Fairfield Inn by Marriott Boston Tewksbury/Andover

I stayed for three days and was charged twice for one of them. When I asked for a refund, the male hotel manager said he would count it as a no-show. He didn’t offer to refund me or extend my stay to make up for the charge. He just kept my money, with no apology, responsibility, or concern. I found him completely unfit to manage a hotel. I don’t consider these people honest or principled. Be careful and stay away.

I spent a week here and never got a follow-up from management about my complaints. I chose this location because of the Marriott name, but the room raised questions about whether housekeeping had cleaned it at all. The shower had black mold, and the beds looked like a four-year-old had made them. I have photos. My concern started when I found only a little body wash left in the shower on the first night and asked who was responsible for refilling it for the next guest. The assistant general manager said that refilling the hotel-provided bottles wasn’t important, then called me a liar to my face even after I said I had photos. The hotel did contact me when the card on file declined, since I was paying with a different card. There are other hotels nearby, and I’d suggest looking elsewhere if you expect a clean room and Marriott-level service. Fairfield and Tewksbury/Andover wasn’t the place for me, and I hope this helps other travelers make an informed choice.

We chose this place because we trust the Marriott name, but it didn’t meet our standards. The bed was comfortable and the staff were friendly, though the room was cramped and dated. The toilet backed up and wouldn’t flush properly more than once, the walls were so thin we could hear everything, and the single elevator moved painfully slowly. When the hotel was busy, we waited as long as 10 minutes. The breakfast fruit was going bad. The location worked well for getting out of the city while staying within a reasonable drive of Boston and Salem. There are restaurants and shops nearby, plus a shared parking lot with Wendy’s if you want a midnight frosty.

The outdoor pool shown in the hotel’s advertising and photos is gone, filled in with concrete and replaced by a concrete pad. The shower controls were reversed, so cold came out hot and hot came out cold. I nearly called the desk because I thought I’d never get a hot shower. The AC barely cooled the room: though it was set to 66, the room stayed around 73 all night. Breakfast at 0800 was embarrassing. Maybe there was a bus of kids there, but food was everywhere and almost everything was gone: no bread, waffle batter, cream cheese, or juice, just soggy bacon and a few random oranges. It was probably the worst continental breakfast I’ve had. The stay wasn’t awful, but as a Marriott member I expected more.