This is a pretty average chain hotel. It's in a very good location at the small boat harbor near good restaurants and some shopping and a quick drive into town. The room was a little cramped, but the bathroom was quite large with lots of counter space. We paid extra for a harbor-view room with a balcony (in fact, this was the most expensive place we stayed in our 2 week trip). I'm not sure the balcony is a necessity, but the harbor view was excellent. The other side of the hotel looks toward the mountains, by way of the parking lot. There was a really comfortable chair in the room, but nowhere to put it, so it was right up against one of the beds and made getting in or out of that side of the bed impossible. The beds were quite comfortable and the room was very clean. I thought the breakfast was better than your average hotel continental breakfast. What brought this hotel down from very good to average was the chronic elevator problems we encountered. There is only one elevator for the entire hotel and it is also used as the service elevator. It is very slow and has a tendency to stop working temporarily. My family & I were lucky enough to be on it when it refused to open at our floor. It finally did open after what seemed an eternity, but was probably only 30 seconds--but we used the stairs for the rest of our stay. I advise everyone who stays here to do the same.

We stayed in this Holiday Inn Express in late August 2011. Price was rather high but this probably is the best and most convenient place to stay in Seward. The location couldn't have been better.Beds were comfortable and our balcony room was surprisingly bigger than average hotels and so was the bathroom. In addition they had a fridge and microwave in the room. Staff was helpful. Nothing fancy but if you go to Seward this is probably your best bet. Also, you will save money on parking if you were taking a day cruise, because you can simply walk a few yards from the hotel.

My wife and I and 2 daughters stayed here for 5 nights during late August / early September.
We loved Seward in general and really enjoyed our stay at the HI Express.
The staff were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was standard fare and included in the price.
Our girls loved the pool and the harbour view was fantastic.The room was very spacious.
It was close to the cruise terminal, and some of the nicest restaurants in Seward (Ray's especially). A free bus was available to the other end of town but we enjoyed the 20 minute walk anyway.
We loved watching the very cute sea otter only a few metres from the hotel.
Too many people stay in Seward for just a night or two, but we were easily able to fill 5 days there and loved our stay at the HI Express.

We were happy to stay here on Sept 7 - 9, 2011. We were offered a bay view room as a platinum priority club member upgrade. The room was a bit small but we had a balcony which was great even if it was cold and rainy. We like being able to step out, even briefly, and see the ships.

Had we had a room on the other side of the hotel, the views are just as wonderful because the mountains are amazing. They have such varied terrain and detail that they appear fake - like a picture. I seriously doubt you could get a bad view in this hotel so don't feel like you should pay more for bay views. I did notice some of the rooms with open doors were much larger than ours. But we were fine.

The price of the hotel is my only problem. We picked it knowing the price but not knowing the area. In the future we will select the other chain hotel downtown which is a block from the park . There is no cruise ship or marina view but the peaceful bay view from the park benches would be worth the savings in $$.

The taxis all charge the same price no matter where you are going in Seward so you won't be spending more on a cab to get to the cruise port or anywhere else for that matter no matter where you stay. We were able to walk downtown from our hotel although we are fit and not overweight. We also walked to the cruise port pulling our luggage because the wait for a cab was 15 minutes. It took us that long to walk so we figured, why not?

The breakfast was great with a nice selection of everything. There was a sweet young Asian lady who managed the entire breakfast room by herself. She did an amazing job and made a point of being helpful with a genuine smile on her face. I believe she was only working for the summer though.

The lady who checked me in was also quite nice. I'd say the service overall was friendly. The hotel was clean. The location was great with lots of good places to eat very close by. Shops were also close by although the majority of the shops are downtown.

We enjoyed Seward and this Holiday Inn. If it weren't for the price I'd give it an excellent rating. I just don't think the value is there. A less expensive place downtown is what I'd choose next time unless the price was better here.