We stayed here 3 nights in August 2011. It is a wonderful place to stay. The view of Mount McKinnley and the Alaskan Range are wonderful. I would recommend this place to anyone.

Being veteran Alaska tourists (this summer was our 5th trip), we sometimes feel like we've "done it all". This always passes quickly, however, as there is SO much to do. But, we do feel like we've found most of the best places to stay, and we just added a new entry, Traleika Mountaintop Cabins. Our family of 4 (2 teenaged boys) stayed at the Birchcrest Cabin and really loved it. Whitney, the owner, was super nice and helpful, and took care of things (extra towel, more toilet paper, etc...) while maintaining our privacy.

The 3 cabins are offset from each other so that, while you see them, everyone has plenty of space on top of the mountain. And yes, we were lucky enough to experience "the view" - a spectacular early morning glimpse of Mt. McKinley and her sister mountains. Comfortable cabin, great view, off the beaten path...what's not to love?

Well, a couple of small points that held our rating down to 4 stars: The shower is REALLY small. It's manageable, but tight. Plenty of hot water, though, which isn't always a given in these mountain cabins. Our other nit was the size of the refrigerator in the Birchcrest. This was our first stop of our trip, so we loaded up on groceries in Wasilla. I missed that the Birchcrest only has a large "dorm fridge". We managed, but you should be aware of this before you go.

Would we stay here again? Absolutely.

My husband and I stayed up at the Traleika Cabins for two nights and wished we could have stayed longer. We stayed in the “Sultana Cottage,” the smallest of the three cabins, but it was very roomy for the two of us. The cabin is comfortable, nicely decorated, and the views of Denali from the back porch are astounding on a clear day or night. Whitney, the cabin's owner, was extremely friendly and had lots of helpful advice about exploring the area. The cabins are about 10 minutes out of town and the drive up to the cabins on the dirt road is quite rocky. The drive out of town and up the rocky road are well worth it to be in this peaceful and beautiful setting. We enjoyed our short stay at Traleika very much!

Talkeetna is silly with tourists and this is the perfect antidote: a lovely, quiet refuge that's a few miles out of town -- and close to the Flying Squirrel Restaurant (with pizza oven) that only locals have discovered so far.

The Sultana cabin we 3 stayed in had a gorgeous room in a loft with queen bed and lots of floor space. You had to climb a steep ladder and hoist your suitcase up after you. For folks who need to make midnight forays to the bathroom downstairs, this can be hazardous.

The downstairs room with double bed had no space to open, much less store a suitcase. Ditto living room with fold-out, fouton bed. My husband and I crowded in downstairs and gave our teenage son the grand room with view in the loft.

But the setting is divine. View from porch fabulous even when Denali hidden by clouds. I would definitely stay here in another cabin without loft ladder.