Comments from our Hawthorne Hotel Guests

Today when I opened the guest comment card box I found a number of comments that I thought you might enjoy reading:

Our stay at the Hawthorne was magnificent. We have received superior service and excellent quality. Thank you. --- Bronx, New York

This is our second stay in the hotel and we also went to the restaurant before. We came back because we had a good experience. ---Brooklyn, New York

Angie is an asset to your restaurant. She is efficient and so very personable. Made our dinner very pleasant. Hang on to her -- she's special! ---Gaithersburg, Maryland

We enjoyed the coziness of the hotel as well as the food. Thanks for a wonderful stay. ---Marrero, Louisiana

Thank you for making my trip to Salem a good vacation. I enjoyed staying in your hotel. ---Columbus, Ohio

The young woman at the desk when we walked in was terrific. She immediately told us of the 8 pm ghost steps walk which we took and thoroughly enjoyed. ---Baltimore, Maryland

Excellent coffee! The dining room, Nathaniel's, is very elegant too. ---Cincinnati, Ohio


Juli

Hawthorne Hotel Summer Staff Outing

Yesterday was our staff's turn to relax and enjoy one another's company at our annual summertime picnic. Unfortunately, the weather was less than cooperative.

As you can see by the photos below, however, we prevailed and had fun, despite the downpour that passed through the middle of our event. And we know things could have been a lot worse, for example, if our hotel had been located on the Gulf Coast yesterday.

From all accounts, those that attended had a good time anyway!

Juli

Here comes the rain, and the guys go into action! 

The barbeque must be protected, and it was, thanks to the ingenuity of our team. 

Lindsay Otis is demonstrating the 'how-to's' at the craft table 

Enxhi and her cousin enjoy a break in the rain 

Happy picnic-ers, despite the rain 

Flags, Revised

Due to a special request, the flags we'll fly this weekend have been changed. I revised the original post, just in case you are interested.

Juli

Flags Fly at the Hawthorne Hotel (Revised)

Here are this week's flags. They have been revised for Saturday and Sunday due to a special request.


Monday August 29
Lesotho and Florida

Tuesday August 30
Liberia and Georgia

Wednesday August 31
Libya and Hawaii

Thursday September 1
Liechtenstein and Idaho

Friday September 2
Lithuania and Illinois

Saturday September 3
Italy and Connecticut (both are by special request)

Sunday September 4
Luxenbourg and Indiana

If you have a visitor staying at the Hawthorne Hotel that is visiting from another country, and would like 'their' flag flown on a day of their stay, please send us a post to the Blog. We will do our best to accommodate the request.

Juli

Salem Witch Museum

There are a number of museums in Salem that try to help visitors who seek information about the Salem witch trials. In my opinion, the best of the lot is the Salem Witch Museum.

It is located directly across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel, and does an excellent job of explaining how the hysteria of 1692 arose, and what transpired during that dark period in our history.

If you decide to go there, please tell them you learned about their museum on the Hawthorne Hotel Blog.

Here is a link to their website:

www.salemwitchmuseum.com

If you are coming on a weekend in the Fall (October weekends, and the first weekend in November in particular), you should be prepared for a line. The lines do move quickly, but if you want to avoid them, come on the weekdays, or any other weekend of the year.

We look forward to welcoming you to Salem.

Juli

Entertainment at the Hawthorne Hotel

Nathaniel's Restaurant features live entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as Sunday for our Jazz Brunch. Here is this weekend's line-up.

Friday and Saturday Evenings -- Steve Belgiorno at the piano
Sunday Jazz Brunch -- Julie Doherty
Sunday Evening -- Judy Ryer at the piano

For reservations, you may dial Nathaniel's directly at 978-825-4311. While reservations are not required, they are always recommended.

We hope to see you there.

Juli

Travels in Friendship

Every year the Hawthorne Hotel hosts a themed event to thank those corporate and association clients who have provided the requisite levels of business for us in the prior year. This year our theme was Travels in Friendship, and what better place to have it than on the Friendship itself!

As the invited guests boarded this lovely replica of the original Friendship, many of them commented that they had not been on the ship yet. We are pleased to have been able to entice our guests to a landmark destination right in their own neighborhood.

