Dan and I fell in love with Alaska back in 2016 when we went on our first Alaskan cruise. The…read morefollowing year, we did a cruise tour and realized that Alaska has more to offer than just the cruise. So, we always discussed since then to plan an Alaskan vacation that was more land than a cruise. However, the pandemic happened and our vacation plans were on the shelf until this year. We are not avid fishermen. I haven't touched a pole since I was a child but we decided to book a 5 day fishing package with Kenai Riverbend Resort that's located in Soldotna, Alaska. Once I booked with them and they received our payment, they emailed our confirmation as well as travel information, packing instructions and obtaining fishing licenses. Best.DECISION.ever We flew into Anchorage and decided to rent a car to take the scenic drive to Soldotna (roughly 3 hours). The resort is located by the Kenai River and it has been in business for 40+ years by the Cho family. The history of how this business came into fruition is amazing and every American dream for anyone who comes to America. They have a lot of returning visitors. One man shared he's been vacationing at Kenai Riverbend Resort for 20+ years! Talk about great customer service when you hear stories like this. At the resort, you can either rent an RV space, lodge (2 or less) or cabin (4 or more). If you don't have fishing gear, they have the necessary gear to make your fishing excursions successful. Their guides are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful and have been with the company for years. Dan and I were upgraded to a cabin next to the river and it was just beautiful. This is glamping at its finest. The cabin had a fridge, microwave, sink, cookware, dishes, hot plate and a gas grill. Dan and I agreed that next time we are here, we are buying a week's worth of groceries instead of dining out. We had 2 halibut fishing excursions at Cook Inlet and Homer as well as 2 silver salmon excursions on the river. Dan and I came prepared with our seabands and motion sickness medication. Our first day on halibut fishing, the guides (Christian and Mason) were super helpful and the remaining group were fun (I was the only female and they all cheered when I got the first catch of the day!). We forgoed the second day of halibut fishing to rest and explore instead. Our third day was an afternoon of silver salmon fishing on the river. While the current flowed fast, the river was smooth. Our guide, Jeremy was helpful and fun as well while we fished. Our fourth day was a morning of silver salmon fishing on the river, which went by quickly because we all caught the max number of salmon (3 per person) for the day. It was cold, rainy and fun! If you're wondering about the fish we caught, the resort will clean, filet, vacuum seal your fish and freeze it all until you check out. You can either have it mailed via FedEx or have them box it for you to travel with. Note: Anchorage International Airport has a storage freezer for your fish if you're planning to stay overnight in Anchorage. ***If you're traveling through Seattle from Anchorage and will be staying overnight...contact your hotel to see if they'll store it in their freezer as the SmartCarte baggage storage does not open until 8am at SeaTac. We took home 70+ lbs of fish. The resort and surrounding area was peaceful, serene and breathtaking. Alaska always brings things back into perspective about life. Keep it simple. Are we returning? Absolutely. Recommend: HIGHLY

Great great fishing ! Guides are awesome and our fish arrived home nicely packed. The river is…read moreamazing and its right at your feet literally. They have everything you need for a great time. And close enough to town if you wanna go for whatever. Cabins have all basic amenities but are truly comfortable and clean.

I attended a wedding and reception at Diamond M Ranch recently. It was held in the barn, and we did…read morenot see the lodging so I can't comment on that, and I don't know what Diamond M did besides provide the space, because tables, chairs, flowers, food, and port-a-potties were brought from other places. That being said, it seemed odd that food can be served in a place where there was no running water and within 10 yards of a pig pen and Port-a-potties. Cow patties surrounded the pig pen. The barn had a large curtain around the room which hid real barn stuff like tools and oil cans.

This place was like a 5 star hotel of campgrounds. Super clean facilities, plenty of fun things to…read moredo on the property and super friendly staff. We will be visiting again and will definitely be recommending to all our friends.

Beautiful views recommend this place to anyone coming and visiting the Soldotna Peninsula area you…read morewill be happy you went there

From the owner: Located in Soldotna, Loon Lake Resorts offers wonderful vacation rentals on Loon Lake. If you are…read morelooking for lodging accommodations on the Kenai Peninsula, we offer cabin style condos just minutes away from a few of the most popular fishing spots in the state. Loon Lake comes fully furnished and with all amenities included: * Linens, Towels, Dishes, Keurig/K-Cups and Bottled Water * Free WiFi and DIRECTV * Microwave, Dishwasher, Washer/Dryer and Freezer for fish storage * BBQ Grill and outside table and chairs * Hot tub, Paddle Boat and Canoe Loon Lake is a non-motorized lake and is stocked with trout if you want a quiet relaxing fishing experience. The Kenai River is the most popular sport fishing destination in Alaska and is just minutes away. Each year there are two runs each of king salmon, silver salmon, red salmon, plus a run of pink salmon every other year (even numbered years). There are also rainbow trout and Dolly Varden.

