Ma Johnson’s Historical Hotel

This is a charming hotel in the heart of McCarthy. We got a room with a sink inside, and did not have any issues with the shared bathrooms. Our floor had one with a toilet, one with a shower, and one with both, so we never had to wait. The bed was very comfortable, and we were able to charge our devices in the cozy lobby. Staff was very helpful and friendly, and even took our postcards to the mail shack for us. The hotel is steps away from the Saloon and the deli/gift shop, and a short walk from McCarthy Air and the Potato. McCarthy is a really cute and fun town and we would stay at Ma Johnson's again!

I spent the summer in Alaska, and this was a highlight of my trip. The journey to get to McCarthy was an adventure in itself. After driving the 60 mile unpaved road, parking my car, taking a footbridge, and then taking a shuttle to town, my dog and I had such an amazing visit. The town was very dog friendly, and my dog made some good buddies while there. We watched a community softball game, explored the mining town of Kennicott, hiked to Root Glacier (also amazing), and met some incredible people. ||The hotel was comfortable for the weekend and enough space for my dog and me. The only way to charge a phone is to sit downstairs in the lobby area, but it is very comfortable and warm so I did not mind. There are no real locks on the hotel room doors - just latches for when you are inside, but that just adds to the history and quirkiness of the place. ||I enjoyed this trip so much and would revisit in a heartbeat.

Yes, the rooms are small. Yes, it's a shared bathroom situation. Correct, there are no electrical outlets in the room. That's part of what makes it a fun experience! You are taking a small step back in time. It is a part of the unique McCarthy vibe that is hard to explain until you have experienced it. Sitting on the porch for a while, you realize that everyone in town knows everyone else (and their dogs). Dining options surpass what you would expect in such a small, out of the way location. Even without your own vehicle, you have easy access to everything that the Kennicott area of Wrangell-St Elias National Park has to offer, which is probably why you are there!

Ma Johnson’s Historical Hotel is such an awesome experience to have. We stayed for three days and really enjoyed its quaint charm as a launching pad for our MCarthy adventures. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Note that if you stay in the “small house” the bathroom is shared. This was not a problem for us and we never had to wait while someone else was using it. The breakfast was good and sufficient to get us going every morning. I can’t compare it to anywhere else in McCarthy but can say we had no regrets about staying there and were a little sad to say goodbye.

This place is so cute! It has so much charm. It doesn’t have outlets in rooms, but they have charging stations downstairs and you can charge while at breakfast. Breakfast at the Bear and Salmon in includes. It’s fine for breakfast but I do not recommend it for dinner. Ma Johnson’s staff goes above and beyond. It is a neat town. If you want to have a fun nightlife at the Golden Saloon, stay here! Not Kennicott Lodge because you will be stuck with no late night shuttle to get you 5 miles down the road. The Kennicott Mine Tour and Root Glacier Hike were great, but it has a stuffy feel beyond that. We loved the McCarthy side, with Ma Johnson’s across the street from everything.

Fun and quirky little hotel in McCarthy. Rooms are small with sinks in room. Shared bathrooms. Communications about this were all very clearly. We never waited for the bathrooms. No outlets in rooms. Charging stations available in the front area near check in desk. I left an iPhone and charging bank overnight for charging and saw many phones and watches. Nothing went missing. Everyone was so nice and helpful. Great breakfast at the Salmon and Bear restaurant included. Pancakes, eggs, meat, potatoes, fruit, juice, coffee. Very filling and needed for a day of hiking. Was a unique experience and would absolutely stay here again if ever back in the McCarthy area!

