No room clean , smell in the building, not worth a stay

Uncomfortable room

I knew it was old, but the owners need to be transparent about the state of the property. No showers had curtains to keep the water in. They gave us a room where the door did not close and said "it's a safe area". Pillows had no cases. It was wild! Also, the front door of the building does not lock at night. People were coming in (non guests) all hours of the night to view the "murder room". I had to yell at several drunk college age kids one night at 1am to get out. I know they are renovating, but they probably should close until changes are made. It was the craziest experience I've ever had at a hotel. I'm sure I'll laugh about it one day, but beware!

If you have a reservation here, cancel it ASAP If you are thinking about booking here, spend the extra money and stay somewhere else. This place is disgusting. There is actual mold (large amounts of black mold) growing in the toliets on the first and second floor. Want to wash your hands after using the mold toilets? Forget about it! Not even the hotel "rooms" come equipped with handsoap. This is the dirtiest, most disgusting place I have stepped foot in. Even led me to an search for how to file a complaint with the Seward health inspector. After reading the reviews online it appeared most were from August 2022, most mentioned numerous issues, most with a response from management that work would be completed over the winter season. We stayed last night, ended up speaking with the construction crew, who were all SHOCKED to see guests staying. They told us flat out that there is so much work let to do that guests shouldn't be in the hotel at all. Moving into our hotel room, which was booked as a two bedroom suite with a pull out bed. The pull out bed had to be located on a different floor, which we had to help move into our room. The two rooms didnt even have a door between them, it hqd been remover from the hinges. Mold was growing in the widow frames all the wallpaper was peeling off the walls and floor was only clean in the main areas (next to the beds and near the walls were nasty). Many more issues, all involved cleanliness, but it appears i am out of space

Great location and next to free shuttle stop run by the city. Dining options are walking distance.

Not clean at all stains on blankets no air no heat

Not clean at all stains on blankets no air no heat

The location was great but the hotel was run down and messy. It was in historic downtown but it was not worth what we paid. Wall paper peeling, construction material left in the hall, storage closets left open.

We have stayed at the Van Gilder at various times over the years and we know to expect the basics. They keep the rooms clean and the staff is helpful and friendly. It's an old building with lots of history. The rooms are a little small without a lot of storage or places to hang stuff. The beds are comfortable and we always get a good night's sleep. The Van Gilder is in downtown Seward and it's easy to get to restaurants and shopping or visit the Sealife Center. All within easy walking distance.

The lobby was charming. The rooms small but expected due to age of the building. Love the historical aspect but should be kept up. The property does not look like it has been maintained well. Staff was difficult to find. Nice that it is downtown and a shu/le could be caught across the street. Would not stay a second time.

This place is just gross. The smell of so much perfume and air freshener almost made me sick. The wallpaper is peeling off all over the place. There is so much water damage I imagine the perfume is cover the mold smell. The bedding was old and had holes. I get Alaska has a crazy season but $400 for a one star motel is just crazy.

Linens stained and gross, walls in room literally falling apart. Asked for money back and went elsewhere.

The front desk lady is very nice, friendly and helpful.

Mold. Wall paper off walls. Ancient structure probably cannot be fixed.

This hotel was awful. It smelled bad for starters. The entire building needs some major renovations. Our bed was slanted down toward the headboard so sleeping was not great. The pillows were flat and old. I wore shoes around the room the entire time because the floor was nasty. Nobody else would use the shower, but I only did with my shoes on because I didn’t want to step on the floor. The only positive was that the towels seemed exceptionally clean and they provided plenty of towels.

The location of this hotel made is very convenient to walk around the downtown area of Seward. There were a lot of restaurants near the hotel, and was close to the Aquarium. Staff was polite (not overly friendly), rooms were basic. Private shower in the room did not provide hot water. The hotel felt tired, and there were random piles of 'stuff' in the hallways and common areas. It didn't appear to be well kept. However, hotel was unique.

This is a historical property. Some rooms have been remodeled to accommodate bathrooms, while retaining the historical feel. The hotel does not have a lift and if you have heavy bags, you should request a room on the lower floor. The rooms are not very spacious.

Character to the bulding

This hotel is in a great location, we loved the accessibility to coffee shops, restaurants, and harbor. We knew that coming to Seward at this price point, not to expect a 5 star hotel, but this hotel is in major need of a facelift and deep cleaning. Our room had 12x12 inch sheets of wallpaper peeling off. There was mildew on the wall under the window. The cot in the room had a heavy blanket rolled up instead of a pillow. When I went to the desk to ask for a pillow, I had to convince the receptionist that there were not enough other pillows on the other beds first. My kids all then fought over this one pillow, since all the others were hard and lumpy. The curtains were very thin and old, I had to buy an eye mask to sleep since we were visiting in July. There was mold under the shower door handles and in the tracks of the sliding glass door. We left the window open anytime we were gone, the room had a musty smell and the bedding seemed like it had been washed a few months ago. In the right hands this could be a really neat historic hotel and I hope it gets some updates done soon!

