Does anyone have any recommendations? I know we have a lot of Alaska posters on this board. Thanks in advance.

Do an Alaska search. That should help.

Check www.biddingfortravel.com also.

What time of year? If during the legislative session, expect things to be very tight, ditto during the middle of the summer tourist season.

I'd probably go with the Baranof, more for the location and convenience than for anything special about the accommodations, which can be great or grim, depending on your luck.

Have done searches and have a few places in mind, but wanted to hear from people like John that actually stayed at a hotel they could recommend. Does anyone know if there are any pros to staying in town or if it's too far to stay out in Mendenhall Valley?

Deborah,
I stayed at the Goldbelt Hotel in Juneau. My Inside Passage cruise ended in Juneau, and many of the people on the cruise stayed there for the night and the line bussed everyone to the airport in the morning. The hotel was nice - certainly clean and well furnished. But for some reason, from the moment we checked in, I never really felt secure. I remember checking the locks on the windows as well as the doors before going to bed that night.

Well, sure enough, the next morning when we went to catch the bus to the airport, we heard that several people had left their luggage outside their doors to be picked up and brought down to the bus, and someone pilfered their bags, stealing jewelry from them. They actually caught the very sleazy looking guy that had done it - apparently he had entered through the hotel lobby, was drunk as a skunk, and had not been questioned by anyone upon entering. He still had the jewelry in his pocket when he was caught leaving through a stairwell door.

This is a very long post to basically say that while it was a perfectly nice hotel, the security was obviously lacking. (The other caveat is to never leave your luggage unattended while waiting for it to be picked up by the bellmen.)

Can ayone else answer my questions about Juneau? Has anyone stayed out in Mendenhall Valley? If so, was it too far from town or was it a nice retreat at the end of the day? Any pros to staying right downtown? This will be for mid-May.

I guess it depends on your reason for visiting and what you're looking for. I don't think the airport/valley area is all that appealing (why go to Alaska and stay near shopping malls?) but it's your call. I'd opt for downtown because of proximity to restaurants, etc. May can be pretty wet, so being able to scurry from place to place rather than driving might be an advantage.

Hopefully others will chime in.

Actually, I've been to Alaska in May and it's one of the driest months. The comments I'm looking for are the ones like John said, that the valley is full of shopping malls!! Maybe downtown is the answer. Has anyone heard of the Driftwood Lodge? Thanks.

ttt