We stayed at the Hotel Seward on May 26, 2012 and had a wonderful experience. We took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward. As soon as we were off the train, a hotel shuttle was waiting and took us straight to the hotel. The hotel staff was very attentive and we were able to check-in early (at 11:30 am). Our hotel room was very clean including the sheets and bathroom. It was a quaint room (2 full/queen beds) with a wonderful view and included a fireplace. I do not understand the previous reviewer who said the hotel was "dark and dank" and "musty". The hotel, in my opinion, did not smell musty or mildewing at all. Trust me, I would have gone to another hotel if that were the case as I am very picky about cleanliness The next day after we checked out at 11:00 am, the hotel graciously stored our luggage for most of the day while we went to the Sealife Center and continued our shopping. The hotel is close to everything..restaurants, shops, the bay, and the Sealife Center. We returned to the hotel , retrieved our luggage, then the hotel immediately took us to the train station. Everyone in my party enjoyed the hotel. This is an older historic hotel, very clean, with excellent service, and a great location. I will definitely stay here again.

We came down to Seward to celebrate our anniversary and as a last vacation in Alaska due to being transferred to the lower 48. Needless to say we had very high expectations. Hotel Seward is astronomically higher than we expected. We booked the executive king view room and are glad we did. At times we just wanted to stay in our room to look at the view. From the moment I walked in I felt like I was joining a family. All of the staff seemed to always be smiling and excited to do what they could for us including a late night call for food from my pregnant wife. I really enjoyed meandering around to look at all the pictures. The only two negatives to be aware of, which really isn't there fault, is the street cleaning is really loud and our room seemed very hot but they did have plenty of fans which worked wonderfully. Definetly one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at.

I have to admit that I am baffled by the positive reviews about this hotel. We were supposed to stay here for four nights, but after one night we are left because we simply couldn't bear it. The hotel is very dark and dank. There is a musty smell in the entire hotel, and the rooms smell of mildew that has been growing since the prehistoric ages. The sheets are very old, worn, and stained. We were afraid to even touch the comforter. This of course contrasts with the images on their website, which depict the hotel as if it is charming, clean, and quiet. We were told that there is one room that actually looks like the room on the website, but if you are not lucky enough to get that room, you are going to be in for a very sad surprise. Some of the staff is very nice, while others are downright frightening in the way we overheard them speaking to guests. They make sure you are afraid to complain about things here. There was also something really strange about our room--we never turned on the heat, but the room was swelteringly hot, so much so that we had to sleep with all the windows open (in Alaska in the cold part of early "spring"!), which is not a good idea because of all the noises that begin at 5:30am. This place is just one tiny step above camping in the wilderness, and frankly I think we would have been better off camping.

Beautiful rooms, great location, near shops food and sealife center.