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

What a GREAT day we had! We have relatives in town and we wanted to get them out into the wilderness. Just one hour South of Anchorage, Alaska is a ski community called Girdwood. The Alyeska Resort is located there. We stopped there first to rent some snowshoes and poles for our guests (we have our own).

Although there are great trails in Girdwood (like the Winner Creek trail right ...

Do you have some cash to burn and an empty weekend looming ahead? If you have all of that, plus a yearning for adventure and new experiences, then have I got a treat for you! One of the premier remote lodges in Alaska, and many say "The" premier lodge, is offering a French culinary weekend. This gourmet delight is being offered by Kirsten Dixen at the Winterlake Lodge. Ms. Dixon ...

Before I had kiddo's, this was where I spent all of my New Year's evenings. How can you beat a torchlight parade down the mountain? Yep, they take your poles and send you up (for free) the chair lift. At the top, they hand you a flaming torch and wish you well (hope for no ice) as you follow the snaking trail of human torches making their way down the ...

On Tuesday, December 11th at 6:30 PM, "The Whale's Tail" at the Captain Cook Hotel is holding an Ice Wine and Port tasting event for $80 per person The Captain Cook Hotel is a great place to visit at any time of year. Located at 939 W 5th Avenue, the hotel is within easy walking distance to downtown, to the Oscar Anderson House Museum, and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

I ...

Anchorage and Alaska Tourism continue to grow. The two newest properties that are going up are both in mid-town. The Embassy Suites is building a 169-room hotel, which should open in February. And the Holiday Inn has a new 166-room property opening next September. Mid-town is a great spot for business travelers, close to restaurants, movie theatres and shopping galore.

Anchorage is the jumping off point for almost all tourism in ...

When I wrote about the Crow Creek Mine the other day, I was thinking about my occasional hobby and how you might enjoy a taste of it when you come to visit Alaska. So, when the Anchorage Daily News had an article about gold mining (and the rising value of gold), it peaked my interest. One of the concepts introduced in the article is a more intense gold mine vacation ...

We are lucky, in Anchorage, to boast a top notch ski area just 45 minutes away. Girdwood is officially part of the Municipality of Anchorage. Alyeska Mountain reaches a height of 3939 feet. The highest lift goes to about 2500 feet. The base elevation is just 250 feet above sea level. That means no elevation sickness when you ski here.

 They get plenty of snow too, with an average of over ...

Spenard Hostel International is everything that a hostel should be and more. It is a do-it-yourself kind of place. For example, there is no airport shuttle directly to and from the airport which is just 1.5 miles away. But, they do have easy to follow instructions to get there on our local bus line or by car.

I liked the open common rooms. I was surprised to find, not just two, ...

I happened upon a great little B&B by accident last month. My first thought was, "this is where my family should stay the next time they come to town." You would have to have a rental car to make it work for you, but the drive "the hillside" is lovely. It also is just far enough from the busier parts of town to make wildlife sightings, including bears, a decent possibility.

The Snoozin' ...

Escape Anchorage's long daylight hours or bitter blowy winters in the royal-but-cozy Captain Cook Hotel. The dark wood walls of the lobby invoke an old sailing ship, and indeed the theme throughout this 3-tower, 547-room hotel is decidedly "early explorer." Rooms range from Junior Suites (as low as $160/night in the winter) to the Presidential Suite, with antique teak and silk furnishings and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Nearly all rooms have views, but ...