The Debut of Hotel Salem
For Lisa’s birthday, we headed up the road to spend the day and night in Salem. We saw the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum, and then strolled down the street to the new Hotel Salem, which just opened in the former Newmarket department store building. The 4-story structure of exposed granite and brick now lends itself well to 44 spacious rooms with floor to ceiling windows overlooking this historic town and a restaurant on the ground floor called Counter. I ordered the Industry Burger, one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time, topped with blue cheese and hot sauce, and served with handcut fries and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. A rooftop bar will be open in the spring and there’s also space in the basement that could be used for games and another long bar. But for the time being, Hotel Salem is perfectly suited for a winter overnight, with the O’Keeffe show running until April 1st.