Seward HI Express or Windsong Lodge?

[Pusniski]

I have the HI Express reserved right now for an incredible deal with a harbor view ($77 a night!), however, I just discovered Windsong Lodge. I think my husband would love this place. So how many CCers have stayed at Windsong? Is it worth shelling out the extra money?

 

TIA!

[Foxhill]

How in the world did you get the HI Express in Seward for $77.00 per night :eek:

 

I booked several months ago and the best I could get for three people was $198.00 per night + tax and that is not a harbor view room either. I used our AAA discount, but it wasn't much. I have consistently checked back on the web site and the price has not changed at all. We are there in mid-July. Your post doesn't state your date of stay so perhaps that is the difference, but it is a mightly big difference. Hope to hear from you.

[Pusniski]

How in the world did you get the HI Express in Seward for $77.00 per night :eek:

 

I booked several months ago and the best I could get for three people was $198.00 per night + tax and that is not a harbor view room either. I used our AAA discount, but it wasn't much. I have consistently checked back on the web site and the price has not changed at all. We are there in mid-July. Your post doesn't state your date of stay so perhaps that is the difference, but it is a mightly big difference. Hope to hear from you.

 

We are cruising late June which is peak season. I booked it as soon as they opened their schedule up last summer. I reserved my cruise, car rental and hotels beginning in June of last year. It makes a huge difference to reserve early in Alaska on some things.

 

I guess part of me wants to keep the savings, but the other part knows my husband might enjoy Windsong more than HI Express. I'm happy camper at either place. I'm just seeing if the hotel justifies the cost. He loves nature, log cabins and the feeling of seclusion.

[Italy52]

I have the HI Express reserved right now for an incredible deal with a harbor view ($77 a night!), however, I just discovered Windsong Lodge. I think my husband would love this place. So how many CCers have stayed at Windsong? Is it worth shelling out the extra money?

 

TIA!

 

 

We have stayed at the HIE twice and really like the central location in Seward -- could walk to everything we wanted to see. Had a couple in our M&M who stayed at the Windsong and didn't like the idea that she was a ways from town --- she didn't have a car to come and go.

 

I did find some reviews on TripAdvisor that you might find helpful. Here is the link:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60873-d253259-Reviews-Seward_Windsong_Lodge-Seward_Alaska.html

[ellbon]

i picked the windsong for peace and quiet- there is a shuttle until 10 at night. i need some sleep so 10 is fine

[Pusniski]

Thank you for your replies! :D We seem to be leaning towards sticking w/the HI Express just for the savings and use the difference towards a tour. OTOH, we really prefer a quiet place. Still wavering as usual.... :rolleyes:

[Chenega]

Both are excellent (Windsong is in a beautiful location right on the river on the way to Exit Glacier) but the HI Express is really convenient for Kenai Fjords boat tours and several places to eat. If you got the rate you have, you got a great deal.

[ellbon]

i iswitch to HI after reading this thread. I like the idea of the indoor hot tub and the small but free breakfast. my room is 252 but i have a harbor balcony view. iwill be outsidewith my camera...

[MysteryMe]

We stayed at HIE last summer prior to our cruise. It is in a great location, the rooms are decent, and the breakfast in the morning is a nice perk.

 

They even had a service where, for $2 per bag, they would transfer your luggage to the cruise terminal. Since my husband and I had a full day planned in Seward prior to boarding the ship, we decided to pay the $2 per bag, go have fun all day in Seward, and then walk to the cruise terminal.

 

Well, guess what... our bags were not transferred. And we didn't find out until after the ship left Seward. And, due to a holiday and the ship's itinerary, our luggage didn't reach us until the 6th night of our 7 night cruise.

