Hotel recommendations in Anchorage

[kwbrad]

Looking for hotel recommendations- I have already booked but am second guessing my choice after doing additional research. So I would love to hear your suggestions. Thanks in advance. 

[Anita Latte]

Not sure what you are looking for in a hotel or for how long. We stayed overnight at Towne Suites...close to the airport and walking distance to Moose Tooth. We are Marriott people. This was a NICE Towne Suites. The kind that has the kitchen when you first walk in the door and the huge closet across from the kitchen wall. A table and chairs. It was a good landing place for us after our land tour post-cruise for the night before our flight home. We had eaten at Moose Tooth when we first got off the ship, before our land tour...we got pizza to go that night, ate in the hotel room...reorganized all our luggage and relaxed in the room before catching our flight. I'd stay there again.

[DogLover]

I have also stayed at the TownePlace Suites Anchorage. It's considered Mid-town but an excellent location. They have a shuttle service from the airport and you can walk to a few restaurants, Moose Tooth is the best. We really enjoyed our stay (and like Anita, we are Marriott folks as well!)

 

What exactly are you looking for in hotel recommendations? Cost, location, ease of catching the train to Seward? A bit more information might help. Where have you already booked?

[kwbrad]

Thanks! We will need 3 nights total, two when we first get to anchorage and one before we take the train to Seward the next day. Location isn’t super important but need a shuttle from the airport since we don’t pick up the rental until the next day. 

[kwbrad]

Close to train would be great, shuttle from airport, prefer not to spend as much on the hotel room as I did the cruise lol. But booked inlet towers before doing enough research and now thinking of canceling

[DogLover]

42 minutes ago, kwbrad said:

Close to train would be great, shuttle from airport, prefer not to spend as much on the hotel room as I did the cruise lol. But booked inlet towers before doing enough research and now thinking of canceling

 

Hotels in Anchorage during cruise season are expensive, it is what it is. I'm not familiar with the Inlet Towers but what makes you think it's a wrong choice?

[kennicott]

We live in Midtown Anchorage. Have been in the same home for 54 years. I'm amazed how Anchorage has grown during that stretch. I spend most of my summers in mountains of the interior, about 300 miles directly east of Anchorage.

 

When I get back home in the Fall I am always surprised at the amount of hotel construction that has taken place close to us. For instance, we are one block west of C Street on Arctic Blvd. That general area has began to be called "Hotel Row". Right now we have 12 or more relatively new hotels within not much more than a stones throw of our house. All within 10 minutes of the big airport as well, with shuttle service. A cab from our house to the airport costs $10.00 to $11.00. They include the Hyatt House, Crowne Plaza, Fairfield inn and Suites, Motel 6, Home @ Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Aspen Suites, Hampton Inn, Spring Hill Suites among others just about to open or recently opened. Many name chain eateries separate these establishments.

 

https://www.adn.com/business/article/why-anchorages-c-street-hotel-cluster-exists/2015/11/15/

Edited March 2, 2019 by kennicott

[kwbrad]

There are several reviews with folks saying they lost their deposit bc the staff said they were smoking when they weren’t.  Could be full of it or could really have gotten scammed, who knows. 

[AKStafford]

We always stay at the Clarion Suites when we overnight in Anchorage.

[Coral]

I personally would spend less time in Anchorage and go to Seward earlier. There is more for me to do in Seward scenery wise than Anchorage.

 

I like Captain Cook. No shuttle but you can use a taxi.

[kwbrad]

6 hours ago, Coral said:

I personally would spend less time in Anchorage and go to Seward earlier. There is more for me to do in Seward scenery wise than Anchorage.

 

I like Captain Cook. No shuttle but you can use a taxi.

We aren’t in Anchorage that long, we land at 1 in the morning and will spend about 36 hours there. Then off to Denali and Talkeetna and Seward before going back to anchorage one more night (I really wanted to do the train and it’s a ton cheaper to drop off the rental at the same place). 

 

Thank you everyone for all all of your suggestions, I appreciate it!

[Coral]

37 minutes ago, kwbrad said:

We aren’t in Anchorage that long, we land at 1 in the morning and will spend about 36 hours there. Then off to Denali and Talkeetna and Seward before going back to anchorage one more night (I really wanted to do the train and it’s a ton cheaper to drop off the rental at the same place). 

 

Thank you everyone for all all of your suggestions, I appreciate it!

Got it - makes more sense now. Enjoy!

[kennicott]

We have some friends that want a hotel room in Anchorage with a balcony. Know this thread is a tad old but the hotels are the same except we have at least two more opened up since it began. But I post my findings anyway.

 

So, I learned something new even though we have lived here since 64. There are only two name hotels with balconies in all of Anchorage and only one with balconies that have room for deck furniture. The Courtyard by Marriott, very close to Lake Spenard and very close to the airport is a relatively new hotel with very nice accommodations and amenities. Their balconies are great. The Westmark Anchorage in the middle of downtown also has balconies but they are pretty narrow, standing only unless you drag a room chair out there which I believe is frowned upon. The Westmark was the original Royal Inn here so their balconies were Royal Inn balconies from the days of yore.       

[Alaska0799]

We've used Comfort Inn Ship Creek several times.  They have airport shuttle and you can see the train depot from the hotel!  (Of course, that also means you may hear a late night or early morning train!)  Being a Comfort Inn, it's nothing fancy, but it's clean and comfortable and backs up to Ship Creek where you can watch people fish and walk a nice paved trail. Certainly more laid back and quiet than hotels downtown. It's also next door to the Ulu Factory, which is a great place to pick up some Alaska gifts.

