Unless your standards are even lower than mine, I wouldn't recommend staying at the Inlet Inn. (Don't get this Inlet Inn confused with the other one, which seemed MUCH nicer.) I can't imagine how this hotel received a 2-star rating on one of the web sites a visited prior to booking a 2-night stay.

The security glass and security monitor/TV at the check-in counter gave me the willies, and rightfully so. Then the fact that I had to allow gentleman at the check-in counter to make a copy of my driver's license before I could get my room key really concerned me. Although I was alone, I wouldn't ever consider letting my wife and kids spend the night in this hotel. The only positive comment I can make is that the gentleman working the counter (obviously not the owner) did his best to accommodate me within management's rules.

Although the sign on my room indicated that it was a non-smoking room, the odor of smoke nearly bowled me over upon entering the room. The warm Anchorage temperatures seemed magnified in the room, which had only an open window -- no air conditioner. The window was held open by a wire attached a screw, presumably because it wouldn't stay up on its own. The room wasn't noticeably dirty, but the can of lighter fluid on the windowsill (apparently left behind by the previous guest), the burned out bulb in the bathroom, the cable for the cable TV that ran along three walls of the dark-panelled room, and the exposed baseboard heater gave me second thoughts about staying.

In the end, I -- a cheapskate with low standards -- couldn't bring myself to stay the night. With the lack of air conditioning, guests of apparent ill repute, and bad vibes, I decided to find other lodging. So, I was out the cost of the 2 nights I'd booked on the web, thanks to their 48-hour cancellation policy. (The gentleman at the check-in counter wouldn't refund even 1 of the 2 nights. Maybe that's how they make their money -- by scaring off unsuspecting customers who have booked their stay in advance.) I'm sure I made the right choice by leaving.

The Inn is just a block away from 4th Street in Downtown Anchorage.
Sounds like a good deal...Close to all of the restaurants and shops of downtown Anchorage and at a afforadable price. On arrival there were lots of people hanging out by the front door who were drunk and smoking. One was throwing up in the bushes next to the front door. The Inn was not overly clean. There are rooms that have been rented by the week and month. There was a bad vibe happening around the Inn. Lots of people arriving by taxi, entering the hotel and then leaving minutes later by the same taxi. This activity was happening at all times of the day especially late at night. Surely not a place to bring a family to begin your expierence of Alaska.