Romantic, quaint, charming, historic, and smack in the heart of old town Marblehead. What else do…read moreyou want? My wife and I stayed here for three nights (Thu-Sun), since we were in the area for a wedding. We were greeted warmly and given a room on the second floor with a gas fireplace. The room was beautiful, clean, quiet, and everything in the room worked perfectly, i.e. hot water, air conditioning, television, etc. The housekeeping staff did a great job of keeping our room comfortable and stocked with supplies. The Inn is located in town so just walk out and enjoy the shops, restaurants, Fort Sewall, or walk down to water and take a boat ride. Walking through town and the side streets will make you think you were back in the 1700's. There is free parking in their private lot and a complimentary buffet breakfast each morning which consisted of cereal, bagels, muffins, English muffins, yogurt, oatmeal, coffee, tea, etc. Everything was fresh. There are multiple common areas with a fireplace, a bar, and a pool. My wife and I enjoyed a nice beverage before dinner in their quaint and cozy bar. This was a great option to Salem where there is plenty of drama and busy. Is it pricey? Yes. Worth every penny. This was our third trip to Marblehead and we already know where we are staying next time.

Wonderful place to stay- highly recommended. Always welcoming, for me it's like I am home-…read moreBeautiful rooms, very clean and great staff- The pool in the courtyard it welcome on hot summer days. Close to everything in Marblehead. For me, it's a must stay !

Beautiful Historic Inn! Interesting architecture and very well maintained. Very friendly and…read morehelpful staff! I would highly recommend Hotel Marblehead for a short stay vs a long stay. We were here for a week. The rooms are very small, remember this is a historic inn, not a modern hotel! We had a King Suite, which is basically two small rooms adjoined. The bedroom and bathroom are very small. The closest is very small. For a short stay, no problem, but for a longer stay fitting in suitcases (with very little room to hang clothes) was difficult. Small bathroom so most of those items we stored in the bedroom. The bed was very comfy and we both slept very well! Room was very clean and up to date. It is an older Inn and there are only stairs, no elevator. We had a room up on the third floor. Walking up and down, not a problem but getting our luggage up and down, that was a workout! The living area had a table for two and a couch. The couch was extremely uncomfortable to sit on. Guessing it is a sleeper sofa (not sure why you would want to have more people in this small space), the cushions would sink and the bar went right into the backs on your legs. It was comfortable to lay down on, just not sit on! My husband took a few naps on it! The Kitchenette was only stocked with mugs and supplies, for the coffee machine (just like downstairs in the breakfast room). No wine glasses. No plates. No utensils. When we stay a week we are often taking out a few meals back to our room or enjoying sone wine with cheeses/crackers. Made it more difficult but we worked around. The continental breakfast was very good but repeated itself, again a short stay it is perfect. A longer stay like ours we went out most mornings for breakfast. It's a short drive (not walk) to town with some fun shopping and lots of places to eat. We enjoying eating and shopping around Marblehead. In nice weather, I believe they have bikes, so definitely a short ride on a bike! There is a nice common area for eating breakfast and also would be a nice place to relax and read a book. There are also a nice outside area, however, we were there during rain. Unfortunately, no alcohol is allowed in the common areas. It would have been nice to enjoy a glass of wine on our own or when our friends came up to join us (long drive for them). All in all it was a great stay and I based selecting Hotel Marblehead on the many positive reviews. I sure most of those were short stays and during our stay, only one other couple was there more than a few nights.

Perfect boutique hotel in Marblehead. Bed was super comfortable and the shower was great! Debbie…read moreat the desk was delightful and took care of any of our needs. Breakfast every morning with yogurt, fruit, granola, muffins and breads. Coffee and Tea. Located in a cool town and close to Salem and Boston

