Hotel, 215 Charles Street, Boston; (617) 224-4000; www.libertyhotel.com.

OVERVIEW

A fabulous Kimpton hotel!

Finally, a hotel for dog-loving, yoga-practicing, environmentally conscious history buffs. Nine Zero, near the Beacon Hill area of Boston and within easy walking distance of the city’s Freedom Trail, is part of the Kimpton hotel chain, which promotes itself as offering a “premium guest experience through nonintrusive, high-quality, eco-friendly products and services.” Thus, the hotel says it uses environmentally friendly cleaning products, prints its materials on recycled paper with soy-based ink and that its coffee is “organic, shade-grown and/or fair-trade.” Oh, and you’re expected to do your part as well: Guests are reminded that it helps the environment if you reuse your towels.

THE LOOK

Sleekly designed and kind of hip (particularly by Boston standards), the 190-room, 19-story, red-brick and limestone hotel is fronted by a discreet — in fact, almost easy to miss — facade on bustling Tremont Street, and the coolly elegant lobby is dominated by polished marble floors, dark wood finishes and boldly striped club chairs in an inviting sitting area. (The sitting area looks, in fact, like a great place to hang out and read a good book, but avoid doing so from 5 to 6 p.m., when the hotel offers glasses of wine to guests and the place is jammed.) Guest rooms continue the design theme of dark woods and boldly patterned fabrics, and some on the upper floors have sweeping views of downtown Boston.

THE ROOMS

Elegantly appointed, but a little cramped for space, especially the standard-size rooms, which are dominated by large beds and ergonomic chairs and desks. A somewhat uncomfortable side chair is more suitable as a holding space for discarded clothes than as a place to sit while you’re watching TV. The marble bathrooms, though, are huge, with a large, glassed-enclosed shower big enough for two. The minibar, in addition to offering the usual snacks and drinks, also sells Stirrings brand Lemon Drop and cosmo mixes ($25 each).

AMENITIES

In your room you’ll find an “In-Room Mind, Body, Spa” guide, which, among other things, includes five illustrated yoga poses to try out, along with offers of a yoga mat and core-strengths bands from the concierge.

Guests who bring their dogs are provided an in-room pet bed at no extra charge, as well as a pet bowl and a “welcome treat.”

The hotel’s small fitness center has only free weights and a few treadmills, but guests can also get a daily pass to the Bally’s gym, one block away. The hotel’s restaurant, KO Prime, is among the city’s most highly regarded steakhouses.

ROOM SERVICE

A breakfast of pancakes ($11) and grapefruit juice ($3) ordered at 9:25 a.m. and promised “within 20 minutes” arrived exactly 13 minutes later. Room-service orders come with a built-in 18 percent tip and a $3 delivery charge.

THE CROWD

During the week, visiting business executives looking for a conveniently located and slightly hipper alternative to the Intercontinental or the Four Seasons. On the weekend, young couples who want to be near the city’s night life, families who want easy access to its tourist attractions (Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are just a few blocks away) and dog owners who want to take their pets for a romp in nearby Boston Common.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Even if you care nothing about staying in a “green hotel” and the notion of traveling with a dog seems like the worst idea in the world, Nine Zero still offers a pleasant diversion in a city that isn’t exactly overflowing with innovative hotels. Standard rooms (called “deluxe”) start at around $329 on week nights, $279 weekends.

Nine Zero, 90 Tremont Street, (617) 772-5800, www.ninezero.com.