Group Winners of the Hawthorne Hotel Costume Contest

Little Bo Peep and her sheep were the runners up in the group category.

The Ice Cream Man and the Little Girl were the winners for the Second Place Group award.

The First Place Winners in the Group Category were the "Sand-Witch "and the side of "Flies".

It is always such fun seeing just how creative our Guests can be. Stay tuned for more photos during the coming week.

Juli

The Devil is in the Details

Here you see a number of the members of our staff packaging up the gift bags that we give to our in-house guests who are here enjoying our Halloween Weekend Package. This year's bag is made of recycled materials, and inside are a logo'd tee-shirt, a cool cap (check out the detail on the clasp, in the final photo), a magnet, and an insulated beverage cup. The finishing touch, of course, is a handful of 'trick-or-treat' candy.

If you were not able to participate in the Halloween Weekend Package, but really, really want one of these goodie bags, we do have a very few available for sale. The price is $40 per bag, and you can see above what you get for that. All of the tee-shirts are sized XL.

Don't delay; send us an email right away with your order, and we will fill them on a first come basis. The email address is info@HawthorneHotel.com

Juli

Salem Witch House

This is the so-called "Witch House" here in Salem. It was the home of Judge Corwin, who did the sentencing of the people who were accused of witchcraft during the hysteria of the 1692.

The Witch House is open seasonally for tours, and it is run as part of the Salem Parks Department. For more information, go to http://www.corwinhouse.org/




It is located on the corner of Essex and Summer Streets, just about an eight-minute walk from the Hawthorne Hotel.



I hope to see you here.



Juli

An Awesome Halloween Party at the Hawthorne Hotel

On Sunday night, October 26, we had a private Halloween event in the Ballroom. The group did a terrific job decorating up a storm in there, and I couldn't resist shooting some photos as evidence of their hard work.

The event was sponsored by a sorority from a Boston university, and the event chair, Gabrielle, did the planning and orchestration of the decor.

I hope you enjoy getting a peek at the Ballroom in yet another Halloween iteration.

Juli

Flowers and Brick have segued to Leaves and Brick

If you have been following this blog this year, you know that I have taken a series of photos called Flowers with Brick. I thought that it would be appropriate to follow that up for the Fall with some photos entitled "Leaves with Brick".

It's another perspective of the fall season in Salem.



I hope you enjoy this look at Salem's sidewalks.

Juli

Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ October 27 through November 2, 2008

Monday , October 27 ~~ Honduras and Arkansas
Tuesday , October 28 ~~ Hungary and California
Wednesday , October 29 ~~ Iceland and Colorado
Thursday , October 30 ~~ India and Connecticut
Friday , October 31 ~~ Indonesia and District of Columbia
Saturday , October 1 ~~ Iran and Delaware
Sunday , October 2 ~~ Iraq and Florida

We did not receive any special requests this week. Every day, when we change the flags on the front of the building, we also change the small framed information sheets that we post regarding each country and each state, in the lobby next to the front desk.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Halloween Costume Brunch at the Hawthorne Hotel

Here are the pumpkins, all lined up to be chosen by each child attending our annual Halloween Costume Brunch in Nathaniel's Restaurant here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Our musicians really got into the spirit, and got the children dancing and having a great time.

The White Princess sat at the same table with the Black Princess. Nice that Halloween can bring the forces of light and dark together.

Some costumes look as interesting from the back as from the front.

Several of the darling children, along with their appropriately-attired parents, who attended the brunch.

I hope to see you here, at our next special occasion, or any occasion.

Juli

VIP Guest of the Week

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We were happy to welcome our VIP Passport Guest of the Week, Arthur Diephuis, to the hotel this past week.

The Passport Program is for companies and organizations that consistently send us their business travelers. They get guaranteed special rates, availability set aside when others cannot book, and other special perks such as complimentary upgrades, as well as the opportunity to be selected as our VIP of the week. There are several levels available, according to the level of business the organization may be able to provide to us.

If you believe your company would appreciate this special treatment, call our Passport Program Manager, Thomas MacDonald, at 978-825-4361 to find out if you qualify.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Autumn Golf in Salem

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Fall in Salem is such a beautiful time of the year. Here are some photos I snapped early in the morning at Olde Salem Greens, which is our local, municipal golf course here in Salem. OSG is a few years older than the Hawthorne Hotel, and it is a very challenging 9-hole course, that is very well kept.

If you are a golfer, I would highly suggest you give this course a try. You will be surprised at just how interesting an inexpensive round of golf can be when it is played on a course that is as beloved as this one is. Side-hill lies are almost guaranteed, and it has one of the toughest par-threes in Massachusetts.

To call for same-day tee-times, 978-744-2149

I hope to see you here (at the Hawthorne Hotel) or there, for an early-morning round of golf.

Juli

A Day in the Life of the Hawthorne Hotel

Since our Blog functions as our daily diary, I thought you would enjoy learning a little bit about some hotel-related activities that occur 'off-site', and this baby shower for Liz Dube is one of those activities.

As you can eaily see, Liz is about to become a Mom, so we wanted to make sure that she and her baby were well-prepared for her coming-out-into-the-world soon. Lindsay hosted a baby shower at her home here in Salem, and as you can see, a number of Liz' friends on the staff participated in
Here you can see Liz surrounded by some of the gifts we showered on her for her new baby-to-come (soon!)

Brooke, Ken and Steve

Steve, Liz, Lindsay, Wendy and Jennifer

Kristie, Claire and Penny

I managed to stay behind the camera this time. But I hope to see you here.

Juli