Pros: - very comfy bed…read more- cruelty free toiletries available in the shower and bathroom, various herbal / fresh citrus scents that were not too strong - very friendly front desk staff that accommodated our needs around check out - we were able to keep luggage with them for many hours after check out and extend our parking time for no fee. The woman who checked us in was very friendly and gave us a tour of the common areas - entrances are locked to the public and secured with a password for extra safety - our room was big - I was pleasantly surprised to see that they offer Nespresso coffees with lots of fix ins available (even dairy free milk in the fridges!), grab and go snacks like Himalayan Gold popcorn and flavored almond mixes, and fresh made more substantial snacks like a chia seed pudding with coconut flakes and pineapple that was so good, I had it twice! Also available at any time in the fridges were Apple streussel yogurt parfaits and hard boiled eggs. Chocolate chip cookies are baked throughout the day. - nicely decorated lounge area on first floor and deck patio space - you are able to leave items in a designated shared refrigerator space in the kitchenette on the first floor, a clever solution to no fridges in the rooms (at least not in mine). The thought of a communal, unmentioned fridge with strangers did give me pause though, but it's nice they offer it. Room for improvement: - I understand I came in a heat wave and summer is not prime season in Salem, but the room was so warm. The air conditioning would not go below 67° setting, but the real room temp was always much higher according to the thermostat (this morning it was 76!) I was sweating and had a hard time sleeping. They gave us a box fan when we asked if the AC could go any lower...I wasn't even sure it was on....and that helped a little but still wasn't enough. Please let people turn down the temp so they can sleep without waking up sweaty! The AC units also made a decently loud bubbling noise - this seems to be in a part of town near where an unhoused group of people hangs out. To walk to the off site parking lot, which was not far away at all thankfully, you have to walk through a big park full of many unhoused people, some begging or shouting. It made me feel a bit unsafe and I wasn't thrilled to leave my car in an area of town like that. Head's up. On our last day here, there was also a seemingly unhoused woman hanging out on the front steps of the hotel's (beautiful!) lawn for many hours. At one point when we walked by, she was starting to get aggressive and shout at people walking by. - the bar in the lounge area, prominently featured on their website, is non functional as they do not have a liquor license, which would have been a nice place to enjoy a cocktail - the tvs have lots of streaming apps advertised on the TV main screen, but none are logged in to the hotel's account. I guess that's standard in some cases, but it felt frustrating to not be able to watch a lot of what was shown to us. - not the hotel's fault, just a product of the location (which was otherwise very convenient and centrally located!), but there were loud cars with booming stereos driving by at all hours of the night on a weekday that occasionally woke me up. - the lot they let you park in temporarily while you unload luggage, while a nice gesture and made moving bags much easier, is very tight and took quite a few maneuvers to be able to get out of. - there's really only one heavy duty lock on the door, but overall the closing mechanism felt very lightweight and I didn't have a ton of confidence in it. We were only given one key for two people staying in one room. Overall, the location and service were nice, but the temp issue was pretty hard to get past since it made me feel so stifled. The snacks came in handy more than once, but for the price, I'd look around at other locations before automatically coming back here, I imagine you could find something cheaper that isn't on the fringes of a sketchy neighborhood. It is right next to Hauswitch, which was one of my favorite shops in all of the many, many options in town, so that's a plus, but they really need a better AC system for summer guests. Thank you for a cozy stay other than that and for such welcoming treatment!

I'm not someone who rushes to Yelp, but this stay earned the effort…read more I recently stayed at The Merchant for the second time, and whatever magic existed during my first visit is gone. The biggest issue: the hotel hosted a large, ticketed public event that completely took over the main lobby--with zero advance notice to guests. I woke up to a lobby packed with strangers and nowhere to sit or gather with my family. I've never stayed at a hotel that allows a public event to fully overrun its only common area without warning paying guests. And no, "just go somewhere else" isn't an option--there is nowhere else. There are no additional common spaces and no elevator. Since we were meeting elderly family members, climbing three to four flights of stairs to our room wasn't possible. The lobby being unusable wasn't a minor inconvenience; it was a dealbreaker. Operationally, things only went downhill. Check-in is at 4pm, but arrive after 5pm and there's no one on-site to check you in. Checkout, however, is rigidly 11am. Our room was never cleaned during the stay, despite leaving the "please clean" tag on the door. Because of the limited staffing hours, we couldn't even get fresh towels. Then there's the mouse. I saw one in the common area and notified staff. Nothing was done. Food is left out uncovered for guests, which I promptly avoided--because "boutique hotel meets rodent buffet" isn't really my vibe. What's also new: some sort of train or underground rumbling that shakes the building roughly every hour, offering a front-row seat to what feels like an earthquake simulator. If this were a budget motel or a Holiday Inn, I might shrug and move on. But this is a $500-per-night hotel, and at that price point, these issues are unacceptable. Until these problems are addressed, I wouldn't recommend staying here--and I certainly won't be returning.

