Tiffany Z.
Yelp
I spent my weekend at The Salem Grand Hotel. I work at a live in job, and stay at local hotels in order to, occasionally, get away on my weekend. The Grand was my chance at an 'upscale' weekend, and a little bit of pampering.
My first impression of the hotel is that while it is upscale, it is also inviting and in no way intimidating. The staff, from the front desk at check in, to housekeeping and breakfast attendants, are very friendly and made me feel at home in the hotel.
A couple of "stand out moments":
Guest check-in is at 3 pm. I was dropped off by my friend at 11 am, and my room was already ready. (The room was comfortable, and in fact I booked a double queen, because I procrastinated on booking the room through a travel site.)
On Monday, I was hanging around in the lobby, looking around and taking pictures until Bentley's (the hotel's restaurant) opened. When I finally realized my Kindle was missing and not just up in my room, I called the front desk and they were holding it for me.
The location is a plus. Downtown Salem. There are lots of good restaurants/shopping/site-seeing around. Though my view wasn't all it could be (above ground parking lot) - , the location was great.
Breakfast had a lot going for it, but I fell asleep and only had 15 minutes to eat, so I didn't have a lot of time to spend savoring it. They do have waffles! The setup seemed very clean. (My ride picked me up before I had an opportunity to eat breakfast on my second day.) You might want to have an extra dollar on hand at breakfast for tips. You can also invite outside guests for breakfast, but that is about $12.
Incidental fee $100.00 - this covers room service, movies, the gift shop. I only ordered room service the second night, so most of that was put back on my card.
Room service is a plus. Only a little more (maybe a dollar) than going down to the restaurant.
Onsite restaurant is a plus. The food is very good. Desserts are great. I didn't frequent the bar, but they have a huge wine selection, and fancy cocktails and 'dessert drinks' to be had.
They have an espresso cart next to the gift shop. (Did not try this time.)
In room entertainment: The stations on the cable seem like basic cable (About channel 70 is where it stops). I'm the type who likes to watch older shows, which are further up the television dial, but TV Land was available, and the travel & cooking channel. If you aren't a tv fan, you can rent all sorts of movies from the television.
So, the places I usually stay at are, maybe $40.00 or so less per night. Is it worth $40.00 to stay at The Grand? I have to say: It depends. I would definitely choose to stay at the Grand if I were hosting family for a family reunion or wedding, or friends from out of town who might be more used to high-end hotels. For me, myself, although the Grand is a lovely, comfy place to stay with an attentive staff, I think I just would rather have "my" extra channels (with the old tv shows.) and save a few dollars. I did have a lovely time, though, and would recommend The Grand as a great host hotel, when you want to pamper/impress your party.