What is a nice hotel in Boston for the history buff?

My husband and I are planning a trip to Boston, but the hotel choices are getting overwhelming. We’d like a nice hotel; price isn’t that important, but we’re not looking for $500 a night either. The main reason we’ve chosen Boston for a vacation is we would love to explore the history of the city. Is there a good hotel sort of central to some of the more famous spots? A hotel like this with some juicy history of it’s own would be a plus! We’d be thrilled with some advice from seasoned Boston tourists or residents!

Not sure of the prices since they vary so much, but here’s some historic hotel options.

Liberty Hotel — used to be a jail, just opened.
Parker House — home of the Saturday Club (Longfellow and Thoreau), invented Parker House rolls and Boston Cream Pie. On the Freedom Trail and right in the middle of everything.
Langham Hotel — great NC Wyeth murals, used to be the Federal Reserve Bank.
Jurys Boston — used to be Police Headquarters

Some other historic hotels:

http://www.historichotels.org/bostonhotels

Cassidy featuring R. Kelly – Hotel