One night before flying north
The northern flights leave early and cancel often. Book a room you can walk away from, and know the road answer before you sleep.
It's dark, you've set an alarm you resent, and somewhere between now and boarding a man at a desk is going to say the word "weather". That's the situation this page is for: a dawn flight to Skardu or Gilgit, and a real chance it doesn't go.
Book somewhere you can cancel
That's the whole recommendation, and it beats every question about which hotel.
Think about what a cancellation actually does to you. It doesn't give you a lazy morning. It turns your plan into a very long drive that has to start now, which means you're checking out at four in the morning and never coming back. A non-refundable room in that scenario is just money you left on a pillow. Worse is the version where the flight goes and you were sleeping across town.
Anything near the airport does the job. You're buying proximity and the right to change your mind, not a pleasant evening.
Have the road answer ready before you go to bed
Do this the night before and it costs you a few minutes of reading. Do it the morning after and it costs you a day, because on this route a late start doesn't just delay you, it eats the whole day after as well.
So before you sleep: know which way you'd go, roughly how long it takes, and where you'd stop if you ran out of light. Islamabad to Skardu has all of it. The figures in the table below are the ones that make the decision for you.
The insurance point nobody makes
Here's the thing that catches people, and no airline will mention it.
The road north runs through country that several governments advise against travelling in. Your flight was fine. The drive might not be, if your policy takes its cues from your government's advisories. Same destination, same day, different cover.
That's a real argument for sitting tight and trying the flight again tomorrow instead of grabbing the first car out of the car park. Read is Pakistan safe, then read your own policy wording, properly. We're not qualified to give insurance advice and none of this is any.