What's your favorite hotel/motel in Seward & Homer?

[TeeBuccs]

Looking to stay in both places in 2008 - one night in Seward and at least two in Homer. I have a few AK books but there seem to be a gazillion places we could chose from. Looking for some honest feedback of nice places that are reasonably priced. DH and I want to have own room with bath - nothing shared and nice accomodations.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Fergus]

We stayed one night at Murphy's in Seward.......nothing fancy, basic but clean. It's right in town, a small, older motel. (It was a godsend after our fiasco at Kenai Landing.)

[Chenega]

Wife and I like the Windsong in Seward although we favor the Breeze Inn as well for location right at the small boat harbor and across from the boat tours. For Homer, we'd go with Land's End primarily due to location at the end of Homer Spit.

 

There are lots of bed and breakfasts as well to choose from in both towns. Check out http://www.sewardak.org or http://www.homeralaska.org For some hotel reviews, try http://www.tripadvisor.com

[swdke]

Looking to stay in both places in 2008 - one night in Seward and at least two in Homer. I have a few AK books but there seem to be a gazillion places we could chose from. Looking for some honest feedback of nice places that are reasonably priced. DH and I want to have own room with bath - nothing shared and nice accomodations.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

In Homer I personally recommend the Ocean House Bed and Breakfast. It's on a cliff overlooking the bay and Homer Spit. I can never get enough of the view. I have stayed there twice, and will again this July. I find the rooms wonderful, and yes, you have your own room and bath, nothing shared. If you decide to go with them, do book early. The owner is named Larry, and he has always been friendly and very helpful with local information.

[greatam]

Land's End USED to be my favorite in Homer. Not anymore. New management/new rules and the service is horrific in the hotel portion. Land's End did themselves no favors when they built the new building. They are heavily catering to groups now and independent travelers are getting short shrift. I still love the beach around the hotel and the dining room. But will not stay there ever again (and we purchased with others one of the condos almost three years ago).

 

I now opt for SeaLion if the summer home we purchased is rented. Great location right in the middle of the Spit, parking problem was solved a couple years ago (designated parking now).http://www.sealiongallery.com/cove/

 

Plenty of lodging in Homer. Just have to decide what you want. And if you are going on a bear viewing trip to Hallo Bay, they have a package deal at their B & B. You will have to contact the office for info.

 

Here's a link to the webcam from the deck of their B & B http://www.hallobay.com/Web_Cam.htm

[NancyIL]

I'll report about our stays at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward and the Old Town B&B in Homer after we return home June 20th. One thing I've noticed: the lodging in Homer seems much more reasonably priced than the lodging in Seward!

[lthomas]

Greatam.............we reserved one of the condos at Lands End. They looked very nice on their website........should I reconsider that and book elsewhere??

Thanks!

[vfb2girls]

Greatam, my husband and myself are staying at the Seo Lion Inn this June for 5 nights, the people who own this place have been outstanding with their customer service. They have sent me so much valuable information, I can not wait for this portion of our trip. Happy to hear that we made a good choice with lodging.

[lindalo5032]

I now opt for SeaLion if the summer home we purchased is rented. Great location right in the middle of the Spit, parking problem was solved a couple years ago (designated parking now).http://www.sealiongallery.com/cove/

 

We stayed at the Sea Lion last summer. Nice accommodations, nothing fancy. Great view of the ocean from the balcony. We saw a sea otter in the ocean in the early morning (through our binoculars). Much cheaper than Lands End.

 

Dining recommendation for Homer - We had breakfast at the Duncan Diner. Absolutely wonderful blueberry pancakes! Made with fresh blueberries! I have heard lunch and dinner are good there also, although we only had breakfast.

[greatam]

Greatam.............we reserved one of the condos at Lands End. They looked very nice on their website........should I reconsider that and book elsewhere??

Thanks!

 

Condos are managed by the ORIGINAL Land's End management and I have NO complaints with them (one of the reasons we bought an interest in one of the condos was their management of the hotel).

 

The hotel used to have one main really nice building where the dining room is (and a few suites), the middle building where most of the rooms were and then this old building that had outside parking, spectacular views, and great balconies. We always stayed in a beach front room in the old building.

 

They tore it down 2 years ago and built a 3 story building in its place. I understand the need to upgrade and modernize, but WHY would you build a three story building, put all kinds of fancy stuff in it, and then have no access for mobility impaired people (like an elevator to the upper floors).

 

Last year, my FIL wanted to go King Salmon fishing in Alaska. OK, our condo was booked so I booked and PAID for one of the suite rooms in the new building. Specifically asked for a ground floor room and PAID for ocean FRONT. When we arrived, we were given a second floor room, ocean VIEW. I went to the front desk, asked for the manager-new guy I had never seen before. Was told "we have a literary group here. Your reservation had to be changed" I booked this room in October 2005 for June 2006. I really doubt the literary group booked EVERY ocean front room before I did. Well, I was PO'd to say the least.