I won the Travel Guide Book prize for a stay at McCarthy, Alaska - three nights at the Kate Kennedy House, a round of drinks at the Golden Saloon, dinners each night at the Golden Saloon/Salmon & Bear, a ride in a vintage automobile, plus a welcome to McCarthy bottle of wine. My husband & I planned an Alaskan vacation around this prize (we also did the Alaskan Railroad excursion to Denali) and were at McCarthy from June 23rd to June 26th. McCarthy, Alaska is probably a place we would not have thought to go to except for having won this prize, but we had a wonderful time there! ||The Kate Kennedy house was comfortable and a fun place to stay, with a lovely large sunroom and backyard area, a comfortable living room area with vintage furnishings, and the most comfortable bed we slept in during our Alaska stay! There was also a small upstairs bedroom that we did not use. Having the Victrola and the various 78 records and the stereoscope viewer was very entertaining. Our bottle of wine was accompanied by a picnic basket with delicious cookies! We had questions about how to use the wood burning stove and got immediate assistance by using the hotel front desk phone - the person who responded came over immediately to show us what to do. The nights were a bit chilly but the stove worked great - we were very comfortable. The Golden Saloon was fun, it was very busy our first night there. We ate at the Salmon and Bear the next two nights and the food there was amazing! Breakfast was included as well, and it was very good, not at all like your usual hotel breakfast. We had lunch at The Potato one afternoon and the food there was nice too. We liked the mercantile shop and picked up some souvenirs to bring back home. Our prize also included a flightseeing trip with Wrangell Mountain Air and it worked out so well - we got to see the glaciers and mountain ranges in a way you would never otherwise be able and the ride was so smooth it felt like we were floating! ||Everyone we dealt with was friendly and took time to answer any questions we had. The history museum was very interesting and the museum staff were informative and happy to talk about the history of the town. We got to meet Neil Darish at the Salmon & Bear as he helped out staff and circulated with all the guests. It was obvious that he and everyone there cared a lot about the town and making visitors feel welcome. We were not there for the Thursday music night but we could tell that was a weekly highlight. On our last morning there we got a ride to the footbridge via an antique Cadillac LaSalle, so we left town in style!||I would recommend staying at the Kate Kennedy House - it is a unique experience!

We stayed in room 1. Don’t. I wouldn’t even stay upstairs if you could . I don’t know where the rooms are that are shown on the web site but they sure weren’t like our room. The room has a full size bed and was so small that 2 people couldn’t even pass each other. No room for luggage except in the walk way to get into the bed. One of the upstairs bathrooms was behind the head of the bed. Could hear people peeing all night. The window faced the street. Heard people all night, leaving the bar, sitting on the porch whispering at 3 am. Bathrooms down the halls 3-4 of them. Downstairs bedrooms had sinks in room with showers/toilets down the halls I would stay in a room with the twin beds. More room, not cramped No electricity in any of the bedrooms. They have some charging ports in the lobby. Bring a portable battery. Staff is outstanding, food across the street is great. Location is outstanding. There is a walk from the parking lot to town as you can’t drive there. We were Lucky that the shuttle bus was there when we walked our luggage across. The people that came in the next day had no idea what to do (they were told nothing ) no shuttle bus waiting so they hauled their bags up the road.

Amazing hotel that is an absolute time capsule taking you back to the early 1900's. Not only in the feel of the hotel itself with period furniture, but also the staff and friendliness you receive. Step back in time with your stay in this hotel that is centrally located within a stones throw of everything you need in McCarthy. We had the most amazing time here!

I'm slightly hesitant to write a review for Ma Johnson's Hotel because I didn't actually stay at the hotel. I did, however, stop in to learn about the history and see the artifacts in the hotel lobby because Ma Johnson's is a historical hotel, a museum of sorts! The woman working at the reception desk was so enthusiastic to tell me about the history of McCarthy and the hotel. Ma Johnson's Hotel has since been restored as the town of McCarthy/Kennicott were once Ghost Towns. Stop in to learn more about the history, see the artifacts, and definitely stay a night or two if you can. I also learned the McCarthy Lodge and some of the other nearby restaurants are under the same ownership.

The rooms were great! The staff was also great! However, we had made reservations months (February) in advance for the night of our wedding (July 4, 2019) We made the reservations for the hotel and saloon/bistro for the wedding party. We were promised that what we asked for: steak, chicken wings and blueberry cheesecake. Would be available Upon arrival, one of the staff tried really hard to talk us out of the steak and wings be and into dishes that sounded disgusting (bone marrow on toast). The person also told us that the baker was "unable to get the ingredients" for the blueberry cheesecake. Keep in mind that the reservations were made in February and we were assured that what we requested would be there for us. We were also told that they were planning a "special" wedding dessert for us. The owner of the hotel and restaurant told us that he gives the staff "liberties" to take care of us on our wedding night. Didn't notice anything done for us. So just remember that if you make reservations and are promised certain foods or treatment, it probably won't happen.