If you have not yet been for a visit to the Friendship, we can highly recommend that you move that up higher on your 'to-do' list.

To obtain more information on having your own event onboard the Friendship, here is a link to the website for the Salem Partnership, where you can learn more:
http://salempartnership.org/friendship.htm

The photos below can attest to the fact that the weather was perfect. The weather and setting were complimented by the creative menu offered up by Executive Chef Steve Nelson and Banquet Sous Chef, Ken O'Keefe. Our guests tried many exotic items such as Coconut Chicken Tenderloins with Mango Salsa, Cracked Cinnamon and Sumatran Black Pepper Pork Skewers, Grilled Coral Sea Baby Octopus with Spicy Lemon Grass, Curry and Coconut Milk Marinade, Tea-smoked Pork Loin with Lychee Glaze, Burmese Squid and Bitter Greens Salad, and Java Dragon Tail (coffee-rubbed, grilled beef tenderloin) served with spicy cream dip.

The dessert table included chocolate truffles rolled in toasted coconut, chopped macadamias, and Dutch cocoa, pineapple-coconut cookies and a tropical fruit platter.

For more information, contact our Sales Department at 978-825-4359.

Juli

Dody and Joe Collier with Director of Sales and Marketing, Susan Babine, and the Friendship

Fran Smerczynski and Ed Cabrey 

Maryann Curtain and Michael Coleman 

Patricia Zaido and Virginia Doocy 

Susan welcomes Pam and Peter Valles 

Susan Babine with Shirley Warren 

Tom & Marjorie Leonard, Annie Harris, Susan Babine 

Rinus Oosthoek and Jay Finney 

Jean Marie Andzulis, Bob Bradford and Eda-Jane Matchak 

Hannah Stringer, Kelly Newell, Amy Jacobson, Susan Babine, Carol Murray, Susan Dodge and Karen Cotton 

This is our Sales and Marketing Staff, and our Catering Staff. Who does what?
Susan Babine is our Director of Sales and Marketing, Karen Cotton is our Director of Catering. On Karen's team are Amy Jacobson, Assistant Catering Manager, and Kelly Newell, Catering Assistant (not pictured is Christine Turner, Assistant Catering Director). On Susan's team are Carol Murray, Sales Manager, Hannah Stringer, Sales Manager, and Susan Dodge, Sales Assistant.

After working everyone hard this past week, the team appeared to be ready to throw Susan B overboard. But by this time everyone was having way too much fun!

Joan Bonner and Renee Bouchard aboard the Friendship 

Joanne Gordon enjoying the foods from countries that the Friendship visited  

Hilda and Peter Barter 

Guests Tom and Marjorie Leonard are greeted by Michael Harrington as they board the Friendship 

Ye Olde Flagpole

A view of the top of the Hawthorne Hotel

Occasionally someone will berate us for flying flags of other countries on the front of the hotel, and it seems it is because they miss the fact that we fly the flag of the United States of America on the roof.

I thought this photo of the top of the hotel might help to set the record straight.

By the way, the flag is properly lighted, so we fly it day and night.

Juli

Late Summer Flower Change at the Hawthorne Hotel

Ray Gagnon, Robert Ladd, Nick Swindell and Shaun Keaton

In the photo above you can see our crack 'gardening crew' installing the new batch of plants in the Hawthorne Hotel window boxes. If you watch the hotel closely, you'll already know that we change the plants approximately five times a year, beginning with pansies in the early spring, then to petunias for the summer, New Guinea Impatiens for the late summer, mums in the fall and the winter evergreens and wreaths for the winter.

The impatiens are just a little behind the curve this year, so their color is not fully showing. You may have to just watch this BLOG for a little while longer to see what color they will be.

I'll be sure to post a photo when they are in full bloom.

Juli

An extra lobby

Second Floor Lobby

While most newly constructed hotels have hardly any seating available in the lobby, the Hawthorne Hotel has some of the most comfortable space that is dedicated to our guests in not one, but two lobbies.