Great stay at the Hawthorne--had dinner in the tavern, great food and cocktails. Room was clean…read more They said it might be hot and they could bring a fan up but temperature was fine. Great location--right in the center. Two things of note--we stayed on the 6th floor, room 622. The 6th floor is the pet-friendly floor (we didn't have any pets), and my husband opened the door to get ice and there was a mini Doberman pinscher (cute!) desperate to get in our room. Then the owner came around the corner and could not figure out why he wanted to get in our room so bad. My husband went in search of the ice and saw the couple with the dog was staying in the room that would be exactly parallel to ours on the other side. I had a great sleep. Husband did as well except around 3 or so he was awoken to a hard poking several times on his shoulder. He said I was dead asleep and facing away so it was not me. We are both FAR from superstitious and don't believe in ghosts etc, so his mind went to someone broke in--but everything was locked up quite securely. He even checked under the bed! After the fact we found out about its ghost stories with specifically the 6th floor--specifically room 612. Again we were room 622, so does 612 (with the doggie) mirror ours? Other people have also mentioned getting poked as well, which we again didn't see about the hotel till after. So between the desperate dog and the poke, probably nothing--but most creeped out I've been in a while!! (Not so creeped out that we wouldn't go back!)

When we were walking in Salem, we came across an elderly lady in a wheelchair and she was…read morecompletely lost finding this hotel. We all stop what we we were doing and walked safely to this hotel. I went to the front desk to let the lady working on July 9 around midnight about this guest being lost, and she was extremely rude, annoyed and told me that she the guest has been calling the hotel for three hours asking for help. The lady who is working, the Front Desk has short gray hair and was very rude and obviously did not care about a guest at this hotel. If a guest is lost, wouldn't it be the right thing to do by assisting them instead of complaining about a loss elderly guest who was a retired school teacher? When other people in the hotel were leaving, the same lady was talking to another lady about the guest and talking about how rude they were and how much they were drinking, though when I was there, I did not witness any of this. When I recommend going to this hotel based off of the people who represent this Brand, the answer is no.

Didn't get to take the tour, it seemed a little expensive to me... but I felt like it did offer…read moremuch more bang for your buck then some other near by attractions. And honestly I would have paid it but we were almost out of our fun money for the trip. I will probably do it next time, or honestly staying here would be really cool!

Great day for a visit! Worth the drive Spent the day in…read moreSalem. Very comforting! conveniently located.

This was a good hotel for a one night stay in Salem. They offer a buffet breakfast with lots of…read moreoptions. There is a full fitness center too with pelaton bikes. Additionally, it's only a 10 minute walk from the train station. The amenities all seem pretty new as well. The only thing that was annoying is our key cards stopped working 3-4 times. The front desk was always willing to help, but I wasn't expecting our cards to stop working so much. Other than that, it was an incredible stay!

Great location with parking. Typical continental breakfast that was well stocked. Front desk was…read morevery efficient during check in and out.

Salem Waterfront Hotel is the perfect location to visit the sights of this charming city. Easy,…read moreconvenient parking right in front of the.. The hotel is decorated in nautical motifs and the welcome by the bellmen and front desk is extremely gracious. All the staff made an effort to assist. We arrived mid afternoon and headed for the cocktail lounge for a cocktail.. what a wonderful spot.. indoor outdoor options, interesting decor, and excellent service. The rooms are special. Tasteful nautical details and such comfortable beds as well as luxurious spa robes.. Baths well equipped with amenities like hairdryers, magnifying mirrors.. and a shower-head to die for. This is THE place to stay in Salem!

Stayed here while on vacation after looking at many other hotels. This place was perfect! Plus the…read moreindoor pool was perfect in the winter which my son enjoyed. Loved the decor. Great location!

Stayed here as part of a retreat. Stayed for 3 nights and the room and properly are comfortable…read more Easy walking distance from all things Salem.

The moment we stepped in wife and I fell in love with it…read more The manager was the best. Attentive and took care of us. Came back to room one night and what do we find? Bottle of champagne and chocolates. Love it. Will 100% will be back.

