Clipper Ship Inn

Only giving 1 star because you have to! This is a scam hotel!!! Do not stay here!!! We booked a room and were told if we cancelled within 48 hours of the stay which was June 25 we would charged a 25 cancellation fee… We booked and 2 hours later found a different hotel and called to cancel they were BEYOND RUDE!!! And are still charging us a 25 fee, I have never in my life heard of such a thing!!! I can’t imagine staying here!

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE. Run screaming. To be fair, I never actually stayed there. I booked a stay there as a back-​up on
. I found a nicer place for a reasonable rate (hard to do in Salem) and cancelled my stay through
. My refund never posted. I called
FOUR TIMES, including a call to the hotel themselves and they still have yet to process my refund. They were rude as all heck when I called the hotel, no apologies, nothing. They said they never received the first notice of cancellation. Then they kept saying they would process the refund that day and I am still waiting for it to hit my credit card (the first phone call was almost a MONTH ago). I now am left to dispute the transaction because the hotel has held on to my money so long and how am I to trust that they will ever give it back to me? I should’ve listened to the reviews, but I thought, what is the harm in booking if I can cancel for free? This experience has not been free, it’s been a huge waste of my time, money and energy. Though I can’t speak to the experience of staying there, if their extreme lack of human decency and lack of customer service is any indication, I would not be surprised if staying there was just as unpleasant as my battles with them.

It’s alright for what you pay for. Nothing fancy, but it definitely hasn’t been updated since the early 70s. The staff was interesting to say the least. The carpet near the sink was strangely wet for some unknown reason when we first entered the room and it smelled like a public restroom. If you’re traveling on a budget, it’s fine; however, if you’re looking for something a little nicer, go somewhere else.

They lied about extended rates being offered. Lady on the phone refused to rent by the week. Read other bad reviews and decided not to stay here, good decision me thinks!

After reading the reviews, I should have been turned off… I thought I’d give them a try since I’m not high maintenance.
I called inquiring about rates in May for a specific date. The rude lady snarled that there’s a 2 night minimum.
I honestly only needed to hear the disgusting tone of her voice to envision the weekend stay. Ended hanging up on her. Why so miserable? This witch is the face of your business? I’ll take mine elsewhere.

I’m giving this 5 stars because it was exactly what we expected. We only stayed two nights in October. The man in the office was extremely personable and informative. He gives $ 3 gift cards to dunkin donuts, which is right across the street. We were also greeted by two cats who were very friendly and mind their business, but allow you to pet them. :) We picked this place because we booked late and didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a hotel since we only planned to eat and shower there. I was a little hesitant based on reviews, but I’m so glad we chose it. It’s under a mile to all of downtown Salem. We walked it in no time and were among all the events happening for Halloween.
Our room was quiet, clean, and exactly what I wanted. We literally only slept and showered and were out and about all day and night. My only complaint is that there are curtains that you close in front of the window air conditioner. It was really warm our first night and we didn’t want to block the air unit, but didn’t want to leave the curtains open for someone to look right into our bed. We ended up rigging a contraption with the hangars from the closet to close the curtain, but hold it up over the air unit so the air was still flowing. There is also only a lock on the door handle. No deadbolt. This didn’t bother me as I was with my husband, who looks like he can handle his own. It might have made me more nervous if I was traveling alone or with another female. BUT, I can promise that although the motel wasn’t crowded nor was it desolate (patron attendance fell in the middle), it was quiet and I don’t think there is anything to worry about.
If you are looking to save a little money, but still want to be close, this is your place. While you can take a taxi (it’s like a $ 5-​$ 6 ride), it’s also easy to walk if the weather is nice. Thanks for the stay and if we ever return, I will certainly stay at the Clipper Ship again.

Aside from being an older hotel and a little outdated, the rooms were clean, the bathrooms were clean, the beds were pretty comfortable & the room even came with a K cup machine location location location! Close to everything and a Dunkin’ Donuts right across the street!

In most parts of the country, this would be an average outdated $ 49 motel. However, Salem has very few hotels and if you insist on staying in town in the summer, you are going to pay a lot for the privilege.
The room was a good size and completely clean. Staff was friendly. WiFi speed was good. That’s all the good news.
The room lock was a standard household door lock with no safety latch or dead bolt. It did not make us feel very secure. The air conditioner was a home window unit which meant that if you wanted to use the A/​C, you had to leave your drapes open for everyone on the walkway outside to look in.
The place looks like it was built in the 1950’s and has had only the minimal possible upgrades since then.
Pillows were thin slabs of foam rubber.
Water faucet was difficult to adjust between off and such high pressure that water splashed out of the sink onto the user.
I was awakened early (too early) in the morning from the sounds of the plumbing from people flushing toilets and turning on showers.
My wife made the mistake of opening a small bottle of body lotion that came with the room and accidently spilling some of it on the countertop. It smelled so bad that she cleaned it up as best as she could and flushed the contents down the toilet. The sickening smell was still there the next day.
The location is not in the touristy part of town. You have to walk (or drive) about a mile for that.
If I had to go to Salem again, I would either spend the extra $ 75 to stay at a better place, or stay in another town and drive in.