On the second floor of the Hawthorne Hotel there is a charming little seating area, a kind of second lobby. While it is sometimes used for functions, for example as part of the overall area dedicated to the cocktail portion of a wedding reception, it is mostly just there . . . waiting for someone who would like a bright and comfortable place to read a book, use their laptop, or just recoup after a busy day of sightseeing in Salem.

Speaking of using one's laptop, this is a reminder about our services. The hotel is WI-FI enabled throughout the building, and we provide this service at no charge to our guests. If you have a laptop that is WI-FI ready, you only need to go to www.GuestWiFi.com, and click on the "Register Me Now" button to log in and create your own user name and password. If your computer is an older model, we do have the hardware to let you do this available at the hotel front desk. There is a small charge and deposit required to check out the equipment.

Please feel free to come by for a visit and sit for a spell. Not the hocus-pocus kind of spell (unless of course that is what you want) but the magic of the Internet.

Juli

A Special Flag for Monday

Here are this week's flags:

In honor of the Queen of Buganda (part of Uganda) who will be visiting Salem this week, we are flying the Ugandan flag on Monday. She will be here as part of a world tour of the Ugandan diaspora, and will also be making stops in the UK and Australia.

If you are wondering, why Salem? There is a connection between Queen Nnaabagereka Sylvia Nagginda of Buganda, and the Greenhouse School here in Salem. That connection is that Dan Welch, who is the director of the Greenhouse School, is married to Ugandan-born Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Her father, Samuel Lugudde serves as ambassador for the royal family.

If you would like to learn more about Buganda, you can go to their website at:

www.buganda.com

The world really is a small place, and we all can remember that as we look at the various flags that we fly each day.

Juli

Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week
Monday August 21
Uganda and American Samoa

Tuesday August 22
Kiribati and Arizona

Wednesday August 23
North Korea and Arkansas

Thursday August 24
South Korea and California

Friday August 25
Kosova and Colorado

Saturday August 26
Kuwait and Connecticut

Sunday August 27
Kyrgystan and Delaware

Sunday, Sunday (and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as well)

One of the better-kept secrets in Salem is the fact that it is such a bargain to eat here on Sunday through Wednesday evenings. In our Tavern restaurant, we offer a 'two-for' special on each of those evenings (5 pm to 10 pm), featuring three different menu items.

We change these specials each month, and the price of $25 for TWO 3-course dinners includes a mixed green salad and chef's choice of dessert. I don't think you can eat in very many places for such a reasonable price.

This month we are featuring the following three entrees:

Baked Sole with Lemon-Caper Butter, over rice

Chicken Marsala

Pasta Primavera

I do hope you have a chance to stop by on one of these evenings to enjoy dinner with us. If you tell the server that you read about this on the BLOG, we'll also add a complimentary cup of coffee to your meal for no additional charge. Just tell your server you read this on the BLOG!

See you in the Tavern.

Juli

A Family Affair

Christina and John De Barros


Christina and her father, John Pellecchia

On Saturday May 7th, our restaurant sous chef, John Pellecchia proudly gave his daughter the wedding reception of her dreams, right here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

He tells us that although it has been three months since the reception, both he and his daughter continue to receive phone calls about how great the reception was. He says that he is very proud to be working in such a wonderful place, and is so pleased to have such wonderful team members to work with, including Executive Chef, Steve Nelson; Food and Beverage Director, Claire Kallelis; and Banquet Chef, Ken O'Keefe.

It's nice for us when one of our 'work-family' here at the Hawthorne Hotel is able to fully participate in the life of the hotel with their own family.

Congratulations to Christina and John!

Juli

A Light Meal at the Tavern at the Hawthorne Hotel

Grilled Vegetable Appetizer

Now that summer is here in full swing, you might be interested in a relatively new appetizer on the Tavern menu. This is a stack of lightly chilled, grilled summer vegetables, including grilled sweet peppers, zucchini, onions and portabella mushrooms, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic reduction glaze.

It is just the thing for a lighter appetite, and while it is featured as an appetizer, I like to combine this with a bowl of our homemade soup of the day or Steve's seafood chowder for a wonderful meal. We serve excellent rolls and butter balls alongside if you wish, so you can see you will have a complete meal.

I hope to visit with you in the Tavern on your next visit.

Juli