(Short version of my review: YES-- stay here. Stay multiple nights. Clean, friendly, fully equipped with any needs you could imagine, ample restaurants accessible through delivery options, quick easy drive to Northampton if you need to get out.)
Now for the long version: Thankfully my girlfriend stumbled across Naomi's Inn when we needed to make a medical related trip to the Springfield area. We were hoping to turn an otherwise crummy situation into a relaxing escape from everyday life. Complete success.
We are grad students in the Boston area-- as you probably know, Springfield MA isn't typically the young student's ideal mini-vaca getaway, but Naomi's makes it exceptional. We have already booked 3 additional nights throughout the semester just to make sure that we occasionally slow down enough to stay sane and enjoy life. We will willingly and excitedly leave our homes and make the 2 hour drive to end up in Springfield for no reason other than Naomi's Inn and Marci (who runs it).
Here is a "brief" list why:
(1) Marci, the innkeeper- as she refers to herself- is awesome. She's young, laid back, full of life, easy to talk to, great sense of humor, and on top of knowing her food and giving great restaurant advice, she's got the most welcoming and sincere personality- we loved getting to chat with her.
(2) The price. Hotels are expensive across the board--- this place is maybe $30-50 more per night than what you'll find at a Motel 8 or a Holiday Inn Express, but it's so homey, so cozy, and stocked full of great food, snacks, and just the at-home feel of "mom's kitchen".
(3) All the rooms are unique and the decoration is warm and inviting-- it's got the fun 'b&b' atmosphere with the Victorian style decor touches, but done in a really classy, modern way. Two of the rooms that are available for booking ahead of time have multiple beds, too, so we're already planning more of a group trip outing. It's a done deal that this is where our families will stay for our graduations, too.
(4) Actual cleanliness, not the commercialized lingering aroma of stale bleach in the air-- actually clean everything-- even the air feels clean.
(5) Electric, TVs, and wireless. Though we didn't actually make use of any of these too much, we so appreciated knowing it was a possibility. There's nothing more irritating than being stranded without access to electronics. Just knowing I COULD access them was all I needed. The fact that she clearly went out of her way to make sure each room was equipped with full electronic accessories and multi-outlet capability shows how much thought she's put into ensuring a truly at-home feel for each of her guests.
(6) The porches. If you're like us and you love to get some good porch time, this place is ideal. There's a massive back patio VERY wheelchair accessible, and an enormous wrap around porch in the front. We spent hours out on it.
(7) I don't think I've slept that well in ... honestly I dont know. I left so renewed and rested and motivated-- I already booked a weekend near final project time because I plan to cave away in this nook of heaven and make the end of the semester enjoyable rather than miserable.
(We ordered food delivery from deliveryexpress while we were there just so we wouldn't have to leave. I highly recommend doing that because you won't want to step foot off this property once you arrive. I was so sad to leave.) read more