Big Bear Bed & Breakfast

We felt very at home at Big Bear Bed and Breakfast and it was, by far, the best breakfast we have ever had at a bed and breakfast! YUM!

Carol does an outstanding job at making travelers feel at home. She has a wealth of knowledge about early Alaska and is eager to share it. The room was spacious, the bed comfortable, and the separate living room much appreciated. Her breakfasts are outstanding! I stayed in the winter, but would love to come back and see the garden in full bloom.

The owner has lived in Alaska all her life and has many interesting stories to tell. The food was outstanding and I had no complaints.

Our visit was great at Big Bear B&B. It was a special trip to Alaska and get to see our first two grandsons. We were treated like one of the family and would recommend Big Bear B&B to anyone who enjoys a family atmosphere.

Carol is a wonderful host and she is a wealth of alaska history. Her breakfast are fantastic, and almost all her waffle toppings are from her yard. She is a great cook and a pleasant lady to be around. I doubt I will ever stay in a hotel again. I can't wait for spring so I can see her beautiful yard in bloom!

Carol’s flowers and garden frame Big Bear. Her master gardener skills and knowledge come into the kitchen to blend with her master culinary arts. Carol is a superb baker as well as a cook. Her presentation of her food captures the visual beauty of Alaska. Big Bear is a living tribute to the state of Alaska. Her many display’s of Alaskan art, native crafts, big bear skin and various ivory pieces blend with her antiques to show her creativity. Carol is truly a steward for the state of Alaska. I encourage everyone visiting the state to treat themselves to Big Bear hospitality.

Everything was amazing! Right down to every detail. We needed to leave early -6 am, on our last day, and Carol was up before us, making a "box breakfast" for our train ride. Her garden, used for our meals, was very tasty. This may sound corny, but it reminded me of the days when I went to "grandma's house". Attention was given to whatever she could do to help you, and she went "all out" in preparation of her meals. Even dessert after breakfast!!! I highly reccommend staying here. It beats a name brand hotel anyday.

My husband and I were impressed by Carol's knowledge about Alaska and her extensive collection of native art. The house itself is very comfortable and we were warmly welcomed. Carol herself cooked our delicious breakfast. It was my husband's first B&B experience and I couldn't have chosen a better place for it.

This B&B is not just a house but a home away from home. A warm welcome, great breakfasts and a lot to see and to discuss.

"Museum", True Alaskan Cuisine and more, engaging commentary, wonderfull location, friendly and informative hosts - what more can one ask for?

I live in Seward, Alaska and stayed in this B&B while visiting Anchorage with my friends from Texas. The Big Bear B&B is run by a long time Alaskan family - ready to share stories with their guests! Breakfasts are cooked with goodies from their luscious garden and the family sourdough (with a story, of course). From now on, whenever we have guests from the Lower 48 coming to visit us in Seward, I am going to highly recommend the Big Bear B&B so that they can experience real Alaskans in an interesting and very deluxe lodging.

This was our 5th time staying at Big Bear. Carol & her family are very nice & eager to share Alaska with visitors. The rooms are clean & nice & the beds are comfortable. The best part, though, are the breakfasts! Carol is a fantastic cook & we look forward to her fabulous meals every time we are in Anchorage!

Carol was extremely hospitable. The house was a bit of living history, and both it and her knowledge of the area serve as a great introduction to Alaska.

Best breakfast in Alaska...especially the sour dough waffles and fresh fruit.

Enjoyed lovely living room, snacks, extra bathroom, antiques, privacy, history behind the owner's Alaskan life and delicious breakfast.

It was totally amazing and unexpected. From the quality of the rooms to hospitality to delicious breakfast everything was purrfect. Antique furnitures, modern bathroom fixtures, beautiful garden and native artifacts made it all worth the money. Carol is very sweet.

We enjoyed our stay at Big Bear B & B. Carol and Shelley made us feel at home. We had an early morning departure to go to Katmai National Park, and Carol got up early so we had a box breakfast to take with us. The breakfast was wonderful, and the other people on our trip were jealous of our tasty feast. We will definitely stay here again if we are in Anchorage.

