Van Gilder Hotel

If you are looking for a cookie cutter, run of the mill or a perfect hotel... keep looking. If you want interesting history, vintage charm and beautiful imperfections you have reached your destination! From it's front door to its lobby and into your room you'll take a glimpse into its long history. Upon checkout you'll meet George who is not only the manager but the caretaker of this small town gem. Ask him about the hotel's past and it's most noted patron and you'll get a account that will blow you away. Yes it has its flaws and yes it does not have an elevator but

I really enjoyed my stay here. George, the manager, made me feel very welcomed and at home, and I love the historic features and the ghost story that goes along with the place. The room was clean with a comfy bed and very nice shower. I would recommend the Van Gilder to anyone looking for a different, exciting experience and not wanting to splurge for some of the other accommodations in town.

This was a the worst "hotel" I've ever been to. Upon arriving, I was told the queen room I booked through Orbitz was actually off-site. The off-site location was actually a hostel with filthy shared bathrooms/showers, a gross musky odor, and blankets with missing patches. I ended up being scammed into paying $200/night for a filthy hostel room. Avoid at all costs.

What hotel misses in amenities is made up for in staff. Kevin was an excellent host and very knowledgeable of area

This hotel is haunted and if you don't believe me look it up. This hotel is very outdated and old.

Our stay was great! It was our anniversary and Danny at the front desk comped us to a larger room no charge gave us honest insider info on we're to go and we're not to go. We really enjoyed our stay.

Four star for the condition of the hotel. Five stars for the service Danny was a great man. Helped us and was very friendly. Give the man a raise.

This amazing hotel is listed as an historic building, and as you approach it on foot, you can see why. The exterior of the hotel and the theater next door speak to the age of the buildings, and the hotel interior continues this theme.

As you walk into the office, to book in, there is a huge wooden counter space, with a mirror behind it. Old lamps light the room, and a well-loved piano sits in one corner between the windows. Danny greeted us at the check-in desk, with a smile, and walked us through the process of checking in, and even gave us the option of upgrading from a room with a shared bathroom

My husband and I stayed at the Van Gilder Hotel this past August as part of our honeymoon in Alaska. We had booked a 3 night stay well in advance through Expedia, but as our plans evolved, we realized that we needed to stay the 3rd night further north and that it wouldn't make sense for us to back track to Seward. We called the manager Danny and asked if we could arrange for a cancellation or refund. He told us that it wouldn't be an issue and that he would be able to cancel the last night through Expedia at the time we checked out. We then called Expedia to confirm. They stated that

Awesome hotel with excellent cool manager and staff and great atmosphere. We loved our room and the idyllic view. It was fun to stay in this historic landmark hotel next to old town Seward with great dining just out the door. The daily breakfasts at the end of our morning runs completed were an excellent homey touch.

Kudos to the outstanding manager and owner for a great experience. We're recommending the hotel to friends and family (and my sis so wished she had booked here instead!)

Had a great stay.. The hotel is authentic and very charming.
I was told by locals that the hotel was haunted but I was skeptical.

Interesting thing happened.. While I was laying in bed watching TV, the door to the hallway opened as if someone was checking into the room. When I got up to check not only was there was no one there, the door was also locked from the inside..

Cool experience.. I'll be back:)

Place is haunted... Owner confirmed it. 2nd floor. we were on the third floor and all nite i could hear people on the outside stairs. i assumed later they were there for the ghost, not guests. place was pretty much deserted when we stayed. When I layed down for the nite with the gf I passed out and awoke to her being creeped out, she couldn't sleep. She also noticed that there was a blood stain on my pillow sheet, and no I wasn't bleeding. Owners custodians saw it as well. Owner said he would give me money back from the stay... never happened.

Room was nice enough. Big and spacious.

Van Gilder Hotel is old -1914 and has real charm. Our room had big old post bed and was really cute. The hotel is full of antiques and you feel like you just went back in time. Bathroom in our room was fine, shower was little small, but I understand that probably was addition to the original room. We stayed there only 2 nights and were gone most of the day, but overall was good place to stay while in Seward.

We stayed here with a TourSaver discount, which did not totally give us a free night (it gives you the cost of a shared bath room for free, we upgraded to private bath). It absolutely exceeded expectations.

Now. Some of the things in the below reviews are true. The decor is definitely not modern. There is no elevator. The rooms are not big. The Murphy bed is a fold-down wooden tray that is not big enough for a 6-foot adult. The wireless is flaky at the far end of the hall. There is now no breakfast, only coffee and a kitchen.

BUT, first off, this is a historic building. They tell you all of

We took the advice of online forums telling us to buy the Alaska Tour Saver book for $99 because there's a lot of BOGO coupons in there, which saved us a whole lot of money on the trip! We knew we wanted to go to Seward, so thankfully there was ONE coupon in there for lodging in Seward.

The Van Gilder Hotel is a historic hotel, and hasn't been renovated in a while, but it's still very clean and kept up well. I like the character of the place, with old art deco decorations and B&W photos of Seward history.

They have a kitchen in the hotel which is shared by all the hotel guests

Van Gilder Hotel was my saving grace when I went to meet my fiance's family in Alaska last year. After a week of hell, I said we need to go check into a hotel for a night and be by ourselves (the totality of trip was two weeks!).

We drove into Seward later in the day and found this place. It was expensive for one night's stay, but the people who worked there were exceptionally nice and very friendly. It's down the street from the Seward SeaLife Center (walking distance), so we went over there the next morning and got to see all the neat sea creatures that are native to the