Talkeetna Inn — Hotel in Alaska

We stayed at The Talkeetna Motel in July 2017. It was the only hotel in the heart of Talkeetna (we wanted to stay in walking distance) that had rooms available. The reason they had rooms available was because they're not really on any google search. I found them from google maps. Anyway, they have no website. I don't have a problem with businesses that don't use modern technology. Actually, this can be somewhat refreshing. What I did have a MAJOR problem with was that the owner refused to give me a written confirmation after I had booked the room and had given my credit card number. I told him I'd feel much more comfortable with any sort of confirmation, and he just made up numbers on the spot and hung up on me. It freaked me out. I thought I'd been hacked. I called the Chamber of Commerce, and surrounding hotels to check on the validity of this place. They just said he was a very old man, sometimes grumpy, but it was a valid place. Phew!

When we arrived at the hotel (from North Carolina) in the late afternoon, we went to a dingy dark bar filled with cigarette smoke. Three men sat at the bar. The old man (who was a bartender) ignored us and served the drinks to each man, one by one. We stood there politely. I was terrified he wouldn't give us our room. This man scared me. It seemed that he enjoyed making us suffer. So we just stood there saying nothing as the old man asked one of the drinkers how his mother was doing, and if he milked any cows lately. Well... maybe the conversation wasn't exactly about cows...

Anyway, after the old man had established that he was in complete control, he mosy-ed on over to us and mumbled something. My heart was pounding and I was very angry he was putting us through this. I said, "We booked some rooms?" He mumbled something inaudible, then went to the back room. We looked at each other. We had no idea what he said or where he was going. The 3 guys sitting on the bar stools were pleasant enough. They laughed at the situation. I guess at this point, all you could do was laugh.

After 15 minutes of having my blood pressure reach 200 over 199, his wife came out. She was more pleasant. We signed the receipt and had to sign that we wouldn't have any parties or move the furniture or smoke in the room. That was ironic about cigarette smoke, because I can't stand cigarette smoke and was in need of a shower due to the smokey bar we were forced to stay in.

The wife showed us to our room. It was pleasant enough... clean... small... it would do. It certainly wasn't worth the $170 a night that we payed, but I didn't really care, because the location was excellent, and it was clean. I understand from reviews that other people paid a lot less. Oh well.

The wife rattled out about a dozen points we should take note of, but I couldn't process it all that fast. We had just traveled from North Carolina. Nothing was in writing. She mentioned a bunch of restaurants and rules, but I needed pen and paper to take notes.

The bed was too close to the wall for me to get to the lamp, but I was afraid to move the bed because one of her rules was not to move any of the furniture. I had to crawl over the bed to get to the lamp.

We stayed 4 nights. I think we were the only guests in the whole place. The wife changed our bed sheets and towels every day and kept the place neat and clean. However, we had no idea how to reach her. No phone number. No office. I guess you had to go to the bar, but she didn't hang out there. And we're not really bar people.

We rarely could connect to the WiFi.

When I stay in a hotel, I treat it like my home... I use coasters, I don't get crumbs on the floor, etc. I take it from the rules she imposed that others had mistreated the place. That's unfortunate.

Anyway, I debated giving this place 3 stars, but I dropped it down to 2 stars because that old man was so rude. He really should have given us a confirmation, and he should have acknowledged our existence in the bar. But do know the place was clean and the location...

this is a lovely little inn with awesome wifi connection and a huge tv in the rooms, which were clean and spacious and well appointed with comfortable beds. it's a super short walk to main street, and less than two blocks to the river, with stunning views of the mountains. we did have a few issues with the slow drainage in the bathtub, but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed our stay. the rooms are a comfortable size, and the staff are all fantastic. it could be a bit challenging to find the staff around the inn, but they were all awesome when we did. huge shoutouts to kim, dianne, and mike, who put us through the most painless check in process, and made sure all our needs were well taken care of! we loved our stay and would happily stay again when we next come through talkeetna. we highly recommend to anyone passing through this...

Talkeetna is a great little town to stop between Denali and Anchorage. So worth the one night there, but stay a couple and do one of the flightseeing tours. Talkeetna Inn is a motel, so don’t expect anything fancy, but it’s a perfect place to stay when visiting Talkeetna. Rooms are simple but adequate, but it’s the location and the friendliness and attentiveness of the staff (Linda and her sister) that make the stay at the Inn totally worth it. It’s within a few steps of the restaurants, bars, shops and trails downtown, and right by the river. They have free shuttle service to and from the train depot and it’s quiet. Also, the internet and hot water worked better than any other of the three hotels I stayed at...