ICE RACES! Ok. This is a locals only kind of dive that most people associated with yelp would not…read morenecessarily attribute 4 stars to. However. This place has all the hometown flare that turns a smoke-filled dirty bar a nostalgic classic. Decent taps, full-ish bar and service that's good to you if you're good to them. Ice races in the Winter are the staple of this place. Nothing beats a Sunday watching the races and coming in to a fresh hot meal. Come in and enjoy yourself or don't, because they're just fine without you.

Worst hotel experience ever!…read more I booked a room for a week and my trip ended up being cancelled. I tried to cancel online and my reservation was showing as "Not Booked" - so I called the hotel. I was informed my reservation was non-refundable. I tried explaining to the gentleman at the hotel, and was basically informed "To bad, so sad it sucks to be you". I expected to be charged for one night, and than I get email from my Credit Card and they have charged by card for the full week $500+. This is the worst hotel I have ever had to deal with. The front desk staff was rude and not willing to work with the customer. Even if my dates had changed I would not stay at this location if this is how they treat their guests. This has got to be the greediest hotel I have ever dealt with. I can just imagine how they treat the guests in person if they were this awful on the phone.

First I would like to say please look at the most recent reviews and not ones from years ago…read more Gloria and Justin are the new owners and are doing an amazing job. The whole staff is wondeful and can we single just one out. No we can not they all provided wonderful service and it is like spending time with family that you truly like. Accomidations were wonderful, food was amazing (thank you Brian and Gina(hope I got you name right). They have their children also helping and they are amazing...and the fresh cookie of the day was a big hit. Our fishing trips were great and our guides did a great job. We came home with more salmon, halibut and cod then our freezer could hold. Were we sad to leave, yes we were, would we do it again, in a heartbeat. Already planning our next visit back.

This was our first trip to the lodge it was amazing. We were the last booking for the year and they…read moretreated us like family. We had a great time the food and accommodations were amazing. A very friendly group work there we can't wait to come back soon. Gloria and Justin the new owners were awesome we had a great time. They even invited us to the end of the year party our last day but we had a flight to catch

The BEST! Went to Alaska to fish.....never fished before. Jason took us out the first day and…read morewas so helpful. First day I caught my limit and the three other trips with him! We will be back next year. Thanks Jason, Jeremy and Josh!!

Best guides, closest to the best fishing, great support staff!…read more Having lived near the Kenai River for over 30 years and still avidly fish the river, I know these folks are top notch guides. One of the best things about HiLo is their location. They are located on Beaver Hole on the lower river. A lot of the other lodges on the river either are located much further upriver or meet you somewhere on the lower river. With Hi-Lo, you step off their dock and 10 yards aways is one of the very best fishing spots on the lower Kenai River. If you want to catch fish that are blushed or turning red, then fish upstream. If you want to have the first crack at the first fish coming out of the Ocean and into the river silver bright and in mint shape, then you have to fish with Hi-Lo if you don't want to wait at some launch in the dark hoping the guides show up or start an hour earlier in the morning at 5am so the guide has time to run downriver through a hundred boats in the dark. Eat breakfast, step on the boat, and literally one minute later you are fishing in a premium spot. I have my own boat and base out of a launch several docks from them and ALWAYS use their services to help book my friends trip not only for salmon but halibut charters and any other activities. I fish side by side with their boats often and I ALWAYS get out fished. Very knowledgeable folks. When ever we fish late or we catch too many fish (haha, yes it happens!) I can rely on Melissa and their crew to get my fish processed for my guests. Always comes out perfectly Having fished the Kenai river since 1971, there are only several outfits I can personally give my stamp of approval to and Hi-Lo is one of them!

Had a blast here Sat. night. This place was filled with 20's and 30's, and the kereoke was actually…read morepretty good. Check it out.

Awesome food and great service! The waitress was on top of it and did an amazing job. I wish more…read moreplaces down here had their attention to detail.

