Hotels By City: Cheap Hotels, Hotel Guides & Hotel Blogs

The annual ice carving competition is going on this weekend in Anchorage's Town Square (5 & E). Stop by and see the carvings in progress, ice skate on the outdoor rink, stop in the historic Kimball building (now known as "The Kobuk̶ for a cup of tea or an old fashioned candy, or grab a brew across 6th ave. at Humpy's Ale House. It's a great time to be downtown!

Okay... I'm not trapped in Seward... I'm more trapped out of Seward... but if I were in Seward I would certainly be trapped there until (at best) Saturday morning and perhaprs into the evening hours. For those of you not in the area, or not paying attention, we got a doo-doo load of heavy wet snow last night and this morning. The conditions brought down a huge avalanche of snow and debris ...

Alyeska Resort has opened chairs 3 & 4 (lower and mid-mountain) this holiday weekend. Much of the snow is man-made as we have had a slow start to the season this year. But the top layer (7 - 8 inches) fell fresh from the ski last night making for a cushy mountain for your first trip up this season. Ticket prices are $60 for an adult ($55 once you buy ...

I have been hearing from friends all day... the message is all the same, "woops, I accidentally tried to go to the bank today." We all know that this is the worst day of the year to go to the bank in Alaska unless you are desperate. The Alaska Permenant Fund Dividend, the annual check that every man, woman and child gets each year just for living here, has arrived. ...

The termination dust, AKA the first snow in the mountains, has fallen and summer is officially over. The blistery winds are blowing yellowed leave hither and yon and the bull moose are making their moves on the ladies in the backyard. Blogging time is hard to come by when the geese are calling as they fly south as fast as they can go. So much to do! A new exhibit at ...

Today is the last day to try your luck fishing in the Seward Silver Salmon Derby. The top prize is $10,000... so don't forget to buy your $10 derby ticket BEFORE you go fishing. Kevin Daniel is currently in the lead with his nice 18.66 pound salmon to his name. That will be tough to beat... but there ARE plenty of fish in the sea, so grab a pole, buy ...

Hope is about 1 1/2 hours from Anchorage on the other side of the Turnagain Arm. In 1886, gold was discovered here. 3000 people lived in Hope before Anchorage even existed. Now Hope is a sleepy little town of 200. Many of the buildings are original. They have a great camp ground with a fabulous view and easy fishing for Pinks (salmon) at the ...

The Silvers are in at Ship Creek! Whether you live here or are just visiting, a walk down to Ship Creek is a treat at this time of year. Ship Creek is within fairly easy walking distance of most of the downtown Anchorage hotels. It is down hill, so if you are not nimble, you can look into the free "Ulu Factory" trolley which departs from the visitors center (4th & F) to ...

I was recently asked about the highlights of Anchorage. There are so many that it is hard to nip it down to just a few. Here is what I cam up with:

Activities:

I highly recommend the Alaska Native Heritage Center. There is a free shuttle that goes from the visitors center (4th and F) to this North Anchorage highlight. It is spendy(adult $24.95, child $16.95), but does a great job of ...

The Anchorage Port has continued its' program of free Sunday tours this summer. See the port close up, treat the family to a free lunch of hotdogs, and learn about the expansion project. I meant to do this last summer and never did. I'm glad to have a second chance to get down there. The Port is on the North side of town (you can walk there from downtown hotels) ...