Anchorage Hotels

[OzAbroad]

We are arriving in Anchorage 2 days before our cruise and I am really struggling with hotel selection using Tripadviser. Can anyone recommend somewhere to stay? We would prefer to be downtown as we wont have a car (although all suggestions are very welcome)

[Dreps]

The first time we went to Anchorage, we landed in the evening, rented a car at the airport, stayed at a Hampton Inn and headed for Denali the next morning. The second time we were there because of an emergency medical stop on a flight from ATL to NRT. The whole planeload -- a large 777 -- was put up at the Captain Cook, which receives good reviews. The hotel did an amazing job and fortunately the cruise season had just essentially ended.

 

That said, I personally don't think Anchorage is very interesting. I'd take the opportunity to go further afield. If you are at all flexible, you should give yourself a few more days and explore the area before the cruise.

[Aruba]

If you've never been to Anchorage, I highly recommend visiting the Anchorage Museum -- beautiul paintings of Alaska or by Alaska artists. There is a cafe in the Museum that is run by Marx Bros, an offshoot of the Marx Bros Restaurant which is one of the best restaurants IMO in Anchorage.

 

I have stayed twice at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage and it was fine. I especially liked the rooftop bar/lounge which wonderful views of the mountains and ocean. The Captain Cook Hotel gets good reviews also although I have never stayed there.

 

Two times I stayed in the "G St. Guesthouse" in Anchorage and loved it. You won't get the amenities of a fine hotel but you do get personal interaction with the owner and other guests that more than compensate. It is just a few short blocks from central downtown in a quiet residential area.

[Wildblue]

I work in Anchorage, and live just outside of it. Whenever I want a nice date night with the DW, we always stay in the Anchorage Hilton. They have given us incredible service before, and it's a nice stay. I would also recommend the Captain Cook and Sheraton. After that, it's just a crap shoot, I think.

[Aruba]

PS - And if you're looking for a restaurant, I can recommend Marx Bros which I mentioned above and Sacks. Check them out on-line -- they were both excellent.

[OzAbroad]

Thank you all very much - Its makes a big difference to get advice like this. We would have loved to look a little further afield around Anchorage before the cruise but our schedule wont allow it on this trip.

[MomC]

I was in Anchorage a few years back and we stayed at the Captain Cook. Very nice hotel, BUT it had no air conditioning and it was HOT in our hotel room. One wouldn't think they'd need air conditioning in Alaska, but it can get hot and stuffy in the rooms. I had the window open all night, but was still uncomfortable. This was about 5 years ago. It may have changed, but I wouldn't stay there again until I verified that I could control the temperature of the room. I should have asked for a fan--didn't think of it until I was ready for bed and didn't want to hassle with a bellman in my room at that hour.

 

Mom C

[LuAnn]

We stayed there in September before our Trans Pacific for one night..used a combo of points and $$. Good location right downtown..met with fellow CCers at the Glacier Brew House for a pre sail dinner..and it was just a few blocks away. LuAnn

[frqttrvlr09]

I have lived in Anchorage since 1975. I've planned trips for a lot of family and friends coming up here, for long periods of time or pre or post cruises. If you are only in Anchorage for a few days, don't want to rent a car and do want to stay "downtown", it is easy to get around downtown from the major hotels. It is not a big city at all. The so-called high end hotels in Anchorage have been mentioned: the Hotel Captain Cook, the Hilton, and the Sheraton. They all have health clubs, the first 2 have very good high end dining rooms with great views and boutiques, the Sheraton has a full blown spa, the Cook has a pool. They are all very nice. However, it would be worth checking to see if the Cook and the Hilton have added air cooling systems as I do know from guests that when we do have warm days here, the rooms did get extremely warm and stuffy. The Sheraton is a few blocks off the main downtown area but very close to the Anchorage Art and History Museum, which has very recently had a new all glass addition added designed by British Architect David Chippendale and is controversial but beautiful. The controversial new outdoor sculpture, not so much. The Museum presently has an exhibition from the Smithsonian Native Art collection showing (for the next 7 years) that is outstanding, as well as a planetarium,Imaginarium (for children but fun for adults too) and as mentioned, a (new) restaurant called Muse which has good food for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner. In summers, shuttle buses run from the Museum to the Alaska Heritage Museum, which is a few miles away on the highway on the way to Denali. It is owned by a Native Corporatoin and has an outstanding collection of Alaska Native Art. As does the Art and History Museum, in summers it has Native dancers, often has Alaska Natives doing crafts on site, has a large outdoor area where Native buildings and lifestyles have been recreated with people there to explain them; and shows related movies. Other downtown hotels on a lower budget scale but perfectly fine and which I or friends/family have stayed at include the Voyager (right across the street from the Captain Cook and recently renovated); the Anchorage Grand Hotel-which has suites and in my opinion is the best kept secret in town, as it is small, some rooms have views of the Inlet and Denali; the Westmark; and the Extended Stay Deluxe (on 8th near the Museum).

