TownePlace Suites by Marriott Boston North Shore/Danvers

The location makes it easy to get onto the highways and around the greater Boston and North Shore area. Staff were kind and thoughtful, and the rooms were clean, effective, and homey in size for a longer stay. The laundry and gym are small, but have what you need.

The suite was really nice for the price, and most of the staff were friendly. But when we arrived at 6 p.m., our room wasn’t ready, and someone asked if we were sure we needed two beds. Yes, we did. We were basically told we were out of luck until a suite finally opened up. After going to Salem for a ghost tour, we got back around 11 and our key wouldn’t work. At the desk, the employee asked what room we were in and said we weren’t assigned there because it was dirty. Our things were already inside, and she’d assigned us the wrong room. Then at 10:30 a.m. the keys stopped working, even though checkout was at 11. I’d book again, but they should sort out these hiccups.

The overnight employee was kind and accommodating when we arrived late, and the laundry was a nice extra. There’s a gym too, though it’s tiny and very bare bones. The suite was a good size and the most affordable near Salem city center, but the stay cost enough that the many inconveniences really bothered me. The building and room also had an odd smell. Several things needed attention: one room’s light wouldn’t turn on, there was no soap at the bathroom sink, the dishwasher had come completely away from the cabinets, and there were dried crusty bits on the closet door. The bathroom cabinet squeaked whenever it was bumped. The main TV remote had just one battery, and the room phone had no button for calling the front desk. I called from my own phone and asked for batteries. The desk employee said he’d give me some if I came down, but we’d walked all day, were showered and settled in, and our room was the farthest from the desk. I took batteries from the other remote instead. That left the TV with only a few apps, including Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, and others I didn’t know, so we watched something on my iPad because the show we wanted was on a different app. I’d tell people to look elsewhere.

We booked this last-minute getaway because these hotels seemed to offer the bedrooms and usable kitchens we wanted. This was our second IHG stay in two weeks, after Burlington, MA, and we then stayed in Danvers. The kitchen was poorly stocked: odd numbers of silverware and bowls, one hot pad for handling hot pans, one pan, and two pots. When we asked for more, they had nothing, so we went out and bought pans and paper towels. There was a rack for paper towels, but none were supplied. The bathroom had three towels for a room meant for six. They gave us three more when we asked, but with everyone in the family having long hair, that still wasn’t enough. When my husband asked again, we were told there were no more. The toilet backed up, and it took about 20 minutes for staff to say they couldn’t find a plunger. We asked for a late checkout to make up for the delay and were allowed one, but nobody could fix it or provide a plunger. The tub was also bad enough that we called about it. For what we paid, I’d expect a working bathroom and kitchen. Customer service only said they’d look into it and thanked us for contacting them. They don’t seem willing to address the problems.