Any recommendations as to where to stay, where to eat, what to see/do, places to avoid?

I see accomodation pickings are rather slim up there. Recommendations appreciated.

While I have never been to Alaska, my brother just returned from there. I will ask him the next time I see him and see if he can give me any tips for you.

Stay at the Westmark, buy a picnic lunch at Carrs, picnic at Mendenhall Glacier, and quench your thirst at the Alaska Bar downtown.

terenz,
some of the answers to your questions depend upon when you are coming up here. but I will try to provide a few ideas.
restaurants:
not a whole lot to choose from. the Fiddlehead(serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner - downtown area) is pretty consistent and reasonably priced and offers some interesting menu items. Di sopra is a finer dining experience(dinner) above the fiddlehead also quite consistent.
The Hanger(lunch and dinner - downtown at the Wharf) is again quite consistent and reasonably priced. Good quality includes a number of standard american fare items along with seafood dishes. The bar here is usually quite active (with live entertainment sometimes) with an extensive selective of draft and bottled beers.
the Twisted Fish (lunch and dinner - downtown on the waterfront by the tram) is owned by the same folks as the Hanger. Only open in the summer - specializes in alaska seafood items again good consistent fare.
Gold Room at the Westmark Baranof a fine dining experience downtown quality is usually quite good.
El sombrero (DT lunch and dinner) alaskanized mexican food. consistent food but not real mexican if you know what I mean.
I probably eat the most at the hanger and el sombrero.
Seong's Sushi Bar (across from the federal building downtown) good consistent sushi.
Inn at the Waterfront (downtown) can sometimes be almost spectacular a small boutique fine dining experience.
Pappy Poe's (Auke Bay - dinner) barbecue and steaks can be quite good.
Lodging: Westmark Baranof Hotel(DT) where the AS crew stays; usually considered the best hotel in town. Rooms are mostly on the small side. Has a coffee shop for breakfast and lunch as well as the Gold Room.
The GoldBelt Hotel(DT) - used to be the Westmark and also used to be where the AS crew stayed. Has a coffee shop. Upper rooms have a nice view of the channel.
Alaskan Hotel (downtown) old, rustic, stairs, can sometimes be quite loud, some consider staying here an experience.
Number of other motels both in the valley(where the airport is) and downtown (9 miles from the airport). There are quite a lot of bed and breakfast's but a number of them are only open in the summer.
Stay in a forest service or Alaska state park cabin - some you can hike into, others you need to fly or boat into.
Bars: Hanger, the Alaskan Hotel, the Triangle, and the Red Dog Saloon(for the tourists - currently closed while being remodeled).
Coffee: Downtown -Heritage (locally roasted),Valentines, and Java Jazz(local roast).
Beer: Locally brewed Alaskan Amber, pale ale, smoked porter, and other varieties. Visit the brewery in Lemon Creek and take the tour; no relation to the Alaskan Hotel and Bar other than they serve Alaskan beers there.
Activities: mendenhall glacier, flightseeing trips, hiking, fishing (spring kings starting soon), skiing, alaska state museum, 4th of july parade, fireworks, and activities are quite fun.
jerry

Thanks for the rundown Jerry...
Now for those of us who are visiting in the winter, say 2 weeks from now, any suggestions on what to do with free time? Are any of the attractions like the tramway open at this time of year?

Spend the entire day and night at the Alaskan Hotel and Bar!

Rob,
The tram is not open in the winter. The ski area (Eaglecrest) is also not open yet as we received our first snow in town just a few days ago. Pretty steady snowfall the past two days so x-country skiing should be available in the area of the campground at mendenhall lake and the upper trail near the ski area is supposed to be ready. An indoor ice rink is currently in the process of being built but won't open until february. You can always hike, fly, or boat in to a forest service cabin for a few days.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/rec...abin_info.html
The Turner Lake cabins are especially beautiful.
You could fly up to Whitehorse and ski and visit the hot springs.
Let me know if you come up.
jerry

Been to the Fiddlehead. Food was fair (at best) and service downright awful. Would not go back if there were other options.

Stayed at the GoldBelt. Overpriced, but otherwise OK.

Jerry,
YGM

My favorite place to stay in Juneau is Grandma's Featherbed Inn. It's owned/operated by Best Western. In the winter the rates are pretty competitive, about $85 or so. A full breakfast is included with made-to-order omellettes and an excellent choice of fruit and juices.

Each room is unique with antique furniture, featherbeds (on top of the bed), kitchenettes I think, and a JACUZZI!

I like getting a different room everytime I stay. They even have high speed internet in most rooms (if not all) and a terminal to use in the hallway. I think there are 14 rooms or something.

The only minus is that it's near the airport so far from downtown. If you have a car it isn't a problem. Best Western also has a shuttle bus that is pretty good about taking you wherever you want to go.

I've stayed at the Pioneer--large rooms but pretty old, nothing fancy; sort of downtown. And the Westmark--Fancy but small rooms and not worth the price in my opinion; downtown. And the Aspen hotel which has a very small pool--business style but I was not satisfied with the cleanliness (I'm kind of picky when it comes to bathrooms); right across airport parking lot.

The Fiddlehead restaurant (right by Pioneer hotel) has an EXCELLENT smoked salmon ceasar salad and good desserts.