My husband & I were staying at this hotel on June 9 2005, as we were sailing southwards with Holland America. I was reminded to post this on tripadvisor while watching cable TV on haunted places.

I booked the hotel from the hotel website after lots of web surfing, and recommendations from travel book. We paid US$71.10 (before taxes) for a standard pension room and I taught it's really quite a steal (still think so).

We arrived in Seward from Anchorage by rail, taking the Coastal Classic Alaska Rail. It was raining & we called a taxi to send us to the hotel. Our taxi driver asked: "So, are you excited about staying in haunted hotel?!" I felt the blood on my face being drained. He said the whole town knew !!

Upon arrival, we verified this with the hotel reception, who confirmed it. It was peak season and we decide to stick to our booking.

I read the reviews so far. This hotel resembles an European boutique hotel. So if you have stayed in an Italian pensione (I have and I really liked it), you'd like this hotel. It IS SMALL & very European. However, it's very cosy, very clean and the decor is very European. American travellers might find this too small for comfort. It's also very conveniently located to the aquarium. It was a rainy day in Seward when we arrived, the short walking distance to the acquarium makes it easy to pass time.

I wish I had not been told that it's a haunted hotel. I was terrified when going to the shower. I was terrifiedwhen turning out the lights. I assure you I was totally relieved when we checked out.

Other than that, for the price paid, I really think this is a decent hotel. We found the hotel staff trying their best to be helpful. They appear harrassed and overworked, but nevethesless, it's obvious that they were trying their best. Some of the staff also shared with me their ghost encounters (only after we checked out).

This place was recommended in my Moon guide. I called them from Fairbanks Juune 21, 2006 and was told there were several room available at various rates. The most expensive was $165 per night and the man on the phone who made my reservation said it had "water views and a clawfooot tub." And was on the first floor. Based on that I made a reservation for 2 nights, June 23 and 24. When I arrived and checked in I discovered my room was on the third floor, and there is no elevator. My room had no water view, it looked out on a parking lot. The kicker was there was no bathtub at all, clawfoot or otherwise. Just a shower! This was not the room that had been described to me when I was talked into the $165 rate. So I went back to tyhe front desk and complained that $165 is a bit steep and is not what I was promised. I received nothing but rudeness and attitude from the very heavyset woman at the front desk. She refused to refund my deposit. She did not aplogize. So at 5 PM on a Saturday I had to find another room. The woman at the front desk said I had better stay with them, nothing else would be available to which I retorted, "I will camp."
Incidentally i found a great hotel room at a better price that was on the first floor and had a bathtub within ten minutes.

Since then the bill for the $165 deposit appeared on my Visa. I sent 2 emails to the email listed on the front page of their website (----) and they were ignored. I have left detailed messages with the front desk for the manager to call me and he has not returned my calls. So now I am protesting the charges with Visa, contacting the Better Business Bureau and contacting Moon Guides. The people are dishonest scam artists. Don't go here.

Just stayed in the Van Gilder for 2 nights in August 2005. Paid $98 for a room with a shared bath (which would be a rip-off in most of the world, but didn't seem too bad a price when I was looking around Seward). The room was really small without much of a view, but it was clean and had a sink in the room. The communcal kitchen was similar to the room: nice and clean but rather small. Also, the location in downtown was nice, as you are just a few blocks from restaurants (try the eggplant parmesan at Apollo - delicious!) and the Sea Life Center and the harbor is a nice 10 minute walk.

The staff at the Van Gilder was helpful in getting our heavy bags to our 3rd floor room. My traveling companion and I both have difficulty with many stairs, so the lack of an elevator came as quite a surprise. The room with a view looked over the police station to the bay. Not exactly what I'd expected. The room was small, with barely enough space to walk on 3 sides. The bathroom was large by comparison, the shower comfortable. No tub in our bathroom and the single pedastal sink had no storage. Electrical outlets for charging phone and camera batteries were almost non-existant. No air conditioning or fan available so the room tended to be a bit stuffy when the air outside was pleasant. We didn't need heat, so we didn't check out the large radiator in the room. The Van Gilder has a communal kitchen we found helpful, but there are no paper towels in the kitchen, and the only ice is from a single Hotpoint refridgerator with an ice dispenser. It was out of ice most of our visit. The bed was comfortable. I found the hotel a bit on the noisy side, with a definite lack of privacy noted. You could easily hear other guest's speaking in their rooms, so be careful what you do and say! The parking is about half a block away, but there's a loading zone in front of the hotel for arrival and departure. Plenty of good restaurants within walking distance, too. Overall, I wouldn't stay here again if given the opportunity to stay somewhere else, but it was adequate for this visit, during the salmon derby when nothing else in town was available.