 

The manager at the Seward Holiday Inn felt terrible about it of course, and while it took him a couple of months to work with their insurance company and the corporate offices, he did get reimbursement for our replacement clothing, toiletries, etc, and for the air freight charges we paid to have our stuff flown to Ketchikan. (Royal Caribbean got our stuff from Seward to Anchorage at no charge.) HIE also reimbursed us the $$ we paid to spend the night there... something I hadn't asked for.

 

Would we stay there again? Well, we've decided to do a rerun of the trip this summer, because we spent a LOT of time on our last trip working on getting our stuff. I wanted to stay at HIE again because I really had no complaints about the place itself. DH on the other hand isn't so keen on the idea, so we'll stay elsewhere.

 

Bottom line is HIE is a fine place to stay. Nice location, etc. Just make sure you make your own arrangements to get your luggage to the port. :rolleyes:

[ellbon]

taxi's work for me. .some places have shuttles- guess this one did not.

 

what about BW Edgewater?? is that better or worse- since i have to wait places

[paylady]

We stayed at HIE last summer prior to our cruise. It is in a great location, the rooms are decent, and the breakfast in the morning is a nice perk.

 

They even had a service where, for $2 per bag, they would transfer your luggage to the cruise terminal. Since my husband and I had a full day planned in Seward prior to boarding the ship, we decided to pay the $2 per bag, go have fun all day in Seward, and then walk to the cruise terminal.

 

Well, guess what... our bags were not transferred. And we didn't find out until after the ship left Seward. And, due to a holiday and the ship's itinerary, our luggage didn't reach us until the 6th night of our 7 night cruise.

 

The manager at the Seward Holiday Inn felt terrible about it of course, and while it took him a couple of months to work with their insurance company and the corporate offices, he did get reimbursement for our replacement clothing, toiletries, etc, and for the air freight charges we paid to have our stuff flown to Ketchikan. (Royal Caribbean got our stuff from Seward to Anchorage at no charge.) HIE also reimbursed us the $$ we paid to spend the night there... something I hadn't asked for.

 

Would we stay there again? Well, we've decided to do a rerun of the trip this summer, because we spent a LOT of time on our last trip working on getting our stuff. I wanted to stay at HIE again because I really had no complaints about the place itself. DH on the other hand isn't so keen on the idea, so we'll stay elsewhere.

 

Bottom line is HIE is a fine place to stay. Nice location, etc. Just make sure you make your own arrangements to get your luggage to the port. :rolleyes:

 

:eek: Yikes! :eek:

 

We'll be taking care of our own luggage, in that case. I did get a great rate, $79/night king harbor view w/balcony, since it's early in the season. Can't beat that rate or the location.

[Foxhill]

Marla: I will pose this question again:

 

How did you get the $79.00 per night rate? Did you book on the phone with the hotel? Did you use their web site to book? When are you staying. When did you book the hotel?

 

We booked this hotel probably in Sept. or Oct., 2009 for July, 2010 and did not get anywhere near that rate. Hope to get some specifics and be able to cut our cost down a little. Probably too late for that, however. :o

[Italy52]

We stayed at HIE last summer prior to our cruise. It is in a great location, the rooms are decent, and the breakfast in the morning is a nice perk.

 

They even had a service where, for $2 per bag, they would transfer your luggage to the cruise terminal. Since my husband and I had a full day planned in Seward prior to boarding the ship, we decided to pay the $2 per bag, go have fun all day in Seward, and then walk to the cruise terminal.

 

Well, guess what... our bags were not transferred. And we didn't find out until after the ship left Seward. And, due to a holiday and the ship's itinerary, our luggage didn't reach us until the 6th night of our 7 night cruise.

 

The manager at the Seward Holiday Inn felt terrible about it of course, and while it took him a couple of months to work with their insurance company and the corporate offices, he did get reimbursement for our replacement clothing, toiletries, etc, and for the air freight charges we paid to have our stuff flown to Ketchikan. (Royal Caribbean got our stuff from Seward to Anchorage at no charge.) HIE also reimbursed us the $$ we paid to spend the night there... something I hadn't asked for.