My bf and I stayed here in March. I found the website online and was convinced it would be…read morewonderful because of the gorgeous pictures of the place and the stellar reviews I found all over the internet. When we got there, we found the owner and his girlfriend cooking dinner. They were very nice and welcoming. I knew to expect the owners living quarters to be really close to the guest rooms because of some of the reviews I read but since the room we were in had a private entrance we weren't worried, we figured we could come and go and have the privacy we were looking for with no problem. We told Ted that we were late sleepers and not to worry about providing breakfast for us (the website says breakfast is served between 8:30-9:30). We would much rather sleep in and then grab brunch somewhere and we didn't want to hold him up from whatever he may have had planned for the day. He seemed somewhat resistant to the idea of not providing sustenance for us so after a little discussion, J and I told him "okay, how about 10:30?" He said he would leave certain items out for us. The house and our room really were gorgeous! Ted is an architect and he has done a really great job on the house and grounds. We stayed in the pond room which had cathedral ceilings, a two person jacuzzi, a gas fireplace, double glass doors, lighted double sinks that automatically turned on when you walked into the room, a whole wall of windows, decks, and heated floors. We were really happy with the room. It was very clean and decorated with a subtle nautical theme. From the moment we got there, we kind of felt like we had to whisper in our room. Probably because there wasn't any other guests there that weekend and the owner was having dinner 20 ft from our door. I know they probably couldn't have heard us but it did make me feel more uncomfortable than I thought it would. In the morning, we were woken up bright and early by the sun coming through the large, high windows in our room. No wonder breakfast is so early, how can anyone sleep through that? However, I do have to say that if I wasn't a cranky morning person, this would be a really enjoyable way to wake up, sun and beautiful blue sky and trees to look at while lying in bed. We pulled ourselves together and quietly went to the kitchen for breakfast. Ted said he would leave things out for us so we assumed we'd be alone. He immediately came around the corner when we got to the kitchen so it felt like he may have been waiting for us. He served us cantaloupe slices with yogurt, granola and berries and a tomato and basil quiche, which was all very good. What wasn't good was that he talked to us from the kitchen the whole time we were eating, so we had to keep turning around in our chairs to respond to him. It was uncomfortable and awkward (if he had sat down with us, it wouldn't have been as bad). During our weird breakfast conversation, it comes up that J is a software engineer and next thing you know, Ted is asking for help with a website he is working on. I have no problem with J helping someone out, but DUDE we're on vacation and we are paying you good money, don't ask for business help while we are trying to relax. It just wasn't appropriate. I said "Maybe when we are on our way out on Sunday he can help you for a bit". After that, we pretty much chose to use our private entrance to the room when we came and went from the house. We didn't feel like discussing in great detail every time we came back from somewhere, what we had done and where we had gone. I think Ted meant well, he had a lot of advice and suggestions for things to do and he was a really nice guy but it just didn't mesh with our style. For the most part, we like to be left alone when we go away and Ted didn't seem to pick up on the signals we gave him. I think this B&B would be really great for an older couple, for some reason I feel like older people are more open to this type of attention. On Sunday when we packed up, J was heading out to take some things to the car and Ted followed him outside for help on his website. He spent more than an hour working on something with him, while I sat in our room waiting. We probably won't go back. Gorgeous place, beautiful backyard and pond, and nice trails that lead to a running path and the harbor. I really liked the physical surroundings but didn't really feel relaxed because Ted was overly available and obviously in closer earshot than we would have liked. A week later, Ted called and asked BF to go on trip advisor and write a positive review of our stay!! No wonder I found so many good reviews online. 5 stars for aesthetics and 1 star for invasiveness! It wasn't horrible but it was not our style. **Updating this review in March '09: Ted called J a month or so ago and said he found this review and apologized and offered us a free night at the B&B. Not sure if we'll take him up on it but nice that he tried to make amends.**

Two weekends ago my friend and I spent a lovely weekend in Marblehead at the Fox Pond Bed and…read moreBreakfast. This gem is nestled in a quiet neighborhood bordering a 37 acre sanctuary with trails that lead down to Salem Harbor. I looked at a number of B & Bs before finding this obvious and rare jewel of a home. Ted and Sophie, our hosts, were flexible as we arrived early and left a bit late since the off season is easier on everyone. This home has been meticulously redone, as have the beautiful grounds. Indeed, this property is featured in a number of architectural, gardening, and home magazines. The obvious care and attention to detail is very very unique. Our host, Ted, and his lovely dog, Sophie, made us feel right at home. Ted has an easy way about him that makes one feel like family the second you walk through the door. As is common with Bed and Breakfasts, you are a part of the family while in residence - that's the charm. The breakfasts were lovely and we invited Ted to join us as we learned about the house, its history, and received numerous tips about local attractions, restaurants, shops, and some of the local North Shore news. All in all our stay was wonderful. Ted opened his home to us and helped make our stay a memorable and relaxing time. I most enthusiastically recommend the Fox Pond B&B; we'll be back!