A Swan Nest Inn - Seward, Alaska

Daniel Poth

This place was genuinely a great find. I vacillated between a 4/5 and 5/5, but ultimately decided that for the price we paid, it justified the top rating.

The Good:
- Great price for an excellent location.
- Good communication with staff beforehand.
- Very tasty, personally prepared hot breakfast in the morning.
- Rooms and bathrooms were clean.

The Less Good:
- Hot water could be in short supply. I'm guessing this is really only a problem at certain times in the morning when multiple guests are showering.
- In our room at least, trustworthy plugs were in surprisingly short supply. There were many outlets, but a solid half of them felt so loose when plugging items in, that we didn't bother for fear that they would just fall out under gravity (or worse, partially fall out and create a fire or spark hazard). The one's we did end up using were solid, though.

Valerie M

Based on reviews I was expecting this to be the highlight accommodation of our stay. It did not live up to expectations unfortunately. There are positives so will start with those. Once booking was confirmed useful handbooks were provided over a link with recommendations for activities, walks and restaurants. Prior to arrival Sarah was helpful in arranging trips with local partner companies and some of the bookings resulted in a reduction in the room rate. She was not so helpful once arrived in Alaska when we made a request for help prior to arrival in Seward and just got a rather curt reply with a phone number to ring ( which was not being answered before we bothered her hence the request for help). ||The location is good within walking distance of most amenities . It is about 5 minutes from the sealife centre and the centre of Seward and about 20 minutes from the Harbour. This was a nice walk along the seafront. There is free onsite car parking . There is no outside area but a table and chairs were placed by the car park area for guests’ use. The rooms were basic but clean as were the common areas. The kitchen, available for guests’ use , was impeccable. Bear spray is available should you want it on a hike. Breakfast was tasty. || I know Seward is pricey and am trying not to compare the accommodation to what would be provided for a comparable price in other countries . I can, however, compare it for value for money with other accommodation in Alaska. ||Access to the b & b is up a wooden set of stairs. It is an old building so, understandably, there is no|Lift. There are no staff to help with luggage so be prepared . My friend had unexpectedly had to travel with the aid of a crutch ( not her usual condition) and access would not be suitable for many people with a physical disability so be aware. The rooms are on 2 levels . The bathroom and a double bed downstairs and a mezzanine platform area with 2 mattresses placed on the floor. This is only accessible by a vertical ladder of about 7 feet in height through a hatch and the roof is very low. At 5’ 3” I could just sit up in bed without hitting my head. The mattress would not long enough for a tall person Anything to be taken up there had to be thrown up through the hatch or handed up as climbing up with anything was difficult and would be dangerous in my opinion. The rungs on the ladder should be closer together. They were quite far apart and small children would struggle - I struggled at my height- and I would be very unhappy to think a child might decide to come down unsupervised in the night given the loo is downstairs. The hatch can be closed - safer for children But the bunk area is very airless and hot already. Though a closed hatch would stop children falling through I did not close the hatch having regard to safety in the event of a fire ( I don’t know what the fire regs are in Alaska but pretty sure would be failed in UK). In short, if I was travelling with children I would not be happy with the layout or safety . The information on the website does say that access is by a ladder but I was not prepared for what I found. We booked through a 3rd party website too which did not emphasise the access to the upper bunk area. It was only when I contacted a swan’s nest with a question after having booked and paid a non refundable deposit that the full set up was described in detail. ||On arrival there were no staff around which was the case for the duration of the stay except at breakfast. External doors are kept unlocked at all hours to gain access and your key with a name tag is left in the lock of the assigned room. ( I suggest a keypad should be installed so external doors can be secured overnight). ||The rooms are small. Ours had no view but can’t speak for others. This explains why the ladder is vertical and not angled. There is not much room space for luggage and putting it in the bunk room area would be impossible. The only space to sit is on the bed. Hooks are provided but hard to reach at my height. Towels are provided and were on a rail behind the loo. Again, at my height, hard to reach. The accommodation is noisy but the room information called for respect after 10 pm and this was largely adhered to. Most noise came from 2 young people with skate boards who entered a door marked private and who were most definitely not quiet. ||There is a coffee corner in the dining area but , had I not read of this in advance, would not have realised it was for general use. There was no information about this and no milk left out. The coffee machines were left set up so I presumed this was in readiness for breakfast service , especially as cereals were also out. Also making a big pot of coffee for one person is wasteful. Suggest some instant is left out to avoid doubt and waste. Some comment in the room info would have been useful. We also discovered there was a laundry room and laundry could be done for a fee. We found this out by accident and too late. Again, this was not included in the room info. ||Breakfast is cereals and toast plus a cooked breakfast to order. It was only at breakfast we met any staff. The standard of cooking was good. On the second day , 2 sets of guests were there early as they had to be at the harbour by 7.30 am. We arrived at 6.59 am. I appreciate staff work hard and breakfast hours are clear but there is no reason we cannot go and grab a coffee early. So I did not appreciate the very ostensible looking at her watch by the young lady cooking so I made it clear I was after a coffee. Her action made me feel I was inconveniencing her. Breakfast should be ready to serve from stated hours but no juice or milk was out. It arrived with someone else at around 7.15 am and this someone else could barely greet guests as she walked through. In the event the other parties did not make the harbour by 7.30 as still waiting for their cooked breakfast as no priority given to them in cooking order. Lorraina was very friendly on day 1 but could not answer any questions - not even where the bus stop was. Her given reason was it was her first season. ||Overall, a good location and I loved Seward. But the impression I was left with is this is a set up designed for minimum inconvenience to managers/owners. It would be good budget accommodation but does not sell itself as such. The price was high compared to other budget accommodation. I would not be happy staying as a family of 4 ,which the rooms are designed to accommodate, for size and safety reasons. More info about amenities needed and staff need to know more about the area as I would expect from any b & b owner.

