Daisy M.
Yelp
I've been terribly remiss in writing about this amazing old home. It's been nearly a year since I visited, but I'd jump at the opportunity to go back.
Warning: This is not the place for you if you a) find creepy old houses, well, creepy and b) can't do without modern amenities. Normally I fall into the latter category, but I also love creepiness, and that aspect won me over. Mind you, I'm not into rundown old rack-shacks; this home has real charm and is well-maintained. It's like stepping into history.
Built in the 17th century, it's three stories high and has nice, roomy guest bedrooms. There's a lot of cool historical facts that our colorful hostess, Kay, pointed out. One of its most notable features, the humongous fireplaces that were taller than me, made me feel like I was on the set of The Crucible. We got the largest bedroom, the green room. It was decorated as it would have been 300 years ago with cool/creepy little touches everywhere--like the portraits of men and women whose stern stares seemed to follow us around the room...and the eerie baby's cradle in the extremely large, attached bathroom. I was expecting it to start rocking by itself...but, again, this all added to the fun. It was like Halloween in April.
Kay is a tad on the elderly side and all the way on the deaf side...but she's a dear lady and so sweet. She helpfully gave us a sightseeing map and even told me where I could find some antique shops (we talked enough for her to find out about my antique addiction, but she wasn't the overbearing type that traps you into long conversations either). It was a little disconcerting to find out that we were the only ones staying there that night--and that her only hired help was indefinitely in the hospital--but, we were gone most of the day and had a great time sightseeing around the very interesting town of Salem.
We returned late that night, and the house was so quiet that we felt compelled to tiptoe in. Even the stairs to our second-floor room were delightfully narrow and winding. We had a fireplace in our room, but we weren't sure whether we had permission to light it or not, so we didn't. We snooped around a little and found a bunch of cool little handwritten notes around the room from past guests. Several of them alluded to a "mystery guest" that would come visit us in the middle of the night. That definitely piqued our interest! We wondered if there was a ghost legend. Some time later that night, my husband opened the door to go outside and smoke...and the mystery guest/ghost cat ran in and hopped right up on the bed with me! Okay, it wasn't a ghost, but a real-live black cat. It kicked back a while with me and then left when my husband came back. That made for a cute memory.
I kind of feel like this place really deserves 5 stars, but I'm giving it 4 only because the "breakfast" part of "bed and breakfast" was lacking. We made it downstairs the next morning only to be presented with the driest muffins I've ever tasted. You could literally hammer a nail into the wall with these muffins. I wondered if they'd been sitting out for a week. In addition, we were served sour orange juice (the frozen variety, I'd guess). We picked at the muffins and then went down the street for a real breakfast.
Only other (minor) complaints: She only takes cash or checks (no credit cards) and our bathroom towels smelled musty, not freshly-washed. However, on balance, I highly recommend this place for the unparalleled experience and for the pleasure of meeting this dear, dear lady, Kay. She'll even give you a little tour of the amazing house...well worth the visit! I'd definitely go back.