Noreascon 4 was a nice convention. I worked in the Con Suite and I thought it worked very well. Always difficult to provide a hospitality suite for 5000 fans but we managed quite well.
There was a clause in the hotel contract that the hotel (Sheraton) would keep our function rooms, including the Con Suite, stocked with Coke products and the fans really scarfed them up. It was also nice to wander into the movie or anime rooms and grab a drink.
The Concourse in the convention center had a pub, the Mended Drum, that served a good variety of ales, ciders and beers. And the food services folks were providing a Pratchett themed menu. They also hosted the literary Bheers where fans could sit and drink with their favorite authors. (As opposed to the KoffeeKlatches in the Consuite with just Coffee)
What I really liked about the MD was that they telecast the Hugos and Masquerade to the bar so you could sit down and enjoy the show.
Boston was very pleasant that week, Mostly Sunny. I had a chance to pick up a game at Fenway on Wednesday and Boston won. The rest of weekend was a whirlwind of meeting old friends and wondering where the ones you knew were there were.
Unfortunately, American Airlines changed my return flight to 8 AM from 10 AM on Tuesday, forcing me to actually get up and leave the hotel at 6 AM. and it left me with a 4 hour layover in Raleigh Durham. Fortunately, I used the Intenet lounge to recheck my travel plans and found the change.