Morning Glory B&B Featured in today's Sunday Globe!

There is a very nice review of the Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast in the Travel section of today's Boston Globe.

Here is the article:

Salem inn close to it all, but why budge?

By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Correspondent July 13, 2008

SALEM - Oh, the joy of being car-free! Never mind the atrocious price of gas; for a recent trip to Salem, we simply wanted to avoid the meandering drive from Boston, a 25-mile trip that can take nearly a tedious hour. So we chose a water route instead.

Picture this: For $24 each round-trip, we boarded the Salem Ferry at the New England Aquarium and, 45 pleasant minutes later, disembarked from the high-speed catamaran in this North Shore city. We then walked only five minutes from the ferry dock to the Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast, which - by my assessment - has the best location of any of Salem's many B&Bs.

On a short, dead-end street across from the historic House of the Seven Gables, the Morning Glory is also steps from the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the Salem Heritage Trail, and Pickering Wharf, with its numerous shops and restaurants. It's also within easy walking distance of quaint downtown Salem, but in a quieter neighborhood that's nicely removed from the tourist hubbub.

We didn't miss our car once during our weekend stay. We traveled everywhere by foot, and if we had tired of walking we could have hailed a taxi - or even a pedicab or rickshaw.

But we found the Morning Glory's lovely roof deck, with its reclining chairs, harbor view, ocean breeze, and hanging flowers, as much a draw as the historical sites. An afternoon on that deck with a book and sunscreen is a perfect antidote to an overly busy week at work.

We did leave it from time to time - for a seafood dinner at Finz restaurant, lunch at Capt.'s Waterfront Grill, a stroll to Harbor Sweets chocolate factory, and dessert at Captain Dusty's Ice Cream - but the deck is so heavenly that it's tough to tear yourself away.

The Morning Glory is a former two-family house that was bought and renovated 13 years ago by Salem native Bob Shea. He has operated it as a charming, meticulous, casually beautiful bed-and-breakfast since 1996. The clapboard house is painted a bold brick red made even more striking by gorgeous flower beds and landscaping. Its four spic-and-span guest rooms have a tasteful, country-comfortable New England feel that combines classic (hardwood floors, handsome wood bed frames, old-fashioned cross-stitchings) with contemporary (flat-screen TVs, DVD players, free Wi-Fi).

The fanciest is the Sarah Good Suite, which occupies the whole third floor, and the smallest and cheapest, where we stayed, is the Bridget Bishop Room, which isn't listed on the inn's website - perhaps because it's a bit snug and doesn't have room for much more than a bed, small desk, and armoire. It does have a modern private bathroom, though, and overall we were content there, probably because immediately outside the room is a pretty sitting area open to all guests. It's stocked with books, a computer with printer and Internet access, stereo, wine glasses, fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, chess board, binder of local menus, and tourist brochures. Had we not had access to that common area and the roof deck, our room might have felt a touch claustrophobic - but the inn's other guest rooms are more spacious.

Downstairs, the kitchen and eating area are open to guests mainly during breakfast; the rest of the time, they're part of Shea's private quarters. Breakfast is a mix of yogurt, dry cereals, fruit, baked goods typically made by Shea's mother (Irish soda bread, cheese bread, blueberry muffins, raisin bran muffins, and more), and occasional extras like raisin-stuffed baked apples. It's usually served at an indoor group table, but during nice weather guests can eat on the patio in the inn's backyard. We wished the meal were slightly more substantial, but Morning Glory is licensed to serve only a continental breakfast, which means potentially hazardous foods like eggs aren't allowed.

Shea and his partner, Marcel Dufour, are warm, welcoming, and attentive - they made a special trip to the store for skim milk - and Shea is chatty without being intrusive. At breakfast one morning, he sat down at the group table for some friendly small talk, but seemed to know exactly when to leave his guests to themselves. That's an important skill for an innkeeper. In fact, after more than a decade in the business, Shea seems to have mastered innkeeping in every way.

If You Go

Morning Glory Bed and Breakfast 22 Hardy St., Salem978-741-1703morningglorybb.com
What we liked most: The inn's roof deck and its location within walking distance of most of Salem's tourist sites.

What we liked least: The snugness of our room (the Bridget Bishop, the smallest in the house), although the inn's sitting area and roof deck gave us room to stretch out.

What surprised us: Foods such as eggs aren't allowed because the inn is licensed to serve only continental breakfast.

You know you're at the Morning Glory B&B when ... you spot its handsome red clapboard exterior just a short walk from the Salem Ferry.

Rates: $135-$200 in season May-October, $125-$160 off season November-April.