Hotel berhampiran Squam Rock Pasture, Essex County

We had a wonderful stay at the Briar Barn Inn. Our regular king suite was clean and cozy but also had plenty of room. It included a soaking tub and a walk-in shower, fireplace and a sitting area with Hulu Live TV. The bed was among the most comfortable we've ever slept in. Breakfast were croissants, scones and muffins the front desk told us were from local bakeries and coffee. It's a 15-20 minute drive to Crane Beach ($40 per car) and a 20-minute drive to Plum Island ($20 per car). It was our first New England inn experience, and it was a very good one. The restaurant was closed for July 4 while we were there.

酒店位置不錯，距離波士頓市區不遠，自駕還是比較方便的，性價比很高，畢竟市區酒店的價格太高了，店內設施衞生都不錯。

This property consists of several small separate buildings, each two stories, with 8 units in each building. The buildings do not have elevators, so if you have a lot of luggage either specify a ground floor unit or plan to lug your luggage upstairs. Even the ground floor units in some buildings require climbing a few stairs. The suites themselves are spacious but austere, and the layout was odd but functional. The full kitchen included a full-size fridge with an icemaker, but there is no ice machine available for guests – if you need ice, the front office manager can get it for you from the kitchen. Breakfast in the lobby building was good, perhaps a little better than average for a place like this. Why anyone thought it was a good idea to build separate units in Boston’s climate is beyond me – it was OK to have to walk outside to the breakfast room in October, but it wouldn’t be OK in January! The biggest problem with this place is the road noise, as it sits between I-95 to the east, US 1 to the west, and Andover Street to the north, with heavy traffic on all three. You can try to get a room in a building near the middle of the property, but all the buildings are close to one or the other of these roads.

Service and Amenities section would have scored “5” if there was an iron in the room. The ironing board was present. Location is tricky because you learn from listening to Directions that you must drive through a plaza and pass a Planet Fitness, then take a right turn. Some signage to Property would be helpful. Otherwise, I had a great stay, and will go again.

Quick summary: very comfortable rooms. Very good housekeeping. Friendly, professional staff. To note: my review is based on what I expect of this tier of hotel, i.e. NOT a five-star, but not the price, either. When I see people complaining that there are plastic utensils at the FREE breakfast in COVID times, I have to shake my head. We stayed here while in town for a wedding. Room 311 has two very comfortable queen beds and very good down-like pillows (maybe they are?) All the usuals I expect of this tier of good-value hotels: coffee/tea maker, iron/board, microwave and fridge, good desk and big workspace, closet with a nice big mirror on it, etc. Good number of places to plug in your devices. Complimentary wifi and HVAC worked well. Our bathroom had a roomy walk-in shower; other rooms have a tub/shower combination (sigh - I love a bathtub after a long day.) Neutrogena toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, body lotion. LOVED that you could turn on the light without the vent automatically coming on - less headache when you're just putting on makeup. Nice buffet breakfast of hot and cold items, eggs, meat, cereals, fruit, juices, etc. Again, I don't understand why some reviewers complain that they are not getting a breakfast like at the 5-star hotels -- this is a very decent breakfast at this price point. Friendly, helpful, professional staff throughout. Excellent housekeeping. Due diligence on some very minor gripes: There were no washcloths in the bathroom (fine by me - my roommate cousin noticed.) She also asked that the hand sanitizer on our floor be refilled (it was empty) on a Friday; still wasn't filled on Sunday when we checked out. My little gripe is just noticing how some hotels try to cut costs yet still deliver the basics. The chest of drawers in the cabinet is a stack of baskets, i.e. small items will fall through the wires. Again, a minor gripe, but retrieving small items that fall through to the bottom is a bit annoying. The location is good - a short drive from the I-95, good for touring the north-of-Boston area of Newburyport, etc. To sum: we'd be happy to stay here if we are in the area again.

Everthing was good except for the dogs barking next door. When I booked I missed that it was a pet friendly hotel my mistake.... Besides that the place is clean and I would recommend it to anyone that is pet friendly.

Bilik-bilik bersih dan selesa, dan sangat tenang. Sarapan pagi juga sangat baik. Kebanyakan hotel lain tidak mempunyai sarapan pagi biasa semasa wabak. Ini nampaknya baru mula memulihkan sarapan yang lebih kaya. Tempat letak kereta adalah percuma.

Zweckmäßiges Hotel, 30 min vom Airport und noch bezahlbar im Raum Boston. Kein Frühstück, nur Kaffee morgens in der Lobby. Konnte den Fön nicht benutzen, da Kurzschluss in der Steckdose. Die Betten knarrten schon, wenn ich mich umdrehte. Mein Zimmer war sehr laut, da direkt an der Autobahn gelegen.

We immensely enjoyed our stay at the newly renovated Andover Inn. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed as royal guests by the Inn’s attentive staff and manager extraordinaire Brian. Thanks to Brian’s impromptu American history talk, we learned about the notable guests who visited the Inn and the illustrious history of Phillips Andover Academy. Brian also made our visit most memorable by suggesting we visit the nearby Addison Gallery. Highly recommend, the superbly managed Andover Inn.