Hampton Inn Boston/Peabody

Getting to Route 1 toward or out of Boston is easy, and the location is perfect. We didn’t request service, so I can’t really rate that. The wheelchair accessible room had enough space to get the chair into the room and bathroom, but I couldn’t reach the bed from it. The wooden shower bench is starting to rot and has slimy edges. Shower water runs onto the bathroom floor instead of staying in the shower, making it slippery and unsafe. Even with four towels on the floor, water spread past them.

We needed an inexpensive place for a few nights while work was being done at our house, and it turned out better than expected, actually quite nice. The room was very clean, with a comfortable bed, plenty of towels, and a good workspace. Staff were friendly, and parking was free and plentiful. It had a fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. Breakfast was included and had a limited but tasty spread: premade omelets, bagels, waffles, bacon or sausage, hot and cold cereal, fruit, juice, and yogurt. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate in the lobby seemed to be available most of the time, though I’m not sure if it was 24 hours.

We only stayed one night, and it wasn’t a bad stay, but I wouldn’t return. The location was reasonably close to Salem, which is why we chose it. Even on the sixth floor, thankfully it was pretty quiet between the highway and main road. Breakfast was the usual hampton buffet. The room was clean, the bed was comfortable, and housekeeping deserves kudos. But the tub faucet dripped all night, the shower curtain had lots of holes and rips, and there was no light-blocking curtain, so I woke very early and couldn’t get back to sleep. When we arrived, nobody was at the desk for a while. The woman who came to help didn’t seem keen to assist and barely spoke to us. I also saw a camera pointed just at the pool so staff at the desk could watch swimmers. I understand there may be safety reasons, but the pool is almost right beside the lobby, and someone could just walk around the desk to see it. I felt uncomfortable swimming because I worried I’d be watched the whole time, which was disappointing since I’d been looking forward to using the pool.

We arrived after 11 pm to find no one at the front desk, and it took about five minutes for someone to appear. Anyone could easily walk in from the street. The front desk staff were nice, and breakfast was decent, but the hotel was shabby and run down, though acceptably clean. In our overnight stay between flights, the smoke detector was literally hanging off the wall, the bathroom vanity was propped on blocks, and the bathtub was stained. The maintenance felt generally cheap and nasty. I’d go somewhere else.