SALEM, Massachusetts— The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem has learned to adapt to change throughout its 94-year history.
The hotel opened two years after funds were raised by businessmen for a hotel, and has operated under variations of its name, such as the Hawthorne Motor Hotel, to keep with the times.
While some things have changed for the hotel, the history stays, which is why the hotel works hard to maintain its original revival style of the 1920s and 1930s while staying up to date on food-and-beverage trends and technology, Hawthorne Hotel GM Claire Kallelis said. The hotel is registered under the Historic Hotels of America program.
While guestrooms at Hawthorne Hotel have been updated with new flat-screen TVs, bedding and curtains, Kallelis said “the public spaces should always resemble the era of the hotel, the ’20s and ’30s, as much as it can.”
The hotel’s public spaces match the era in which the hotel opened, but the technology doesn’t. John Worthington, director of sales and marketing at Hawthorne Hotel, said the hotel has invested a lot of money in making sure the hotel has a strong Wi-Fi connection that’s free to guests. Unlike some hotels, guests can access the free, high-speed connection from anywhere in the hotel. A different passcode isn’t needed to access it for meetings or from the guestroom, because it is all the same throughout the hotel, he said.
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Experience
Many of the employees at Hawthorne Hotel have worked there for several years or more, including Kallelis, who has worked at the hotel for 36 years. She started out as a waitress at the hotel.
Since the hotel has a lot of long-time staff members, Kallelis said they are very focused on delivering great hospitality to guests, which matches with the times of the ‘20s and ‘30s when that was an expectation from guests.
Culinary offerings
The Hawthorne Hotel is also known for its culinary offerings, Worthington said.
Kallelis has a strong background of F&B, he said, and “for most of her career here has worked side by side with our executive chef creating new trendy dishes for people while also trying to keep some of the staples that some of the locals (know) here at the hotel.”
The hotel’s busy season for rooms in September through the second week of November, as Salem is a popular place to visit in the fall, Worthington said.
“Even though there might be more shoulder (times) for the rooms, food and beverage is always very strong,” Kallelis said.
The hotel has two dining outlets—Nathaniel’s, its fine-dining restaurant—and the Tavern on the Green.
Nathaniel’s has always had a pianist who plays in the restaurant, Kallelis said. Worthington added that Hawthorne Hotel stopped hosting other live entertainment in Nathaniel’s for a while, but decided to bring it back about a year ago.
The hotel features local entertainers who “have kind of a following around the Northshore area” on select Thursday nights, he said.
Catering and events
Wedding receptions and banquet events have always been big drivers of business for the hotel, Kallelis said.
The hotel used to see 95 to 105 weddings per year, she said, but with more hotels and other wedding venues coming into the area, Hawthorne Hotels stays steady at about 85 weddings a year.
The hotel also had a large offsite catering division for 20 years, but that was changed to focus more on events at the hotel, Kallelis said.
The hotel is open every day of the year, like most hotels, but Hawthorne Hotel sees a lot of business around the holidays because of its holiday buffet offerings, she added.