reedmangreg
Google
First of all, yes you are literally in front of the harbor for the boat tour (we stayed 2 nights here to take advantage of this game plan) yes and that's convenient, but so are are pretty much all other lodging/hotels in the area, including their sister property Seward Gateway Hotel... and guess who else comes through the property and the breakfast area? Yep... all of the non-hotel staying guests - the breakfast room is basically a passthrough between one door leading to the marina vs. the check in lobby for the hotel door, where also the desk for all the Major Marine Tours is located, so every person needs to separately check in 1h before their boat tour (plus gift shop) here as well - makes completely no sense as it's just one big chaotic and noisy situation until the tour people finally leave the building.... terrible setup ||The breakfast in itself was pretty bad too, to be perfectly honest so it was whenever included in pretty much every property we stayed at, during 10 nights in Alaska but at least in other places we didn't pay $250 a night... I wish it was cheaper with the option of no breakfast as the quality/options + the chaos just makes you want to leave and not be there at all - I was very excited for this property but it just let down big times, including this part which is usually my fav aspect of traveling - a peaceful breakfast with a view... during 2nd breakfast I decided just to toast the bagels and ate, it with some smoked salmon I have purchased in Seward, back in the room to avoid the another morning tour crowds nonsense again...||The room was OK, big and spacious - nothing to praise or complain about, the view of the back is some mountains and mainly parking lot but a night before we enjoyed sitting there with an open window having a beer and snacks - we were hoping ours will have a balcony but it did not, and sadly when I have asked at the front desk they were completely booked - it was a bummer as the hotel has no really lounge or bar area, so you can only have a drink/beer in your room... ||Lastly, while the Puffin art outside is very pretty and in general the curb appeal is very pleasant... inside the floors, the walls and ceilings - wow it's super noisy, like they didn't exist at all - during the 2nd night I thought someone is remodeling and I bet it was just people moving directly above us - wall to wall is one thing but I have never experienced this much noise just from the people directly above us - at first I have questioned myself that it can't be that, but then the following morning I paid attention as I was walking on the 2nd floor and noticed how much noise the hallway floor is making, how uneven it is etc. and figured out that was just people moving along their room above us and that's how much noise it was making LOL. ..Also the stairs on the sides are great, but FYI there is just 1 elevator for the entire hotel so you better not rush in the morning/check out if you are taking your luggage down/up|||For the record, we have hesitated between staying here vs. their newly built sister property called Seward Gateway Hotel, and after seeing the other place we wished we stayed there so it's not like I am trying to discourage anybody from "the brand" here with my review, and we also had an amazing boat trip with the Major Marine Tours, the 3 businesses share same ownership/umbrella. The other property, naturally looked cleaner and in better shape since constructed over the past couple years, and had a big separate breakfast room - it's priced exactly the same, and they are less than 5 minutes walking distance to the marina and there is even a free shuttle for that if walking the short distance is not an option. ||Where I am not saying to stay at a different place outside of their "brand" I am saying definitely stick to the sister property vs. this one - don't let the beautiful Puffin affect your choice as it did with me :P