Staying at Big Bear Bed & Breakfast is like visiting someone you don't know, while they are still living there - which is really weird. The people are nice, but their living space intersects with your room. People are nice, the food is good, but the our stay was weird.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Big Bear Bed and Breakfast. The owner was very generous with her time in sharing the unique history of Anchorage and early Alaskan life. And her waffle breakfast with all the local condiments (jams, syrups, and jellies) was outstanding and a wonderful "taste" of real Alaska.

Carol's home is like an Alaskan museum of natural history. Her breakfast is unsurpassed. Her monolog of Alaskan and local history, while serving sourdough waffles, topped with a variety of backyard grown fruit highlighted with spiced reindeer sausage created a memory that cannot be matched in a commercial hotel or restaurant. Highly recommend this Bed and Breakfast!!

We spent three nights here at the end of our Alaskan trip and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. In addition to serving us three fabulous breakfasts (with completely different menu selections), Carol entertained us with stories of her life in Alaska. She has great suggestions for things to do and places to eat. The two restaurants she recommended (Glacier Brewhouse and Orso) were excellent. Big Bear B&B is almost like a museum with Carol's impressive collection of native Alaska art and vintage knick-knacks. This is something to keep in mind if you have small children, because there are so many interesting objects that little fingers will want to touch! Complimentary soft drinks and hot cocoa are available all day in the common area, which has a TV, VCR and large collection of videos.

We stayed one night at Big Bear B&B on our last night as we traveled through Alaska. The host Carol Ross was wonderful- she showed us around, gave us information about local restaurants and hikes, and driving directions. The breakfast she made was delectable with homemade jams and waffles, and authentic reindeer sausage. I would highly recommend this. We had the Grizzly room ,where the closet was converted to a bathroom so we had a private bath. Very nice! The whole house is decorated with Alaskan goods, for me it was interesting, for others it may seem cluttered...

Carol Ross provides a delicious home-cooked breakfast for her guests in a warm-family friendly B&B. We felt pampered and enjoyed our stay!

I stayed only one night at Big Bear and found the accommodations to be commendable. Carol is a very welcoming hostess, and is very knowledgeable and proud of Alaska. Since I arrived late and did not have my rental car yet, I was reluctant to go out to find a bite to eat. I was very surprised and gladly accepted Carol’s offer of home- made rhubarb pie (with whipped topping) and she even included a small snack! The breakfast was truly delicious, and I enjoyed Carol’s stories of the history of her sourdough starter, and stories of previous generations of her Alaskan family – It was my best breakfast in Alaska! I wish I could have stayed there more than one night, and if I visit Anchorage again, I will definitely try to stay here again! Karin B. - California

There is so much history in this house.The Innkeeper was very knowledgeable about the are area and most any questions we asked. It was an excellent find.

We spent three nights in the Big Bear B&B and had a wonderful time. The home is full of Alaskian artifacts and breakfasts were outstanding.

Very clean and comfortable, and great hospitality and extemely helpful.

Our host, Carol, was very accomodating. She let us use her washer and dryer and let me store my 37 pounds of Halibut, box and all, in her freezer for the night. Her breakfast quality was world class and she makes it a point not to serve the same dish to you everyday. Her sour dough waffles are great. She offers a 7, 8, or 9 am breakfast and will even provide a box breakfast for those early flights.

We stayed three nights & were totally pleased. Breakfast was outstanding. Our room was immaculate. We recommend Big Bear B & B.

This was our first stay in a Bed & Breakfast and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Carol, our hostess, was the best. We arrived late and she and her daughter, Shelley, were there to great us and make us feel at home. The breakfast was delicious and the background information and interesting stories were an added plus. We liked it so much we went back for another night and enjoyed relaxing in the beautiful garden area. Had to leave very early the next morning, but Carol got up early and prepared another delicious breakfast to take with us. We would highly recommend this B&B.

At breakfast, we kinda felt uncomfortable because the host would only bring a quarter of a waffle (four times) so we could try the different sauces. Also felt the host was more interested in telling her own stories rather than giving us any insight on our vacation in Alaska since this was our first night in alaska and wanted some information about areas to visit. The food and stay was very good otherwise.