If you are at all active, there is a paved coastal trail that you can get onto from downtown (only a couple of blocks away) and literally walk, or bike, a dozen miles in either direction. There are bikes for rent right across from the Captain Cook; from a shop a few blocks further away closer to the trail; and down at Bootleggers Cove, a lake and park which is along the trail, that parallels Cook Inlet and offers spectacular views. There are benches at many places along the trail, and it is a good place to walk and take a picnic lunch as well as for photos; sometimes you can see Denali from there (as well as from the aforementioned high end hotels).

There are bus/trolley car tours of Anchorage and environs available at all the hotels, and if you arrive on a weekend, there is the Saturday market downtown which sells everything from salmon quesadillas to jewelry to giant zucchinis. The Performing Arts Center shows Alaska outdoor IMAX type movies in the summer. If you do want to go "farther afield" for a day, and I agree if you are not going to be doing anything but getting on a ship and sailing out of Anchorage, at a minimum I suggest you rent a car, drive along Turnagain Arm and drive to Girdwood (40 minutes) for lunch and take the tram up the mountain; drive (2 hours) or take the train (3 hours) to Seward and go out on a Kenai Fjords tour - it leaves downtown Anchorage around 7am and returns at 10pm and there are gorgeous views from the train that you don't get from driving the car - and the views from the car are just spectacular. There is a package available from the Alaska Railaroad. They also offer a trip to Spencer Glacier (not accessible by car or otherwise) via train from Anchorage or via car from near Portage, where you an go on a short raft trip to the glacier, down a river, and return to Anch, all in one day. It is beautiful.

[frqttrvlr09]

is to Portage Glacier. It is about a 50 minute drive from Anchorage; there are trips available through the hotel or through various local tour companies if you don't want to rent a car. If you do drive, you could combine it with a stop in Girdwood. (If you do go to Girdwood, eat at: Jack Sprat's (lunch or dinner); the Bake Shop (breakfasts are out of this world); or for an excellent dinner with views of...Seven GLaciers, as well as Turnagain Arm, book at the Seven Glaciers Restaurant at the top of the mountain (tram/gondola takes you up from the Alyeska Resort Hotel) through the Hotel (now a Westin Resort).The visitor's center at the Portage Glacier Lake is very interesting, and has a good movie on glaciers and the Portage Glacier in particular. There is also a boat trip on the Lake out to the Glacier, which is rapidly receding, and glacial ice is throughout the lake and on shore. There is also a short, flat trail to Byron Glacier nearby that is a delightful walk, much of which is along a stream.

The most convenient way to rent a car for a day is through Enterprise; they will come and pick you up and deliver you back to your hotel. However they are very busy in the summer months so if you do plan to rent with them, book well in advance. They have 2 locations: at and near the airport. Avis has a rental car agency downtown.

[frqttrvlr09]

I seem to be on an Anchorage tourism roll today! In what is referred to as "mid town" Anchorage, a number of hotels have been built in the past few years. Some I believe have shuttles downtown, if you don't have a car. It would be very cheap to take a taxi, and they are also not far from the airport. Actually, downtown is not far from the airport either. By that I mean 10-15 minutes max. The midtown hotels include Spring Hill Suites. Fairfield Inn and Suites, Motel 6, Holiday Inn Express. There isn't much around there other than an Applebee's, TGIF, and the Golden Corral. There are also are some more than adequate hotels out by the airport, including the Courtyard by Marriott and the Millenium, the latter of which is overpriced in general and especially in the summer (but then all of the Anch./Alaska hotels/accommodations jack up their prices ridiculously high in the summer) but it is on Lake Hood and is a great place to watch the float planes land and take off (and it has stuffed wildlife - heads and full bodies - in the lobby if you care about that sort of thing); it also has an outdoor restaurant where you can do the same. THe Courtyard is just around the corner.

[Wildblue]

frqttrvlr09, that's some good info--I live there, and I'm going to have to take advantage of some of those ideas of yours!

 

Luann, I'm wondering what trans-pacific cruise you've taken, that sailed from Anchorage! I'd be interested in doing a similar cruise.

[Havin'fun]

We stayed at the Marriott Downtown Anchorage for three days in early August. We had a room on the 19th floor with a wonderful view of Cook Inlet. The rooms were large and comfortable. There is a restuarant downstairs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We could see the Captain Cook hotel from our room as it was only about 1-1/2 blocks away.

Many places to eat within walking distance. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a Marriott.

