Awesome View Vacation Rentals: The Mermaid Lair

Gina and Mike's Awesome View rental is located right on the Near Island Chanel, overlooking a grassed public park and walkway. We stayed in the Mermaid's Lair, the lower of two units they offer. Mermaids Lair was light, airy, warm, and comfortable. The room was very private, clean, and well-appointed. Gina and Mike have operated these units as a B&B in the past and offered continental breakfasts of fresh fruit, bagels, croissants, oatmeal, and granola. However, Gina mentioned that they might be be transitioning to more of a vacation rental format in the future and so you might want to ask about whether breakfasts are supplied. If not, there are some great options in the area. We recommend Monks Rock Coffee House. All of downtown Kodiak is within easy walking distance, with great access to the restaurants, brewery (the Kodiak Sarah Pale Ale was a favorite!), museums, National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, walking trails on Near Island, and the bustling commercial fishing harbor of Kodiak, the largest fishing fleet in Alaska. When we tired of seeing the sights around Kodiak, we enjoyed sitting on our private deck to watch fishing vessels arrive and leave from the harbor and follow float planes landing and taking off from Trident Basin on the other side of Near Island. And in the evening, once things has settled down, we enjoyed reading a book on the comfortable sofa in our room by a large window and listening to the soft bell of the No. "15" navigation buoy in the channel. Very relaxing. We enjoyed meeting Gina and Mike and highly recommend their place. We look forward to a return visit some day! Breck and Linda (Burlington, VT)