Homestead Suites Boston-Peabody, Peabody

This would be considered a 2 star facility while my pesonal "overall experience" was a little higher than that. This facility is in a light-industry park. The rooms (March 2007) are relatively inexpensive for what you get, a full-size fridge, microwave, dishwasher, and 2 rangetop coil heaters. There was also a small kitchen sink with a scary-sounding garbage disposal. "Showtime" channels were included with the cable tv. The bed's pillows are the firmest I've ever felt. There was DSL wireless internet service available for an additional fee. As an extended stay inn, rooms are cleaned only once per week during your stay. There was no shampoo nor conditioner in my bathroom, only soap. There was nothing to hold your suitcase off the floor. There were plenty of drawers to put things in, as well as storage under the bathroom sink. There is no restaurant. The electronic room key is also an ad for Domino's pizza delivery. The food on-site consists of a soda machine and a vending machine with snacks. There are supposed to be hot meals available in a "guest pantry" room, but there were 2 broken, snow-covered, glass-front refrigeration cases (one of which was labeled "guest pantry") sitting out back on the patio, next to a gas grill. The patio entrance was locked and off-limits. A room off the front entrance within sight of the front desk had coffee available whenever I went there, as well as orange juice and apple juice from a dispenser, a nice touch. There were free snacks available from 6am-9am, Mon-Fri only: plain bagels w/regular cream cheese, apples, oranges and a few grapefruits. The "fitness center" was a small room with 1 stair climber, 1 bike, and 1 Startac brand treadmill. There were no weights nor an exercise machine. The indoor pool varied in depth from 3-4 feet and was only about 20 feet long. The Homestead was clean with free parking, in Centennial Park in Peabody, MA, and is a super easy 1.5 miles from Routes 95/128. There are plenty of non-smoking rooms since they are labeled as such outside the room, but I could smell cigarette smoke coming from several non-smoking rooms.