When you ring the bell and the wonderful Ada greets you, you know you are in for something special. The beautiful, large guest rooms are impeccably clean and nicely appointed with sizable bathrooms. The beds are comfortable. The house is within walking distance to everything you may want to see in Salem.
Breakfast was served in a common dining area and was great. Fresh fruit, freshly baked muffins, stuffed french toast...and frest juice and coffee a'plenty served by Donald.
If you have stayed at bed and breakfasts before or are a first timer, you must give Amanda Payson House a try. From the charming hosts to the comfort of the house to the great breakfast, you can't go wrong!! We can't wait to return!!

Found the Amelia Payson House by chance.
Wonderful house, briliant hosts.
Do not miss it.

My wife and I decided to finally see what Salem, MA was all about and wanted to stay in a nice place, within walking distance to everything. We found the Amelia Payson Guest House on this site, and with all of the excellent comments, we couldn't resist trying a Bed and Breakfast for the first time in all our travels. It turned out to be more than we expected. Right from our arrival, we were warmly greeted by Ada, given a map and overview of the town, shown our beautiful room and sent on our way to explore the area. This guest house is on a beautiful street and is within walking distance to EVERYTHING! There's a lot to do in this town, and it was great to park and not have to drive to be exposed to everything there is to see. Our room, at the top of a winding grand staircase, was very beautifully decorated with antiques and had a nice firm canopy bed. The room was extremely clean and instantly brought us back to the old days! The condition and attention to detail that's been given to this property had me in awe the whole time. The home's history is extensive and it was enjoyable to be able to read about it on a printout on our desk. The room's private bathroom was very large and nicely located around a corner from the bedroom. We enjoyed relaxing in the cozy room both nights after lots of walking.....no street noise, or noise from the other guest rooms. There is a nice sitting room just outside the second floor rooms and the hosts won me over by showing us a Senseo coffee machine, with tons of dark coffee pods right outside our room! Loved it! We relaxed and drank coffee in the evening and also used the machine to have a warm cup in the morning after waking up. Ada sold me on that machine! The sitting room also has a refrigerator, phone and plenty of stuff to read. Very convenient! Let's not forget to mention our excellent breakfast, which was served in 1st class style in a beautiful dining room both mornings by Ada and Don. Great coffee, juice, waffles, fruit, delicious egg bake and toast. We enjoyed great, homey, conversation with them and the other guests, and got lots of tips and tidbits of info about the area. We were also given the wonderful opportunity to visit the huge, huge, Peabody-Essex Museum for free, thanks to Ada and Don letting us use their passes to get in. Overall, a more than excellent stay. We left very relaxed and satisfied with our first stay at a B&B. We're so glad we chose this one for our first try. We will definitely go back to this beauty and these nice, nice people and are already making plans to stay in this home away from home, and take the ferry into Boston. Thanks Ada and Don!
Highly Recommended!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emily and I had a wonderful holiday here. VERY thoughtful hosts had everything at their fingertips, and everything was a short walk away. The room and amenities were top drawer:tasteful with a touch of old Salem. Enjoy!
Richard Hare,
Ossining NY