We stayed at the Gilmore prior to setting out on a small boat trip from Ketchikan. We were exhausted after a long day of travel, and even though it was after hours, the hotel sent taxis to meet us at the ferry landing at no charge to us. The hotel is historic and might not be as fancy as some might like, but the rooms were comfortable and quiet. The continental breakfast was available in the hotel the next day which saved having to go out to hunt down something first thing. The rooms are small in keeping with the hotel's era, but easily accomodated four of us and a huge pile of luggage.

The staff was friendly, but the rooms were very old and loud. They say that it is updated but they did not do a good job on that. The heaters are the loudest ones ever, when they come on the pipes creak and it is loud enough to wake me up at night, and I am not a light sleeper. We had a room at the back of the hotel for the first two nights, it was above the restaurant, and when the staff went out back to take their breaks at midnight and later, you could here the whole conversation and every other word was "F" this or "F'' that. Not a good thing for a two year old to wake up to in the middle of the night. The third night we moved to a room in the front, it was very small, the bathroom was so small they had to put the sink next to the bed and there was not room to walk between the bed and the sink. I live in Ketchikan and have had family stay at other hotels and they are a lot better than this one. I will never stay at the Gilmore again.

Newly refurbished??? when? in 1975? we thought this place was a dump. The room was tiny and even the lobby and communal areas looked shabby and frankly a bit grubby.
We ate in the restaurant (Annabels) on one night and weren't impressed with that either.
We agree with another Tripadvisor reviewer who mentioned the unfriendly staff. The receptionist was particularly clueless!

Stayed at the Gilmore on the way to Wrangell Is. for a few days. Stairs, stairs, stairs & lot’s of em’. If you have luggage I hope your in shape no bell hop here. The lack of an elevator is a factor. Front desk was just ok, not very friendly, un-Alaskan in my opinion. Not bad, but not very helpful compared to other hotels. Rick the van driver was the exception.

Rooms are really small and baths are dated. Noise can be factor especially when the Totem Bar lets out in the wee hours of the morning. You can’t close the window with the lack of ac. There are better places in Ketchikan to spend the night.
You get what you pay for.