It isn’t really as horrible as people say;
Pros: Location! It’s 10 minutes from downtown and the neighborhood is safe though not scenic. The room was clean, there’s a Keurig and the bed wasn’t awful.
Cons: There is NO INTERNET! They offer it yes but it is so slow it is useless. There were 2 pillows for a queen size bed and the décor truly is dated and cheap.
I don’t get their business strategy. With such a small investment, this place could be passable, maybe even average but they don’t even try. I wouldn’t come back simply because they don’t even try (and. NO.DAMN.INTERNET!!!).

Most horrible experience ever! I have never been to a more disgusting establishment and received such horrible customer service. After being given a room filled with garbage and questionable smells, we went back to the front desk to explain what had happened and the woman was extremely rude and dismissive. We did not want to stay at the motel as none of the rooms were of better quality. My fiancé and I tried to just leave quietly after we could not get our money back. When I contacted the company used to book the room the woman at the front desk continued to insult me to the customer service representative stating «she must not used to hearing no.» I am still in shock at the absolute lack of customer service. DISGUSTING HOTEL! RUDE STAFF. DO NOT STAY!!!

We had to change hotels because the one we were spending our vacation in was both located in Danvers and was experiencing construction from upgrading its lobby. Neither bothered me but my friends chose to relocate within Salem.
Immediately, I was put off by the shabbiness of the lobby and rudeness of the desk clerk. Apparently there is not a set rate for rooms, which I find a bit sketchy. When she asked how we heard about the inn, we mentioned that a couple of women at our event had booked there. She asked their names and after she looked them up, she changed the room quote to a drastically higher rate (in the 200s). Her excuse? «It’s not fair to charge a lower rate for the same party.» Um, we were NOT with the other women and matter of fact, we did not consider them friends at all. We just happened to attend the same event. Very unprofessional.
On to the room.
The only good things (hence the two stars): the black cat that greeted us, the Keurig coffee maker, and the location of the inn. Other than that, it was a huge disappointment. It was large but looked like it hadn’t been updated since 1971. The furniture was old and unclean and the towels were threadbare. The worst issue was the safety issue. The ONLY lock was on the doorknob. There was no wifi in the room so I read reviews online from a nearby restaurant. There was a plethora of cases where items were stolen from rooms so we made sure we locked our computers and items of value in the car before we left the room. Fail.
We travel to this area a great deal and plan to return in May. Will we stay here again? Not on your life!

The rooms of the Clipper Ship Inn feel like the inside of an RV home from the 90s. Purple and green plastic furniture appointed with the finest synthetic fabrics of yesteryear, a 15 inch tube television, and a bathroom modeled after a prison holding cell (a toilet sans seat cover. how uncouth).
Notwithstanding the above review, I’m normally not a pretentious Unilocal-​reviewer. So here’s the real deal with this place, if you’re desperate to spend a weekend in Salem during the Halloween season and you didn’t know to book a room a year in advance try the Clipper Ship. They’re bound to have vacancy and they’re within city limits (barely; so bring your walking boots).
P. s. Don’t even think about trying to check-​in late. We were scolded for taking I-​95 and getting stuck in traffic.

I am giving this 5 stars based on my experience, not based on the grading of the inn. For $ 100 for one night, I got a very spacious, quiet, comfortable and heated room in the dead of winter. Most of the area B&B’s were either not accepting guests because they shut down in the off season or charging $ 200 or more. The person checking us in was very courteous and offered suggestions on places to go and getting into downtown which was only about a 15 – 20 minute walk. There are also several shops and simple places to grab pizza, sandwiches, etc within a 5 minute walk and otherwise lots to do in downtown Salem. If you are on a budget and looking for something simple, then this is your place.

We stayed two nights here during the week of Thanksgiving. From the street, this is an attractive hotel property.
Although the hotel was almost empty (due to poor weather) during our visit, we were assigned a room with beds that apparently have been in use at this hotel since the 1960’s! The old-​style mattresses with metal springs barely encased in their fabric made for two miserable nights. Worse, when I brought this to the hotel staff’s attention, I was informed that they «will be getting new mattresses next year,» and that they «could have moved [us] to a room with newer beds if [we] had asked.» Really? Is this your idea of hospitality in a town that depends on tourism? To then be given $ 6 in Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards after causing my family two miserable nights only added to the insult.
We will visit Salem again. We won’t be returning to the Clipper Ship Inn.

