Just off an I-95 exit in the Boston burbs might not be a place you'd look to find a luxury hotel with an outstanding restaurant, but that's where we found both, at the Hotel Indigo in Newton.

We were going to an early evening event in Boston and didn�t want to deal with rush-hour traffic getting into the city, so we chose to stay in the outskirts, at a place close to both the I-95 ring highway and the T trains into the city. Those two lines on the map intersected in Newton, at the Hotel Indigo, within sight of both the highway and the T station.

Or it would have been in sight, if a park full of trees didn't separate the Indigo from the commuter rail station, a five-minute walk and a $2 ride from the center of Boston. The brisk walk back from the station was just enough to work up an appetite for a late dinner at BOKX 99 American Prime, the restaurant on the lower floor of the hotel.

Our room was large, but not cavernous, with a high king-sized bed dressed in a fluffy comforter and five pillows and lit by individual reading lamps. Cream-colored walls and muted tones of the drapery, spread and furnishings gave the room serenity without being dull. Textures were varied -- the comfortable chair that faced the sofa was covered in a cocoa-colored velour, with a bronze damask pillow. The rug in the sitting area was in shades of olive and taupe.

Art on the walls of our room were mural-sized photos of an autumn forest and of magnified dandelion fluff, just offbeat enough to add spirit. An ottoman doubled as a luggage rack, although there was plenty of luggage space in the closet. A safe, coffee maker, High speed and wireless internet, flat-screen TV and a long desk with a chrome swivel chair completed the room. The smallish bathroom had a good shelf over the sink; luckily I don't wear much make-up, because the lighting was unsuited for applying it. The large glass shower had a bench, and the bath amenities were by Aveda.

The bed was divinely comfortable, with dreamy soft high-count sheets, but I would have slept better had the heating system not had such a loud fan that kept going on and off all night. Most room packages include coupons for a continental breakfast from the little snack bar downstairs, and guests eat at a few cafe tables in the lounge area. A larger, nicer breakfast area would have been welcome, especially since there are no neighborhood cafes or bakeries handy as an alternative.

But those are small quibbles with a lovely hotel, whose staff is hospitable and attentive, rooms very nicely appointed and decorated, and with a restaurant that's worth traveling for. Hotel Indigo is just off Exit 22 of I-95, in Newton, Massachusetts. Contact them at (617) 969-5300 or
www.newtonboutiquehotel.com.