On A Lark with Hotel Salem
Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go #OnALark with a group of lovely bloggers to Salem, where our home away from home was at the Hotel Salem. The hotel is located in the heart of it all and is in walking distance to so many shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. I stayed cozy in one of their Micro King rooms, which was the most perfect sized room for me. Although smaller than most rooms in the hotel, it is very well styled and one can tell that the placement of each piece of furniture was well thought out. The king size bed was super comfy and it was glorious having it all to myself! The rates for this micro room can be as low as $159/night and is comfy enough for two people. For the location and amenities, I think it's worth the price.
This weekend away was the perfect opportunity for me to explore Salem, which has so much to offer outside of the witch history and Halloween. It's definitely a fun weekend getaway and not too far of a drive out of Boston. If you are thinking of coming to Salem for a day or two, here are a few of my fave recommendations from the weekend.
What you see is what you get! To the left is the walk in shower and toilet and straight ahead is the king size bed. It really was the perfect room for the weekend.
On our first night there, we were treated to dinner at Counter Kitchen & Bar. The restaurant is right in the lobby of the hotel , making it very convenient.
As part of dinner, the chef sent out items from The Roof, which is their rooftop bar that will be opening up this Spring. We had a chance to take a sneak peek of the space and it will defn be a place you'll want to check out when the warmer weather arrives. Pictured here is their guacamole and chips. It was mmm mmm good - super creamy.
These braised pork tacos with grilled pineapple, queso fresco, onion and cilantro. All I am going to say is O.M.G.
For my entree I went with the Beef Cheek Bavete, a beef cheek ragout with pasta. It was really yummy and very filling.
Of our many dessert options, this S'mores pie was probably my favorite alongside the apple/cranberry pie (not picture). Also not pictured was the rootbeer float they whipped up for me.
The next morning, we had the opportunity to tour another Lark property, The Merchant. It was really interesting to see how another property in the same area had a different vibe. What I learned about the Lark hotels is that each one is decorated differently, to fit the history of the building and the local area. I was dying over the decor over on this property.
Following our tour, a few of the ladies and I decided to walk around Salem. One of the shops we popped into was Haus Witch. The store carries handmade products from independent makers around the US. There's great smelling candles, housewares and other cute knick knacks.
We also made a pit stop into Oak + Moss - a shop filled with plants, housewares and great gifts. I wanted to bring home every single plant with me!
It was a beautifully warm day and after walking around for a bit, we needed a quick pick me up. We all grabbed some ice coffees with cereal milk from Brew Box. It hit the spot!
When lunch time rolled around, we all headed over to Life Alive. I went with the Swami, a warm grain bowl with their curry miso sauce, raisins, almonds, carrots, broccoli, kale over brown rice. I went with the half size and it was very filling. I didn't realize there's also a location in Cambridge - will defn have to make my way to that location when I get a craving for this.
Conveniently located across the way is Caramel, a French patisserie (which also has a location in Somerville!). Already too full from lunch, I picked up half a dozen macarons to go.
On the agenda for the afternoon was a visit to the Peabody Essex Museum, which I have not visited before. We were lucky to have caught the Playtime Exhibit in its final days (it was closing up the next day). One of the highlights of the exhibit was the pink balloons room. Literally a room filled with pink balloons. I felt like such a little kid wading through the balloons and trying to gracefully exit the room without letting any of the balloons escape with me! There was another room with these colorful spinny things (yes, I'm being real technical here) that were pretty cool too. It was a very interesting exhibit.
Here's a shot of the bar at Counter - I am loving the tiles on the floor and on the back of the bar area. Couldn't pass up a photo opp while it was quiet!
As a pre-dinner snack, a bunch of us shared a few dishes at Counter. It's normal to share a burger as a snack, right? I mean, we really loved the food here. For dinner we headed to Finz, which is located down by the water. I had no idea there was this whole other area of Salem! After dinner, I went back and hit the sack as I had to get on the road in the AM and head back to the city. Unfortunately, I had to miss brunch at Ledger, which I was so bummed about (I heard the food is very good). However, I did get a chance to meet up with Lianna of Salem Style for a coffee at Gulu-Gulu Cafe.
Although my hotel stay, dinner at Counter and visit to the Peabody Essex Museum were complimentary, the opinions contained in this post are my own.