My friend and I (again) stayed at The Clippership Inn (a couple of weeks before Halloween). AGAIN IT WAS WONDERFUL. I love staying there. The location is perfect — just far enough from Essex Street to make it a lovely and beautiful walk, but not too far that you would not want to walk back late at night. We always feel very very safe. There are a lot of businesses and stores near enough by to get food or whatever (walking distance).
The room (again) was SO COMFORTABLE — HUGE living room with refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker (and the fixings), HUGE bedroom with two HUGE comfortable beds and a really nice, full bathroom. AND CLEAN.
The staff ARE GREAT — very VERY accommodating and nice. And the lady (I think her name was Mary) who took care of our room was wonderful.
If you are going to Salem, I sincerely suggest The Clippership Inn.
Very truly yours,
Deanna Benfante

I was a little hesitant to stay here based on some of the reviews about it being a bit sketchy. But since it was the only place I could find in Salem with two queen beds I went ahead and booked it and was not disappointed.
The women at the front desk were very friendly when we checked in. They gave us suggestions on places to eat and a couple DD gift cards (score!). The room was clean and quiet. Even though there looked to be a big group of people from a reunion staying there, we did not hear a thing all night.
We walked to downtown for dinner and drinks, which was about a 15 minute walk. We felt perfectly safe, even late at night when we were walking back to the hotel.
While this place was definitely overpriced for what it was and it’s location, I would stay here again.

We stayed at the Clipper Ship in because it was one of the few hotels in the area that wasn’t (according to reviews) super cheap and dumpy or super ritzy (or ritzy and dumpy). There was a little bit of shmutz to it, and the place looked a little dated, but everything else was A-​OK! It was nice being within walking distance of everything nice in Salem. The only wackiness was that on our second night our towels were removed while we were gone and not replaced. The staff scrounged a few together for us promptly. So basically, it’s exactly what you’re paying for. Nothing special, no major flaws, perfectly functional.

I really went back and forth between giving this place two stars or three stars. I finally settled on three stars because I have stayed here twice and if push came to shove, I would stay again.
When planning a trip to Salem in October, getting a hotel can be very difficult. They book up very fast. When I recently went to Salem with my sisters we stayed here since we couldn’t get a room anywhere else and it was decently priced. The location of the place is GREAT! You are walking distance from all of the Salem attractions and not that far from the train station if you want to head over to Boston. That’s what I really liked about the place. The price and location really cannot be beat.
Now onto the bad stuff. This is definitely not a luxury hotel. This is a glorified motel. The rooms are decently sized but not very clean. And my sisters may have been overreacting but we did not feel safe in our room. There is only a lock on the knob so we pushed a chair up against the door at night when we slept. I’m not a prissy girl but I like to feel safe when sleeping in a hotel.
One more plus I forgot to mention. There is a Dunkin Donuts right across the straight and we each got a gift card when checking in.

The ONLY space available at a last minute moment… which was wonderful!
The staff was very courteous and gave a lot of recommendations on where to eat.
It just doesn’t match my expectations for lodging. And I’m not a prissy gal, but I am looking for few things when I stay…
Comfort and Security.
Rooms are huge, but are odd. Beds are not real comfortable, but appeared clean.
Air units are loud. Door only has a lock on the knob, and we pushed a chair up to the door. The office of the hotel is SO unappealing. This place needs a general upheaval of organization, cleanliness, and design. The ice machine was surrounded by a half-​bottle of lemonade, scattered appliances, and a chicken carcass. Gross.
We left thinking that Salem was a creepy town and came up with a less than relaxing nickname for the joint.
Book ahead, but it’ll do in a pinch!
Wifi works in office but not in rooms.

I haven’t stayed here, so this review is only based on my attempt to book a room. The woman was so sarcastic, rude and, difficult that I decided not to make a reservation there.
I called and asked about rates and availability. The price was great– 95 – 99 for a single occupancy and 99 – 109 for a double occupancy in September. Perfect.
The woman sounded very skeptical that I was reserving it for myself. Weird. Then before I could ask to reserve, she asked me if I wanted to know her cancellation policy. Strange, but fine, tell me your cancellation policy. I asked to make the reservation. She said she didn’t want to make the reservation unless I knew for sure and it was $ 25 to cancel. Okaaay, if I need to cancel, I will pay $ 25. She wants to know when I will know for sure. Christ, if you don’t want people to change plans, then just don’t have a cancellation policy. Then she sarcastically asks if I am willing to pay deposits on the rooms. Um, yeah, that’s not a problem.
Unfortunately, her attitude was a problem. If making reservations is representative of the other services provided by the Clipper Ship Inn staff, I can do without it. I am miffed that I didn’t get a room since the rates were low, but I just couldn’t bear to hand over money when I am being scolded like a misbehaving child.