 

Have a great trip!

[miss dee]

kwbrad, did you stay at inlet towers in anchorage.  would you recommend it

[SempreMare]

@kennicott, thanks for the link to that article in Alaska Daily News.  Even though it's older it gives me perspective on how / why that cluster of hotels mid town that I noticed on the map evolved.

 

I travel a lot for work.  Location typically dictates my hotel decision.

Then, all things being equal, I prefer Marriotts.

 

However, by far my favorite hotel brand that includes a real kitchen in the room = Hilton Home2 Suites

- Each room has soooo much horizontal desk space.  Practically the entire TV side of the wall is desk space.  It really helps me be organized,  keep everything off the floor, and pack up in an organized way.     

- The couch is always in a logical place opposite the TV.

 

My first tip-off to this:  my experience in the Home2 Suites in Vegas was so much better than the TownPlace in Vegas.

I just looked at the pics of each in Anchorage and saw the same differences I noticed in Vegas between the 2.  

 

ex:  Home2 Suites

Look at allll that horizontal space!  And the TV across from the couch.   Perfect arrangement for a quick 30 minutes of catching up on the local news & weather while being online on my laptop / ipad / phone without being ON the bed.

 

Now, look at the Town Place room layout: 

 

 

 

 

Much less horizontal space, and the TV to sitting area location makes no sense.

 

However, If there is no Hilton Home2 Suites OR I don't need a kitchen, then I stay at a Marriott brand.

 

I love the trend to kitchenette hotels - even if I never use the stove, sink, or microwave,  it's great to have a real fridge to put water and drinks in, one that I know will be empty of silly minibar items I will never purchase.

 

Nit:  I returned to my Hilton Home2 Suite in my last trip to find my room door PROPPED OPEN !!  (via the door latch) with no one inside.  Apparently the cleaning person forgot to re-lock my room.  Nothing was taken that I could see. 

Edited July 13, 2019 by SempreMare

[kochleffel]

On 6/12/2019 at 5:09 PM, Alaska0799 said:

We've used Comfort Inn Ship Creek several times.  They have airport shuttle and you can see the train depot from the hotel!  (Of course, that also means you may hear a late night or early morning train!)  Being a Comfort Inn, it's nothing fancy, but it's clean and comfortable and backs up to Ship Creek where you can watch people fish and walk a nice paved trail. Certainly more laid back and quiet than hotels downtown. It's also next door to the Ulu Factory, which is a great place to pick up some Alaska gifts.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Is it safe to walk from the train depot to this hotel when the train from Seward arrives at 10:15 p.m.?

[Anita Latte]

54 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

 

Is it safe to walk from the train depot to this hotel when the train from Seward arrives at 10:15 p.m.?

 

Are you concerned because you think it will be dark? The sun won’t have set yet during June and July and parts of May and August. And twilight lasts a long time with no official darkness during some summer days.

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/anchorage?month=7&year=2019

[Northern Aurora]

5 minutes ago, Anita Latte said:

 

Are you concerned because you think it will be dark? ......

 

Anita:  They may be aware that there is a significant issue in downtown Anchorage with a surprisingly large homeless population.  As a resident of Alaska I, for years, went to Anchorage for business on a regular basis.  The amount of aggressive pan-handling now in downtown Anchorage is amazing.

[kochleffel]

28 minutes ago, Anita Latte said:

 

Are you concerned because you think it will be dark? The sun won’t have set yet during June and July and parts of May and August. And twilight lasts a long time with no official darkness during some summer days.

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/anchorage?month=7&year=2019

 

I'll be there at the end of August. But my question was whether it would be SAFE, not whether it would be dark.

[Anita Latte]

Ahhhh...Gotcha.

[kwbrad]

On 7/13/2019 at 12:22 PM, miss dee said:

kwbrad, did you stay at inlet towers in anchorage.  would you recommend it

 

That was my original reservation but I changed it. We are now at comfort suites by the airport. We leave in a couple of weeks. 

[milo696]

On 7/16/2019 at 11:14 PM, Northern Aurora said:

 

Anita:  They may be aware that there is a significant issue in downtown Anchorage with a surprisingly large homeless population.  As a resident of Alaska I, for years, went to Anchorage for business on a regular basis.  The amount of aggressive pan-handling now in downtown Anchorage is amazing.

I was amazed at the number of "homeless" and "panhandlers". Never expected to see that.

[Alaska0799]

On 7/16/2019 at 9:07 PM, kochleffel said:

 

Is it safe to walk from the train depot to this hotel when the train from Seward arrives at 10:15 p.m.?

Hello!  The Comfort Inn Ship Creek provides courtesy transportation to/from the airport and the train depot.  Even though the depot is very close to the hotel, it would be much more convenient to use the shuttle!

[puppymama1]

20 hours ago, milo696 said:

I was amazed at the number of "homeless" and "panhandlers". Never expected to see that.

Can you tell me how the areas are around either the Marriott Springhill Suites (3401 A Street) or the Hampton Inn (4301 Credit Union Drive)?  We are trying to decide between those two for our one night stay after our flight from Atlanta and before we drive up to Denali.. We won't be in the room very long, but want to be in a safe area (hopefully) without panhandlers.  We are staying on points which is why we need either a Hilton or Marriott property.  I read that the Springhill Suites was near Walmart, which would also be convenient for picking up snacks, bottled water and Diet Coke for our trip... thanks!