Hotels in Whittier

[csk]

Am arriving in Anchorage and driving to Whittier the day before, can someone recommend a hotel in Whittier or should we just stay in Seward the night before and driving over in the morning. Thanks

[Coral]

Whittier is very small - everyone who lives in Whittier lives in one building.

 

There is a new hotel in Whittier that hadn't opened when we were there last month - here is the website:

 

http://www.innatwhittier.com/

 

Personally - unless you are going to take advantage of a boat ride out of Whittier, I wouldn't stay there. I would either stay in Anchorage (or you mentioned Seward).

[holton]

We stayed at the Inn at Whittier this past May and we loved it. We are, in fact, trying to find out where they got their pillows...the best bed and pillows we have slept on in a long time! It is charming and the food is great.

[AkSusan]

Not much in the way of lodging in Whittier. Coral mentioned what they've got. Not sure why you'd want to go all the way to Seward and then backtrack to Whittier. Whittier is on the Seward Highway and you have to drive by the entrance to the tunnel from Anchorage to Seward. May just want to consider Anchorage for the one night.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[csk]

thanks everyone, made a reservation at Whittier Inn, what is best way to get from Anchorage, we plan to rent a car, but wonder what other opitions are. thanks

[GloriaF]

There is the Alaska RR, I think daily, from ANC to Whittier -- and the bus. http://www.akrr.com for the RR. One of the buses was called Magic Bus. And Princess has a bus transfer ($55pp) the day of departure.

[garycarla]

You might want to scan through some old messages. You will find that rental car and transportation is discussed every few days, so you can get lots more comments. and trains, and buses, and .....

 

Good luck

[Budget Queen]

thanks everyone, made a reservation at Whittier Inn, what is best way to get from Anchorage, we plan to rent a car, but wonder what other opitions are. thanks

 

 

Your only rental option is with Avis, and a drop charge. I would instead, do some touring around Anchorage and see the many sites available. I would only spend more time in Whittier if I were doing one of their boat tours. Not much else there.

[GlacierLady]

Whittier is a depressing little place in my eyes.Very run down old abandoned buildings.If they would just demolish it all it would be a much better looking place.I was just there yesterday and 10 mins was enough for me.We laughed at the Whittier Inn and at who would want to stay there.Enough said.

[cruisingbug]

Another option to staying in Whittier is to stay in Girdwood, at the Alyeska Resort. Close to the Whittier turnoff. In the winter it's a ski resort. Tommy Moe trained there. :)

[Coral]

We laughed at the Whittier Inn and at who would want to stay there.Enough said.

 

I thought the Whittier Inn looked very nice.

[holton]

The Inn at Whittier is very nice, very comfortable, and has very good food! One of our hightlights there was watching their 'resident' otter "Oscar" cavort right under our window in the dining room. The Inn has the best beds and pillows we have ever experienced and they are bending over backwards for the cruise traffaic. When we were there in early May they did not as yet have an official shuttle to the dock but should have by now. They did pick up our friends at the railway upon their arrival back in Whittier after a call to the Inn.

 

We were also very pleased with our experience with Avis. We had cruised up on the Island and rented a car for a week and cruised back on the Coral. Avis was very liberal in letting us keep the car until 11 so that my husband could shuttle us over to the dock with all our luggage.

 

Whittier isn't much of a town, but they are really trying to accomodate the cruise industry and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. It seems, however, that several people who post here on a regular basis have other thoughts.:rolleyes:

[Coral]

When we were there in early May they did not as yet have an official shuttle to the dock but should have by now. They did pick up our friends at the railway upon their arrival back in Whittier after a call to the Inn.

 

I am curious when you were there and also, if you know how long it had been open when you were there? Thank you for reporting on your stay there.

 

I was in Whittier on May 16th and a bus driver told me the hotel wasn't open yet. Had I known it was open, I would have walked over and taken a peek. It looked very nice on the outside - sort of like a large bed and breakfast feel to it. There was a construction vehicle outside so I believed the driver who told me it wasn't open yet.

 

Also - I did the glacier wilderness cruise out of Whittier that day and had an incredible day. Surprise glacier calved more so than any other glacier that I have ever seen. I would have liked to do the 26 glacier cruise - I will have to wait for another cruise :)

[holton]

Coral...we stayed there May 20th...the night before we boarded the Coral Princess to return. The Inn opened last year and I did not get the impression they had been closed. In fact, on May 14th as I waited in the terminal for my husband to pick up our rental from Avis I was in conversation with a limo driver from Anchorage. He mentioned how nice it was and that if he had known that it had been open for New Year's Eve he would have come over. You could tell that a lot of the locals used the bar area and that some of the wait staff was new. So, I am not sure if they are open all year or not...I just know that we highly recommend them. We have been getting Alaska magazine for the past year and they have run ads with specials to get people over from Anchorage, etc.