5 Best Hotels in The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska, Alaska

In a small cove 9 nautical miles from Homer Spit (boat transportation is included in the room rates), this resort co-owned by renowned chef Kirsten Dixon offers the incredible luxury, amazing food, and utter relaxation—albeit at a steep price. Deluxe modern cabins adjacent to Kachemak Bay State Park have private baths, comfortable beds, and amenities that include a cozy main lodge, beachfront outdoor hot tub, steam room, yoga classes, complimentary massage, daily wine tasting, and daily adventure activities. Dixon, who also conducts cooking classes for locals and guests, handpicks her award-winning culinary team to ensure that all three daily meals are divine. Guests can hike into the park from the lodge for day trips, kayak in the bay, and watch eagles and otters just offshore. Fly-out bear-viewing and glacier exploration trips, and deep-sea fishing are included in the five-day stays.

Across Kachemak Bay from Homer, this family-run lodge provides five-night stays with wildlife-viewing opportunities and panoramic mountain and bay vistas in an intimate setting for up to 12 guests. The main lodge has a piano and a big stone fireplace to warm you after a day of hiking, fishing, kayaking, or touring in one of the five guided boats (some of the guided fly-out trips may cost extra). Scattered through the woods, the rustic cabins—all with electricity, full baths, and decks—are decorated with antiques, original artwork, and homemade quilts. Cabin layouts differ slightly; some are best suited for couples, others for groups or families. Included are use of the sauna, hot tub, transportation from Homer, and three gourmet meals per day. Dinners focus on seafood—clams, mussels, and fish—caught in the bay. Shorter stays of two to four nights are available at in spring, at the very start of the season.

Getting off the road and the beaten track is the most authentic way to experience Alaska, and Kenai Backcountry Lodge is about as true as it gets, with access only by boat across Skilak Lake. Once there, you will stay in a log cabin, taking all your meals (included in the price) at the main lodge. All cabins are equipped with running water, bathrooms, and electricity. The company stresses a low-impact, environmentally friendly ethos, and is fully run off solar and hydropower. The trip cost includes two nights at Backcountry, one night at the Riverside Lodge in Cooper Landing, transportation, and all guided activities such as hiking, kayaking, a Kenai River canyon raft trip, motorboat tours, and wildlife viewing. With all the moose, caribou, wolves, bears, eagles, and spawning salmon, chances are you'll see more animals than people during your stay.

Located in Aialik Bay, this is the only wilderness lodge within the 700,000 acres of Kenai Fjords National Park. To get to this all-inclusive lodge within the Alaska Native-owned wildlife sanctuary, you will depart via water taxi from Seward. Set against the backdrop of the Pederson Glacier, you can enjoy a number of activities here, including kayaking, hiking, beachcombing, or just plain relaxation on the lodge's large deck or in their cedar sauna.

Run by Alaska Wildland Adventures, this collection of cabins on the bank of the Kenai River offers a "roughing it in authentic comfort" all-inclusive, two-night package, with cabins that have private baths. Whether you choose to hike, raft, attend a naturalist program, or stroll the nature trail, in the evening your most difficult decision is whether to venture into the wood-fired sauna or pour yourself into a rocking chair on the deck overlooking the Kenai River. Fishing excursions are offered for an additional fee.