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Tags: Alaska Hotel Guide / Sitka Hotels / Alaska Hotels / Wilderness Hotels / → All Tags

For A Stay in Sitka, Try The Shee Atika Totem Square Inn

Where: 330 Seward Street [map], Sitka, ak, United States, 99835

Mention Sitka in surrounding Southeast Alaska island towns, and locals invariably perk up: “Oh Sitka? It’s really (drag it out for three syllables) nice there.” All starry eyed, you have a feeling they’re conjuring up mental images of rainbows and unicorns.

Although we rolled into town at an ungodly hour after a 13-hour schlep on the Alaskan Marine Highway Ferry, the chipper (caffeinated?) concierge Shee Atika Totem Square Inn made us feel right at home. After cracking open the windows for some cool night air (Alaska hoteliers tend to overheat rooms), our head hit the pillow for one of the most restful slumbers on the nine-day Alaskan adventure.

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Tags: Alaska Hotel Guide / → All Tags

Salmon Derby or Bust at Alaska's Scandia House

Where: 110 N. Nordic Drive [map], Petersburg, ak, United States, 99833

Timing for our first visit to Petersburg, Alaska was a bit off: Memorial Day weekend during the peak of the 28th Annual Salmon Derby. Hours before our arrival, local angler Duane Olsen had caught a 59.8 lb. king salmon and residents were in a tizzy about the record-breaking catch. With a $7500 prize on the line for the first place winner, competition was fierce and if you weren’t out fishing that weekend in Petersburg, you were pretty much S.O.L.

Luckily, our digs at Scandia House were within walking distance of all the dockside action (and lots of watercraft eye-candy). The hotel exterior evokes a European vibe, no doubt a nod to the town’s strong Norwegian heritage. Scandia House isn’t fancy, but then again, most accommodations we saw in Alaska don’t subscribe to a fancy school of thought. It is, however, practical in every way – a terrific concept to consider when most tourists visit Alaska for the sake of the great outdoors and not for five star pampering.

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Tags: Alaska Hotel Guide / Ketchikan Hotels / B and Bs / → All Tags

It Ain't the Big Apple, But The New York Hotel is a Cozy Bet

Where: 207 Stedman Street [map], Ketchikan, ak, United States, 99901

Hey, Alaska travelers – especially those not yet eligible for AARP! Guess what? You don’t have to subject yourself to big cruise ships packed with thousands of passengers to experience the islands of Southeast Alaska and the Inside Passage. (Although if en masse modes of transport are your thing, that’s a-okay by us.)

Independent travelers with wanderlust and time to spare hop on the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry in Bellingham, Washington for a scenic 38-hour ride to Ketchikan. Don’t panic – there’s a bar onboard, as well as cabins for your sleeping pleasure. Or you can start your nautical itinerary from a handful of other islands within Southeast Alaska. Alaska Airlines also operates flights between the major destinations.

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Tags: Alaska Hotel Guide / Juneau Hotels / B and Bs / → All Tags

Best Digs in Downtown Juneau: Silverbow Inn and Bakery

Where: 120 2nd Street [map], Juneau, ak, United States, 99801

Silverbow Inn and Bakery co-owner and former New Yorker, Jill Ramiel, had us at hand-boiled bagels. There has been a bakery on this historic site since the 1890’s, and Ramiel’s bakery is a bit of a social fixture in the small community, being the first to offer free Wi-Fi.

Jill and her hubby also offer regular indie flicks on a big projector screen, rotating art exhibits, and the most divine cookies, brownies, and yes, bagels. Don’t miss the snickerdoodles, toasted toasted almond bagels with apple butter and Alaskan Beer bread.

The bakery also stays open late serving beer, wine and light fare, offering a civilized alternative to the countless beer-and-a-shot dive bars that dot downtown Juneau.

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