Great place to stay, very friendly staff , clean rooms. No power outlets in the rooms but that's to be expected due to the age of the Hotel. Power outlets to charge phones are in the lobby down stairs. Highly recomended

My goodness, a 5-star restaurant serving 5-star food in an isolated town in the Wrangell Mountains. Year-round population is 42. We loved this restaurant.

Wonderful! We ate here the night before a week-long backpacking trip in Wrangell-St Elias. It's pretty amazing to discover such a gourmet place in, literally, the middle of nowhere.It's a tiny little restaurant in a historic building in the miniscule town of McCarthy, AK (2 hours down dirt roads to get there, only 40 or so residents, 1 hotel). They serve only a set 4-course meal or, on some nights, a tasting menu with several more courses. We're completely unfussy eaters, but we heard plenty of other folks around us with special requests (no dairy, vegetarian, etc) that they seemed to be willing and able to accommodate. The four-course meal the night we were there was excellent. First course was copper river salmon on a bed of seared tomato, adzuki beans, and lentils. I thought the salmon was great, but the tomato was mediocre (not very ripe) and the beans were a touch under-cooked for me. Second course was a pork ragu with gnocchi. Third course was braised beef and polenta (amazing, amazing, amazing) and the dessert was some sort of shortbread-cookie-ish thing with strawberry cream and chocolate. YUM! Our water was also excellent, and SO knowledgeable about the wines, which were at least as good as the food, if not better. And at $40 (not including wine) a person, a total bargain! We paid more than that for fish and chips and a couple beers at a pub in Seward! Anywhere else, I'd probably give this restaurant 4 stars, but it gets the 5th just for being what it is under such insane circumstances.

We had a couple backpacking trips in Wrangell St Elias National Park and after the first one, came back to town looking for a place to eat. And luckily, walked into this place. The restaurant serves a 4-course dinner for $40, a great deal in any city, an awesome deal when you're in the middle of nowhere Alaska town with a winter population of about 20 residents. Three times a week, just to get the chef's creative juices flowing, they serve an 18 to 20-course tasting menu for $125, which is a bargain anywhere. Since my husband's a vegetarian and I am a picky eater, we asked the waiter if it would be possible to alter the menu to accommodate our requests. He went to check with the chef and came back with the great news for us to go next door for a beer while the chef will need about 30 minutes to prepare for our dinner. We were impressed at how accommodating they are, especially when we found out later that most of the people dining there have had reservations made first. The room was warm and classy with white tablecloth service. Remnants of old Kennecott Mining Company artifacts and photos were all around the walls. Given how isolated this town is, the chef should be highly commended for all the dishes that came out of his kitchen. First dish was arugula salad with shrimp (seared tomato slices for vegetarian) tossed in simple vinaigrette and pickled onion and carrots. Second course was soba noodles mixed with julienned cabbage, celery, and seaweed, topped with cod (if you eat fish) or roasted eggplant (if you're vegetarian). Third course was braised beef that melts in your mouth (or veggie loaf for vegetarian substitute) on a bed of quinoa with mushroom and red wine reduction sauce. Dessert was rhubarb crisp. Excellently delicious. We came to find out later that the chef is Joshua Slaughter, a James Beard Award chef who has worked for Thomas Keller in Napa Valley and NYC. A great chef with a complete understanding of flavor, texture, pairing and how it all go together to produce an exquisite dining experience. The wine selection complimented the food greatly. The service was impeccable. We had such a great experience overall that we made a reservation this time to come back for dinner after our second backpacking trip. And it was great if not better than the first time we were there. We asked Chef Slaughter if it would be possible to do a vegetarian tasting course and he welcomed the "challenge." We will definitely be back in this wonderful town and to pay a visit to Chef Slaughter again.