We stayed at the Big Bear & Breakfast in May and really enjoyed it very much. Innkeeper Carol was very friendly & accomodating to our needs. The breakfast were outstanding and she even graciously gave me some recipies and showed me step by step how to make one of them. You will not be disappointed in your stay at this bed & breakfast & if we are ever in Anchorage again we will definitely stay there. The Aleman's & Simon's

Our stay at the Big Bear was like a living history experience. The home is filled with historical artifacts and tales of homesteading and adventure. The hostess has lived in Alaska all her life and works her tales into all aspects of your stay. The breakfast, pure Alaska, was really good and consisted of "the tastes of Alaska". I did find the room a bit crowded for my personal taste. If you want to experience Alaska then this is a great stay and you will definitely know more about life in Alaska then when you arrived.

We both began and ended our Alaskan adventure at Big Bear Bed & Breakfast. We highly recommend the personal attention of the co-owners Carol and Shelley. Breakfast was a feast and our request for vegetarian slections were accomodated wonderfully. While all rooms have bathrooms some bathroms could be described as 'pullman' type so be sure to ask the set-up if this is important to you. We would certainly visit again.

This is a nice place to stay, and very clean. You have to remove your shoes before entering, but it's worth it to keep the place clean! The breakfast was excellent too. Perhaps I could have rated the value higher, but I don't have anything to compare with it. There are a lot of knickknacks so be careful if you have small children. Also, there are a few furs which may offend some animal rights activists. Our room was lovely and clean though. The people were friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. My only disappointment was that the Internet wasn't working. (But she did offer to let me use her own computer with phone card.) That was a little inconvenient which also caused me to rate the value as I did. The garden in back is a sweet spot to relax and enjoy. Overall, it was great, and I would definitely stay there again. I definitle recommend it.

My husband and I had a wonderful stay at Big Bear. The breakfast were different each and every day and just so delightful and simply yummy. Her cooking was incredible and was satisying and sooooo filling. We literally barely had room for dinner ( we'd have to skip lunch most days) ! We stayed for 7 whole nights and absolutley enjoyed the accomodations and we highly recommend this bed and breakfast as it was so friendly, clean and worth every penny. You can't buy hospitality like this for sure. Carol was alaos so knowledgable and gave awesome insights and recommedations on things to see and do. We booked September to come back again!!!!! We can't begin to say enough, except to say that if your considering any bed and breakfast, be sure to stay here....you won't regret it! Till we meet again Alaska....The West's

We went to the Big Bear Bed and Breakfast as a get away from every day life in Anchorage. For the price it was the best experience. For as much as we would have payed at a hotel we were more comfortable and got the most amazing breakfasts'. Carol is so much fun to talk with. And the stories and knowledge she has of Anchorage is incredible. I would highly recommend anyone here.

We stayed at the Big Bear B&B for a week last Sept. Couldn't have chosen better! The Denali Room was very comfortable and perfect for the two of us and our adult daughter. The accomodations were outstanding. Their living room contained bear skins, a mammoth head and tusks, and many other Alaska artifacts. Our friendly hostesses, Carol, Ross & Shelly Houston, totallly spoiled us with hearty breakfasts of freshly picked blue berries, frittatas, reindeer sausages, waffles, and much, much more. As life-long residents of Anchorage they described the wild life, and local and distant points of interest, and entertained us with stories of their experiences in beautiful Alaska. We highly recommend Big Bear Bed & Breakfast. Roy & Lesey Van Riper, Whidbey Island, Wa.

Carol and Shelley, Thanks for a wonderful stay. We enjoyed the 3 nights we spent in your Glacier Room. The breakfasts were outstanding (especially all the fresh produce from your own garden and salmon caught by your own family). The gardens were extraordinarily beautiful and peaceful. I loved all the Alaskan art and history that you shared during our stay. Thanks to the resident artist for the lovely ivory gift he fashioned for my mother. Thanks for making our stay something that we will remember forever.