 

FIL cannot climb steps. After a VERY trying time to get luggage and FIL up the stairs, only to go into an ocean VIEW room with no access to the beach WITHOUT going down the steps, I had had enough. I called the condo manager. He did his best to schmooze the hotel manager. No go-it was more important to accommodate the "literary group" than a long standing guest (6 years-every year) who made a VERY early reservation AND co-owns one of their condos. FIL would not leave the room, so we missed everything we had planned in Homer. And we ate every meal in the room, as he did not want to try to negotiate the stairs again. I asked for my money back, dinner free, something. I didn't even get a refund of the difference between the price of ocean FRONT and ocean VIEW.

 

I spoke to the condo manager again the next day. Evidently the hotel manager is on some kind of salary + commission contract. So he felt that the extra money the "literary group" would bring in (bar and restaurant, I guess) was more valuable to HIM than 3 of us would be. The condo manager relayed that the "kids" had started running the hotel (I took it to mean the owner's kids) and they were definitely changing things-catering to groups, etc. He stays as far away from them as possible, as he is the old hotel manager and was pretty disgusted the way things were going at the hotel.

 

Sorry for the long story, but the condos are the same old FANTASTIC Land's End experience the entire hotel was at one time. You will love the beach in front of the condos. Make sure you watch for the otters early every morning. The dining room and bar are still as good as ever. But the hotel SUCKS.

 

Enjoy the condo!!!

[Nancyquilts]

swdke - thanks for the advice. We just booked with the Ocean House Inn (not a B&B, Larry says, but sounds great). Nancy

[swdke]

swdke - thanks for the advice. We just booked with the Ocean House Inn (not a B&B, Larry says, but sounds great). Nancy

 

Hi Nancy,

 

Huh, I guess they no longer serve breakfast, I did not know that. That's okay, I personally would stay there breakfast or not. I know you will love the Ocean House Inn. The rooms are great. The view across the bay, overlooking the Homer Spit, and glaciers in the mountains isspectacular. You can soak in the hot tub and enjoy the view and watch eagles fly overhead.

 

Will you be doing any activities in the Homer area?

 

Enjoy the Ocean House Inn,

Steve

[swdke]

swdke - thanks for the advice. We just booked with the Ocean House Inn (not a B&B, Larry says, but sounds great). Nancy

 

Hey Nancy,

 

For breakfast, here is a place that looks fun, Two Sister's Bakery. http://www.twosistersbakery.net/bakery.htm

 

Also, for dinner, always recommended is The Homestead Restaurant, get directions as it's not in town. http://www.homesteadrestaurant.net/

[swdke]

swdke - thanks for the advice. We just booked with the Ocean House Inn (not a B&B, Larry says, but sounds great). Nancy

 

Hi Nancyquilts,

 

I was wondering if you had your stay at the Ocean House yet or not? Which room do you have reserved, or did you stay? I was there on July 4 to July 6 and it was another great stay. I was in suite 1 which I like a lot. If you've not had your stay yet, tell Larry I said hello, Steve from Dayton, he'll know who you're referring to.

 

For breakfast we went to Fresh Sourdough Express and Duncans, both I highly recommend. For dinner we went to Fat Olives and Cups, both very popular. If you do go to Cups, make reservations. We didn't but everyone there seemed to be a local and they did make reservations. While we waited, we just enjoyed a beer on the side deck. Cups is small, but very interesting, and good food too.

 

on the Homer Spit we had a couple of beers at the Salty Dog Saloon. I don't think it was marked well on the outside, but it's on the left side as you drive down the Spit and in a building that looks like a small light house. A fun place indeed, but small and crowded.

 

What activities do you have planned, or what did you do? We went sea kayaking with seaside Adventure, and bear viewing with Bald Mountain air. I look forward to returning again some day and doing it all over again. Next time, I'll plan an extra day just to relax in this cozy and beautiful area.

[NancyIL]

Now that we have returned from our trip, I can report about our stays as well. :) In Homer we stayed at the Old Town Bed & Breakfast, which is above the Bunnell Street Gallery downtown. We liked the location very much and were glad we were NOT staying on the Spit - too many RV's there. However, we did have a view of RV's out one window of our B&B -so maybe you can't escape seeing them in Homer! Our only complaint about the B&B is that the window shades, while very pretty, didn't do a good job of blocking the sun at bedtime. Guests were asked to remove their shoes upon entrance before going to the rooms upstairs - I think mostly because the floors are wood, and people clomping around wearing shoes would've been very noisy for the art gallery below. We paid $115/night for a room with a private bath. The other 2 rooms shared a bath and the rate for those rooms was $95/night. Breakfast was included, and was served next door at Panarelli's Cafe - except on Sunday when the cafe was closed. We were instead instructed to go to Two Sister's Bakery 2 blocks away, and could order up to $10/pp for breakfast.