Firstly, the hotel parking lot is located in the alley next to it but there was no signage. When we call the number on our reservation, we got a general staff who had no clue if there were any parking on the premise. We had to run into the hotel to inquire the manager. The hotel itself is old and dilapidated. The corridor was gloomy with poor lighting. There was no elevator so we had to pull our luggage up three flights of stairs with two doors on each flight. The door to our room was stuck. We had to use great force to open and close it. The room itself was lacking in all basic things such as TV, refrigerator, and microwave. The water never got hot, just lukewarm. It was hot in Seward but there was no fans. The windows were stuck but we managed to push open two of them to let in air and all the dust. At least no bugs came in. The only good things about this hotel are its staff and its location. The hotel manager was very helpful and responsive to our needs. She did try hard to make our stay tolerable. We appreciated her effort. The second best thing is its location, very convenient. The Resurrection Coffee shop a block away was my favorite place for coffee and bake goods.

This hotel is in HORRIBLE condition and should not be listed through Expedia until BIG changes have been made. It is on the National Historic Register, but has not been maintained at all. The door to our room, 113 would only stay shut if the deadbolt was engaged fully. Even then, it rattled because the door jam had been broken at the latching mechanisms. Hole was at least 2” in diameter. Had no latch plate for the bolt to slide into. Room was very dimly lit. The main room light fixture only had one working bulb. One wall sconce didn’t work and fixture was literally falling apart. The bathroom sink light had 3 bulbs and only one worked. The bathroom sink only had a small trickle coming out of it. Both hot and cold wide open. Charged us over $300.00 for the night. Not at all happy and expect at least a partial refund because we did manage to sleep in the beds. Worst hotel experience we have had because of condition of the hotel and probably the most I have paid. We were expecting a Great experience there because of it’s history, but sadly, the owners have cashed in without maintaining the property

Quaint older building, very clean and quiet. We enjoyed ourselves

The Van Gilder was comfortable. I felt like I was staying at my grandmas house. Lots of Character. The building is historical, therefor it has natural wear and tear. Bed was very comfortable. the view from the third floor was beautiful. Best part of the stay was Jorge the property manager. He was excellent he made the trip to Seward worth it. He is very vibrant and Hospitable. I will come and stay again.

The Van Gilder was comfortable. I felt like I was staying at my grandmas house. Lots of Character. The building is historical, therefor it has natural wear and tear. Bed was very comfortable. the view from the third floor was beautiful. Best part of the stay was Jorge the property manager. He was excellent he made the trip to Seward worth it. He is very vibrant and Hospitable. I will come and stay again.

Really cool vintage hotel felt very comfortable here.

DO NOT STAY THERE. It’s falling apart. The second bed is a box over 2 night stands

The location is excellent. The quality of the room and cleanness are terrible. Worst bathroom, I ever had. Just managed somehow. I have pictures to share.

The location is excellent.The quality of the room and cleanness are terrible. Worst bathroom, I ever had. Just managed somehow. I have pictures to share.

The hotel is a quaint 100 -year-old historic building. It's not your typical hotel but has a BB feel to it. It has all the basic amenities. The manager George was just wonderful and very helpful. He let us know about the history of the building and was honest about it's age and things to watch out for. If we happen to go back to Seward we will likely choose this hotel for our stay again.

The hotel is a quaint 100 -year-old historic building. It's not your typical hotel but has a BB feel to it. It has all the basic amenities. The manager George was just wonderful and very helpful. He let us know about the history of the building and was honest about it's age and things to watch out for. If we happen to go back to Seward we will likely choose this hotel for our stay again.

I wanted to like this property because I typically like properties with “Quirky charm” as some had described this, but it was quite disappointing. The only positive was that the bed was comfortable and the sheets were clean. Everything else was dirty and falling apart. The property needs major work (from plumbing, electrical to plaster on walls) and a thorough cleaning.

I wanted to like this property because I typically like properties with “Quirky charm” as some had described this, but it was quite disappointing. The only positive was that the bed was comfortable and the sheets were clean. Everything else was dirty and falling apart. The property needs major work (from plumbing, electrical to plaster on walls) and a thorough cleaning.