This cozy one-bedroom cottage includes a private bathroom with shower and toilet and a living/kitchen area. Enjoy a view of the lake from your bed (Queen size), or coffee in the recliner. A lovely view of Denali and the northern lights, when weather conditions are right, can be seen from the front porch.Some amenities listed may be located in the common areas: bathhouse, laundry, meeting space, and warming station.Camp cots and sleeping bags available. Please request when booking.

Shunem Cottage -HCRL

When we arrived, we didn’t see anyone around, and the property was almost like a ghost town. Given the number of positive reviews, we were expecting a little more activity, so the initial impression was somewhat unexpected.

The cottage itself was small and cute, but there were a few aspects of the setup that we hadn’t anticipated. The biggest surprise was that the toilet is located within the shower area. The listing photos do show the toilet, but we didn’t realize from the photos that it was actually part of the shower space. There is also no sink in the bathroom, and the bathroom area is separated by a shower curtain rather than a traditional door. These may work perfectly well for some guests, but they were a little different than what we had expected.

There was also a noticeable smell when we first entered the cottage. We assumed it may have simply been from the cottage being closed up, so we didn’t make too much of it. We also noticed some discoloration on the bedding and weren’t quite sure whether it was on the pillowcases, the pillows themselves or both.

Because of the bathroom setup, we chose not to use the shower and left early the next morning to check into our next accommodations. The property is situated next to a lake, which would have been a nice feature to enjoy, although unfortunately the rainy weather during our stay limited our ability to take advantage of it.

We were also a little surprised by the amount of traffic noise, as the cabin is fairly close to the main road. Based on the pictures and the lake setting, we had anticipated a somewhat quieter environment.

We booked the lodge as a convenient stop during our travels. In hindsight, had we realized our next destination was only about 1.5 hours away, we probably would have continued on rather than making the overnight stop.

Overall, we appreciated having a place to stay along our route however there were several aspects that were different from what we expected and would choose a different accommodation for a future stay.

Shunem Cottage

We found a little piece of Heaven right here on earth in Alaska!! We stayed for 3 days but it definitely wasn’t long enough. Our cabin was absolutely adorable and the view of the lake from our bedroom window was breathtaking! If all this wasn’t enough, the amazing friendships that were forged will leave memories and feelings to last a lifetime! We cooked and invited folks from all over the world to the table and our invites for food and coffee we humbly accepted. We broke bread with wonderful folks from multiple countries and all over the USA! I’m talking people from Japan, Russia, Germany, Ireland, France, London, Korea and more, plus folks from all over the country! We all sat at the table together, the conversation was amazing, strangers walking through the door, walked out as family. While being out there, in the rugged terrain of Alaska, completely off grid, the world came together in peace and friendship. Had you been there with us, you’d never believe there was any turmoil in the world, because it was absolute peace, love and good food! There was also a 50k race through the trails there and they passed right through the trails of the Historic Chulitna Lodge! Guess what, we even had more folks stop in for coffee! It was wonderful and I can’t wait to go back!!
I 100000% recommend staying here for anyone who adventures to Alaska. You will not be disappointed!!

Wonderful stay

Do not sleep on this Cabin, and take this as your sign to book. Cabin comes with private lake views. You can enjoy the lake with the kayaks on the property that the tenants can use as part of the reservation (comes with booking)! Or you can just lounge on the lounge chairs by lakeside. Furthermore, you can enjoy the hammock and fire pit to get a true outdoor experience. 

The best part about this cabin, it’s off grid. The water heats up faster than my own water heater at home—quite literally, the water heats up instantly. During my stay, there were ongoing fires, and other visitors lost electricity and water. We felt fortunate to have never been inconvenienced.  

The bedroom is tucked in so it provides great light coverage during the summer days. Def recommend, especially because I got an adventure I wasn’t anticipating with the kayaks. 

Overall, entire premises is very well kept and maintained.

Add-ons

Reservation summary