 

Would we stay there again? Well, we've decided to do a rerun of the trip this summer, because we spent a LOT of time on our last trip working on getting our stuff. I wanted to stay at HIE again because I really had no complaints about the place itself. DH on the other hand isn't so keen on the idea, so we'll stay elsewhere.

 

Bottom line is HIE is a fine place to stay. Nice location, etc. Just make sure you make your own arrangements to get your luggage to the port. :rolleyes:

 

So sorry to hear about your experience --- at least the people took ownership of the error and tried to make it right.

 

I have been to the hotel twice and never heard of the luggage transport service --- wonder if it was something new they were trying out.

[ellbon]

i used the webiste. .edgewater is the same. .they have some shuttle service there. windsong has shuttle service hourly but i now think i want to be in town so i can walk everywhere.

 

i can use a taxi to get to the ship

[MysteryMe]

I have been to the hotel twice and never heard of the luggage transport service --- wonder if it was something new they were trying out.

 

 

I'm not sure if was something they were trying out last year or not. And I didn't see any signs around that mentioned it. We asked at the front desk if they had a shuttle that went to the port or if we should plan on calling a taxi. They said they did't have a shuttle, and that we could call a cab, or if we wanted to walk to the port we could pay the $2 per bag. The weather was great, we had a lot planned for the day prior to boarding the ship, and figured that having them transport our luggage was perfect.

 

When we got back home and began the process of getting everything sorted out with HIE, the manager told me that we were the only ones that this happened to all summer. I understood the intent of his comment, but it sure didn't make me feel any better.

[paylady]

Marla: I will pose this question again:

 

How did you get the $79.00 per night rate? Did you book on the phone with the hotel? Did you use their web site to book? When are you staying. When did you book the hotel?

 

We booked this hotel probably in Sept. or Oct., 2009 for July, 2010 and did not get anywhere near that rate. Hope to get some specifics and be able to cut our cost down a little. Probably too late for that, however. :o

 

I guess the other poster didn't respond to your initial question. I looked at my confirmation and I booked online at the Holiday Inn website on July 3. We are staying May 26 for 2 nights. As I mentioned this is early in the season which is why I assume the rates are far less.

[Chenega]

BW Edgewater is closer to the Alaska Sealife Center (right across the street) but a mile or so from the Seward small boat harbor from which the Kenai Fjords cruises depart. It's a nice place, especially in the newer units.

[ellbon]

BW Edgewater is closer to the Alaska Sealife Center (right across the street) but a mile or so from the Seward small boat harbor from which the Kenai Fjords cruises depart. It's a nice place, especially in the newer units.

 

i read that but realized the restaurants and boats tours were closer to HI. also i have a 6 hour land tour including lunch that starts at the train station.

 

 

i figure i can walk to the sealife center.

 

my problem is there is no transportation from HI but there is from Edgewater to the ships and train station. that surprised me a lot. i have looked at both hotels and i do know the Edgewater has some transportation.

 

makes it hard to decided...

[pamfj]

Were you guys staying at the HI able to get a reservation for one night? If so, how? They seemed to have a two night minimum when I looked, so I booked the BW. The BW does meet you at the train and has a shuttle to take you to the ship, so I am okay there, but just wondering.

[Foxhill]

We booked our reservation for one night only. We arrive very early on July 16th, taking the 11:30 a.m. Kenai Fjord tour, staying that night at HIE. We are then out to Seavey's Ididaride the next morning and perhaps the Sea Life Center in the afternoon if we have time. We catch the 6:30 p.m. train from Seward to Anchorage that evening. We were able to book for just one night and I just checked the web site and it allowed me to book for just one night. Because we won't have a car we chose the HIE due to its proximity to the harbor, restaurants, etc. On Trip Advisor the Hotel Seward gets high marks and it is close to the Sea Life Center. Seavey's has a free shuttle that will pick you up at the hotel and return you.