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward using hotel points for a free stay. The location was great -right next to the small boat harbor and close to where the Kenai Fjords cruise offices are located. The hotel serves free continental breakfast and has free wireless internet, as well as a PC for use in the lobby. The regular rates are quite high, and if we had been paying for a room, I would've stayed elsewhere.

 

We loved both Homer and Seward, but we had sunshine in Homer and could appreciate the beautiful views of Kachemak Bay. The prices for food and lodging were also MUCH lower in Homer (unless you stayed at Land's End), probably because of the cruise ships that depart from Seward. We also had our best meals in Homer.

[swdke]

Glad to read you had good stays in Homer and Seward, both are indeed beautiful towns. I look forward to going back.

[scmomofboys]

I am writing from Alaska Suites in Homer right now. There are 5 or 6 adorable A-frame cabins independent of each other, so no issues with noisy neighbors. The view is spectacular, overlooking Ketchimak Bay on a high bluff, nothing below except the beach. Watched whales feeding for 2 hours yesterday morning and again last night - right from our back porch. Each cabin has 2 very comfortable double beds, love seat, leather recliner, wide screen TV, DVD/CD player, satellite TV, FREE internet and FREE long distance (Vonage), small fridge, microwave, gas grill and nice sized bathroom. Perfect for our family of four. I'm looking at mountains, volcanoes and blue, blue bay. We wish we had booked the whole week here. About 5 minutes just outside downtown Homer and 10 minutes from the Spit. We love it.

[swdke]

Wow, sounds fantastic. What activities do you have planned for Homer?

[fti]

I am writing from Alaska Suites in Homer right now. There are 5 or 6 adorable A-frame cabins independent of each other, so no issues with noisy neighbors. The view is spectacular, overlooking Ketchimak Bay on a high bluff, nothing below except the beach. Watched whales feeding for 2 hours yesterday morning and again last night - right from our back porch. Each cabin has 2 very comfortable double beds, love seat, leather recliner, wide screen TV, DVD/CD player, satellite TV, FREE internet and FREE long distance (Vonage), small fridge, microwave, gas grill and nice sized bathroom. Perfect for our family of four. I'm looking at mountains, volcanoes and blue, blue bay. We wish we had booked the whole week here. About 5 minutes just outside downtown Homer and 10 minutes from the Spit. We love it.

 

What is the price of the cabins?

[scmomofboys]

I want to say they were about $225 a night. Considering I paid $189 for Springhill Suites in Anchorage, I thought this was pretty good, especially for what we got. Here is their website link http://www.alaskansuites.com/

[Nancyquilts]

Ocean House Inn was really quiet - I had wanted to stay on the spit, but it would have been very noisy. I think we were in the Yukon Suite (room). It was upstairs at the far end of the complex. If I had a choice, I'd rather be in one of the lower floor rooms near the check-in area. The next day we took a tour to Seldovia and enjoyed it very much - good bird viewing on the way, and a cute little town to visit. Nancy

[Ivanova]

In Seward we stayed at the Seward Windsong Lodge. We had a suite with 2 queen beds and a sofa bed with trundle bed ... we probably could've slept 6 people in the room comfortably. It also had a microwave, fridge, table and chairs.

 

it was VERY nice.

[greatam]

As for your request i think Seward Hotels is the best.Hotel Seward is your ultimate lodging choice with Simmons Pillow Top Beds, cozy blankets, all the comforts of home, free wireless internet, Flat Screen TV with HBO and your choice of Deluxe rooms or Executive View rooms with fireplace, Wing back Chairs and complimentary cozy robes to enjoy during your stay.Neat and clean furnished bathroom.:)

 

_____________________

Reputation Management

 

 

You are NOT supposed to advertise. AND if you are getting PAID shilling for the hotel (which you are per your website), you at least should write the CORRECT name of the hotel-your first sentence is incorrect. It would also be nice if you had actually BEEN there.

 

Moderators, maybe you should keep an eye on this poster. Most posts either advertise personal training or reputation management.

[caltnl]

In 2001 we stayed at Bridget's B & B in Homer. Highly recommend it. Not right in town tho.

 

The husband was smoking salmon in a large smoke house and gave us tastes great.

 

Ran across them not long ago on the Homer web site. Give them a look.

 

Will be in Homer in August for just a short time on the Amsterdam. Look forward to seeing it again.

[Suzanne123]

We stayed at the Mermaid B&B above the Old Inlet Bookstore in downtown Homer and enjoyed it very much.

http://www.mermaidcafe.net/