Stayed for 6 nights in late June. We had a group of 7 and utilized 3 cabins. The cabins are…read moremostly for sleeping and showering and were comfortable for both. The beds were comfortable, the heaters kept the temp nice at night, the showers were very hot which was great after being in the river all day. When not fishing we basically would just relax on the porch of our cabin. In provided chairs, or just hang out at the fire pit. The firepit area was very clean and they have wood there for making the fire. The fish cleaning area is nice, but the real hookup is to just pay them to clean, pack and freeze all your fish. They have commercial equipment for processing the fish. Most of the fishing when we were there was about 30 minutes north to coopers landing or 40 min south to the Kasilof river. But if you go when the reds are running up the kenai, you could walk about 5 minutes right down to the water and fish: The lodge has pretty much anything you need within 15 min drive. Some things are just a couple minutes away, but 15 and you could get about anything you're looking for. Steve the owner, was great and had a ton of local knowledge on where to fish each day. He also knew various guides and could help lining them up. We had a great time! If your looking for the Ritz Carlton then probably not your speed, but if your looking for a cozy cabin to clean up in and sleep and be close to the fish, this is a great spot.

TL;DR BEWARE! Stay away from Alaska Redfish Lodge and do not…read moreconduct any business with the owner Steven F Stuber. The place is messy, unorganized. The lodge is quite a 10 min walk to the river. The common area had flies and smelled like dead fish. Steven is an emotionally unstable person ready to snap at any moment. Full Story: We booked two nights stay for 2 adults, 2 kids, and 1 infant on Friday evening to go to Sterling for some fishing on a weekend Saturday-Monday. Our full booking price was about $320 ($129 per night plus fees) which we thought was odd as the Airbnb calendar showed $89. Anyway, we booked it and got all the confirmation information. Approximately at 1 AM we get an email from Steven the owner saying he is fully booked and unable to honor the reservation. We called Steven in the morning to clear things up as the reservation was already confirmed. He started blaming Airbnb for not honoring the blocked out dates saying this happens once in a while and there is no way he can give us a cabin on these dates and that he didn't want to lose his "Super host" status on Airbnb. We asked to cancel, he convinced us to continue with the reservation and that we would get a good deal. I had a bad feeling about it but felt bad for him and agreed to his offer. We moved the dates from Saturday to Sunday-Tuesday. It was inconvenient for us as kids are in school but we said we can manage and adjust our schedule. He asked us to move our date to just one night and refund the difference, in his system he would block out two nights for us. Our new total was going to be $94 for two nights. Not bad. He was very friendly on the phone and kept reiterating that he is willing to go far and beyond to make us whole. He also stated that he usually does not let five people stay and is willing to make an exception for us. This was very odd as we put five people in AirBnB and did not conceal the baby. I told him I am planning to do a lot of fishing. He said he will give me all the gear and even upgrade us to a bigger cabin that has a full-size refrigerator, and a loft area. We were excited! We get there on Sunday at 3:50 PM, check-in was at 3. The lovely cleaning lady which is potentially his wife, not sure, asked us if we were checking in. She said that we are staying in cabin 7 and that it was not ready for us. We thought that was odd as I expected that Steven would make our experience great as he promised. We said we can wait 30 minutes for the room to be cleaned up. I called Steven just in case he had told me that we are staying in cabin 8 and that he would make it to the property at ~5:30. We go to the cabin the lady said the keys were inside, I spend five minutes looking for the key, could not find it. She said she can bring it to us and she did. I started looking for the wifi password, could not find it anywhere on the wall. The lady did not know the password. I had to text Steven and he gave it to me over text. I thought it was odd that it's not printed in most normal places. There was no welcome package or welcome tour at all. Oh well. The wifi did not work inside cabin 8 but did barely work right outside. The TV did not have Netflix or cable even though it was connected. The knives in the kitchen were dirty, otherwise, the room was decent. It was NOT the room that Steven had promised us that had a loft with a full-size fridge, but I did not bother to call him as he seemed to be in a bad mood. We went to the playground, it had a very strong smell of pigsty as there was one behind it, the common area had a full trashcan of beercans and the fire pit was all covered in flies. It was pretty disgusting. I did a little fishing and we came back. I made a mental note that the experience so far was a bit odd. No welcoming, confusion with the keys, no wifi password printed, no TV and smelly, and dirty common area. Steven had returned at this point but did not bother to greet us. We did not feel welcome at all. I asked the lady if she can call Steven over as I had questions around processing my fish. She said he was upstairs but did not want to call him over. I thought it was odd, she instructed us to call him on his cell instead. He came out, I had asked him to use the coolers as he promised he said I could. He had combative body language but was answering all my questions. He told me to process the fish and leave it on the cooler pointing to it. He had instructed me to write my name on it and leave the tag. I did, he IMMEDIATELY said "What are you doing?!" is this your cooler?! I said it's empty and you pointed to it, he goes oh ok I wanted to make sure it was not someone else's. Mmm okay. the review got cut off here's the rest: https://gist.github.com/lpizzle/c5361eeecf94d79bb64102bd869ed998