The Fairfield Inn in Middleboro, Mass., is an okay hotel. Nothing special, nothing horrible. Simply put, it gets the job done, when you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive hotel that offers a good location.

To me, the biggest advantage of this hotel is its location. The hotel sits right in the shadow of Interstate 495 (The Boston beltway, if you will), a half-hour or less from Cape Cod, historic Plymouth, The Tweeter Center, Gillette Stadium and Providence, RI. The hotel is south of Boston, by about 45 minutes.

There is not a lot to the place, really. It is a small structure, only four floors with barely 100 rooms. A conference room does exist, though I did not see it. There is a pool ion the first floor out back. I did not go out there, but did physically see it enough to say that I know it does exist.

There is plenty of parking available.

The room itself was very simple and plain. I was on the first floor, so I did not have the pleasure of an elevator ride. I had one king size bed, which was more than enough room for my wife and me. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that we only had three thin pillows. There was enough space for both of us. The bathroom was a little tight, but we never had more than one person in there at a time, so it was okay. The desk was a little peculiar. There was no lamp on it, and the phone was across the room, on a nightstand. This would not seem like an issue in a hotel that advertises free wireless internet. Then again, if the free wireless internet worked, it would not have been a problem.

Which brings me to my biggest issue: the supposedly free wireless internet.

First off, let me say that from my room, my laptop could not see the wireless internet. My wireless card is pretty new, and I am familiar with wireless internet. When I tried to find the signal and could not, I called the front desk, and got a woman who had no idea what I was talking about. In her defense, she did not seem computer comfortable at all, and at least she knew enough to contact their resident wireless internet guru to help me.

I was on a tight schedule, and did not have a lot of time. I had a “dinner-meeting” in Boston at Fenway Park, and needed to check email before heading to the Fens. The woman at the front desk assured me that someone would get back to me shortly, and I waited. And I waited. So I tried to dial-in to the internet through my Earthlink account, and my phone did not work. I called the front desk again, and the woman gave me a lot of attitude, as she thought I was complaining about the wireless internet again. When I explained that I needed my phone turned on, she was apologetic, and she obliged.

Time came and went, and not help from the internet guru. I left the hotel without hearing from him. The next morning, I call the front desk again to inquire about the wireless internet. This time, a different woman gives me the same answer, that she’ll contact the internet guy and have him come to my room. I went into the lobby to an adjacent room for the free continental breakfast (standard fare: coffee, pastries, juice. Available until 9 a.m.) then went back to the room and waited. And waited. 90 minutes of waiting, then I had to shower and check out for meetings in Providence. To this date, I can not confirm that the hotel actually has free wireless internet as it claims. As far as I know, they do not offer it, much less at no cost.

Otherwise, that really is the hotel. Again, nothing special. Very simple and straight forward. The location is good with ample amounts of parking. As a business traveler, I would certainly stay there again, as the $109 a night price was very manageable.

Recommended: Yes