 

The only thing that really surprised be about downtown Anchorage is NO drugstores! I had forgotten to pack a few items, luckily the Marriott had a small gift shop and I was aable to buy what I needed there.

[LuAnn]

frqttrvlr09, that's some good info--I live there, and I'm going to have to take advantage of some of those ideas of yours!

 

Luann, I'm wondering what trans-pacific cruise you've taken, that sailed from Anchorage! I'd be interested in doing a similar cruise.

 

it was on the Diamond Princess...a 16 night cruise which included stops in Japan, Russia, South Korea as well as 2 additional ports in China besides Beijing...the cruise also continues on to Singapore. I had never been to Asia before and I really enjoyed the entire experience..I'm not sure..but I think Princess may be the only line that does this type of re-positioning cruise. The Diamond does this twice a year ...spring and fall. LuAnn

[frqttrvlr09]

It is the newest of the higher end downtown hotels and, as the OP said, very nice. And there are no drugstores in downtown Anchorage. The closet one is in the Carr's Safeway grocery store on the way to/from the airport, and not far from downtown. Not walkable though. All of the larger hotels though do have gift shops that carry "sundries."

[Wildblue]

it was on the Diamond Princess...a 16 night cruise which included stops in Japan, Russia, South Korea as well as 2 additional ports in China besides Beijing...the cruise also continues on to Singapore. I had never been to Asia before and I really enjoyed the entire experience..I'm not sure..but I think Princess may be the only line that does this type of re-positioning cruise. The Diamond does this twice a year ...spring and fall. LuAnn

LuAnn, thanks SO much! I did find those cruises on Princess's website, although I couldn't fully get in and see the pricing. That looks fantastic--I'll add that to the list of potential future cruises!

[Cameroon]

It is the newest of the higher end downtown hotels and, as the OP said, very nice. And there are no drugstores in downtown Anchorage. The closet one is in the Carr's Safeway grocery store on the way to/from the airport, and not far from downtown. Not walkable though. All of the larger hotels though do have gift shops that carry "sundries."

 

What about the Diamond Center Hotel? It is not in downtown Anchorage, but we want to be closer to the Alaska Railroad for the early morning trip to Seward. Is it a nice place to stay?

[frqttrvlr09]

The Dimond Center Hotel is a nice hotel. Not high end like the Captain Cook, Marriott, etc.However, it is not downtown where the train station is; it is on the South side of Anchorage next to a shopping mall (The Dimond Center Mall). It isn't a great mall: Best Buy, Old Navy, a movie theater, kids hangout there. The hotel's connection with the Alaska Railroad is that the train goes past it on the way to and from Seward. The train doesn't stop there. The train does take passengers from Seward to the airport, but I don't know if it takes passengers FROM the airport to Seward. The Dimond Center Hotel is about the same distance from the airport as downtown is.

[OzAbroad]

Wow - I feel fully briefed on Anchorage now - frqtrvlr09 a special thank you - I have copied your recommendations and will be sure to use them - thanks again

[Aruba]

Isn't cruisecritic wonderful? :)

[Cameroon]

The Dimond Center Hotel is a nice hotel. Not high end like the Captain Cook, Marriott, etc.However, it is not downtown where the train station is; it is on the South side of Anchorage next to a shopping mall (The Dimond Center Mall). It isn't a great mall: Best Buy, Old Navy, a movie theater, kids hangout there. The hotel's connection with the Alaska Railroad is that the train goes past it on the way to and from Seward. The train doesn't stop there. The train does take passengers from Seward to the airport, but I don't know if it takes passengers FROM the airport to Seward. The Dimond Center Hotel is about the same distance from the airport as downtown is.

 

Thank you for the info on the Diamond Center Hotel, and all the other good information you have given us. I am wondering which hotel would be closest to the train station? We have to board at 5:45am for our trip to Seward, so we don't want to be too far away. I would like to book a hotel that runs a shuttle to the train station, if possible.

 

Many thanks.

[frqttrvlr09]

The Comfort Inn - Ship Creek (907-277-6887) is literally a few hundred yards from the Railroad station. The Alaska Railroad built it. If it is full, the Anchorage Grand and the Anchorage Hilton are only a few blocks away, uphill from the Station.

[Cameroon]

The Comfort Inn - Ship Creek (907-277-6887) is literally a few hundred yards from the Railroad station. The Alaska Railroad built it. If it is full, the Anchorage Grand and the Anchorage Hilton are only a few blocks away, uphill from the Station.

 

Thanks frqttrvir09 for all of your help. I am going to check into the above hotels, as they sound like good options.

[jiszw]

hilton garden inns is downtown. they will pick you up from the airport and will take you anywhere in the downtown area [three mile radius].