The Bell Inn & Tavern — Restaurant in Peabody

Our stay at the Bell Inn and Tavern was terrible.

We booked our room nearly 4 months in advance, as we were scheduled for an important event nearby. Since we had an early call time the next day, we had planned on spending time in the Bell Inn’s Cellar the evening before our event. We were looking forward to it.

None of that happened. Upon checking in we were informed that a wedding reception would be taking place in the Cellar that night and it would be unavailable. We had a quick lunch at the bar, only to find the staff extremely stressed with wedding preparations, and thus bordering on hostile. We left for several hours. When we returned back to the hotel after dinner at 9:25 pm, we were informed that last call at the bar was at 9:30 pm.

As a result, we ended up back in our room (204) by 10pm, only to find that our room was directly above the Cellar and its patio. Consequently, there were dozens of loud drunken people celebrating less than 10 feet from our window.

When we went downstairs to see if we could be moved to another room, we were told it wasn’t possible. In fact, other than a disingenuous “apology”, nothing was possible to improve the situation. We were offered nothing. We were told that they would try to quiet people down, but obviously that didn’t last because people celebrating at a wedding reception are there to have a good time.

In the end, we spent hours stuck in an incredibly loud room, as uninvited and involuntary participants in someone else’s wedding reception. The drunken screaming of people tossing bags (again - about 10 feet from our window) ended sometime between midnight and 1 am.

This is somewhat shocking for a room that cost nearly $300 for one night.

What could have happened instead:

We could have been notified in advance of a major amenity change like the Cellar being unavailable. I assume the reception was booked months in advance. Our room was booked nearly 4 months in advance (booked 5/2/2024 for 8/28/2024). We could have received an update. We may have changed our plans.

As a guest not involved with the wedding party, perhaps we could have been placed in a room further away from the event and not directly above.

With the Cellar closed for a private event, perhaps the Tavern could have been kept open later for other guests of the hotel. The 9:30 “last call” was rather awful and left us with nowhere to go other than our room.

An offer of something .. anything — a complimentary cocktail? a partial refund for our unbearable room? —that would have meant something. But, we received nothing other than a fake “sorry”.

We should also note that the 6 am wakeup as a result of the neighbor who leaves big bowls of bird seed in their truck to feed the gulls, was also not appreciated. Though we are sympathetic to them, and assume that they may dislike having their windows just a few feet from your guests and...

Update:

Dear Heather, I appreciate your response to my review, but I must address some inaccuracies in your account. While we were seated promptly, I did have to request menus from the bar after a considerable wait. Perhaps you were so absorbed in your conversation that you lost track of time, but I assure you, I was acutely aware of the lengthy delay as I was neither reviewing a menu nor preparing to place an order.

Your response strikes me as insincere and disappointing, failing to acknowledge the genuine concerns I raised. Although in your response, you are trying to imply I was already a problem before any interaction with you/ your staff, we both know that's not true. I get it, save face and imply that someone else was a problem. That's totally understandable. I hope in the future you can address complaints raised from customers and patrons more transparently. People are usually very reasonable. I can assure you I know the difference between 3 mins and 30. I would not waste my time writing a negative review, if my experience was not negative.

Updated:

I am writing to share feedback regarding my brunch experience on Saturday, which unfortunately drastically fell short of our expectations.

We were seated promptly but waited 15 minutes before having to approach someone at the bar for menus. Quite awhile after placing our drink orders, we noticed other tables that arrived after us receiving their food while we continued to wait. Our orders were an omelette, pancakes, and a salad. When I finally started to flag down our waitress for an update, our meals arrived warm rather than hot, suggesting they had been sitting out for some time.

Additionally, I had to request a coffee refill for my boyfriend, and our waitress only returned to the table when I asked for the check and then proceeded to return multiple times. I wish this attention had been shown in the beginning. Just out of curiosity and hoping to give benefit of doubt, I inquired if she had other tables to attend to, she confirmed that she did not. So the lack of service we experienced was a willing decision.

While I don’t want to jump to conclusions, I cannot help but wonder if prejudice may have played a role in the level of service we received, particularly as a person of color. This experience was disappointing, especially since I had been looking forward to trying the restaurant. If you're a person of color, it is my humble advice to spend your money at an establishment where you are appreciated. Do not support or spend at a place where at the most you are barely tolerated

Obviously, based on this visit, we will not...

I stayed at The Bell Inn with my family during our summer trip to Boston. We were excited for our stay and looked forward to a relaxing few days away, but unfortunately things didn’t exactly go according to plan; let’s just say looks can be deceiving. I’ll start with the positive. We all agreed that the space, being newly renovated, was very clean and nicely decorated. Additionally, the quality of linens, towels and robes was excellent, and the amenities offered (i.e. complimentary breakfast & free non-alcoholic beverages) were greatly appreciated. Furthermore, the restaurant is a delightfully convenient addition to the space, with tasty and affordable food.

Now for the negative. Prior reviews neglect to mention how busy the streets are surrounding the Inn. The constant sounds of car horns and sirens never cease, which is especially irritating at night. In addition, hallway lights are kept on throughout all hours of the night, allowing an annoyingly bright light to pour through the door to our room. We tried putting pillows around the door cracks, but it didn’t do much, so luckily I brought along an eye mask (I would suggest adding some insulation tape or sealing strips, which would also help with the noise).

Speaking of which, the rooms themselves are hardly sound proofed; on karaoke and trivia nights, be prepared to feel like you’re on the patio playing along even though you’re actually lying in bed trying to go to sleep! Besides these issues, the location isn’t fantastic (mainly surrounded by overpriced restaurants & a surplus of hairdressers), there is no maid service available unless requested several times, the water is extremely hard (zero suds), there is no fan in the bathroom so it becomes a sauna after one shower, and staff are only available during the late morning/afternoon.

They claim to be “on-call” at night, but since they seem to have a problem answering phone calls, I wouldn’t count on it. What ultimately turned our experience from bad to worse however, was the extra $200 charge we received from the Inn once back in Canada. We never received an invoice, nor did they follow up with us after several attempted phone calls and emails. Needless to say, I find it extremely unprofessional that the hotel staff would refuse to acknowledge or explain such a large discrepancy in our bill. All things considered, if you’re thinking of staying in Peabody, I would...