Vishal H

Such a great Inn. It's pretty small, only 8 rooms. There's an upper deck in each room with 2 mattress. They serve fresh breakfast. It's close to the bay as well.

Jeanie Lake

Great spot and last minute booking rescued us drop another lodge@ cancellation due to wild fires where we had planned on staying. Rustic charm, Great views and breakfast! Love love love it!

Frank Chang

Would give it zero star if I could.

Walls are so thin you can hear every word or sound from neighboring rooms and hallway, this makes getting rest very difficult. I have stayed at 4 other Alaskan hotels, yes they are on older side but none is this bad and ill equipped with insulation.
Owner texted past 10pm is quiet time but some Chinese tourists were still happily chatting and yelling past 11, I thought owner onsite would do something but didn’t after an hour, so I had to take things into my hands.

Next morning, breakfast lady(owner/manager?) was straight face throughout process, no smile or eye contact. I said we are out of forks as there’s none on our table. Her reply was why don’t you check other tables and grab one there? Well you mean those tables with guests?

Avoid this little nonsense inn at all cost.

Mila U

When we arrived it felt like at home - comfortable and cosy. The rooms are small but have everything that you need. The place is clean and well organised.
Breakfast was included, and it was amazing. I asked for sunny side up eggs with bacon and potatoes, and they were amazing ( better than most of the restaurants).
Highly recommend this place

Chinmaya Venkatesh

A cozy bed and breakfast with a beautiful view. Hot breakfast will be served by the host.

Eva Mihaly

I reserved 1 room for 3 adults. On the pictures the place looked great, the rooms looked spacious and the location seemed to be convenient. Or if these 3 only the location was true.

we arrived late due to roadwork. There is no one in reception area, a dirty hallway greets the visitors. The entrance door is always open, we just walked in at 11:30 pm and found the key in the room's door . Anyone could have done that.

The room, where do I start?! The view is nice from the room, the beds are comfy . And that is the only good thing about it . The room is so small, two of us had a hard time to move around. Originally, I reserved the room for 3 adults. It's a good thing our tall son couldn't come with us, the loft would have been way too uncomfortable for him .

TVs are in the common area but not in the rooms.

The bathroom is extremely small. Undressing and dressing is a test of flexibility.

The loft. The ladder to the loft is dangerous. The space between the loft and the ceiling is about 36 inches.

The breakfast is delicious. However, everyone has to touch everything to get to the food. The toast bread is in a bag, the coffee, the creamer is in a pitcher, the jam is in a glass jar. It is unsanitary to serve ourselves. Especially nowadays.

Honestly, it's a highly prices hostel. For this price I could have done a real hotel room, and I wish I did.