Denali Bluffs Hotel

“We got the best room in the house somehow”

You will read that the rooms are dated. We can’t attest to that, some of the buildings were built 20-30 years ago. We were in an upper building on the end with a king-size bed with two huge windows and a wrap around balcony. Spoiler alert; you cannot see Mount Denali from any rooms as the hotel man… more

You will read that the rooms are dated. We can’t attest to that, some of the buildings were built 20-30 years ago. We were in an upper building on the end with a king-size bed with two huge windows and a wrap around balcony. Spoiler alert; you cannot see Mount Denali from any rooms as the hotel manager informed us, but there is a trail behind the hotel in which you can hike a couple miles and see Denali on a clear day. The next day we took a flight to Denali on one of the most clear and windless days you could ever ask for and saw both the north and south faces from the air. One of the best days of our lives. The room was clean and, yes, the walls are paper thin. They trucked in water when we were there in late May as there were issues with water at the water filtration plant due to spring runoff of fine silt into the river which precluded using osmosis for filtration. The water in the room tasted good and was just fine, FYI. Our room required Billy Goat abilities if you are mobility challenged. This hotel is not very suitable for people who don’t do well on stairs. The view from our room was spectacular and we sat out on the deck and took in all that is Alaska. There were some front desk service quirks as it is still early in the season. There are restaurants nearby, but the best value we found (and the best souvenir grabs) is at the Princess Hotel across the highway (you can go to all their restaurants and shops without being on one of their cruises). The shops and additional restaurants are located behind the main building. The restaurant in the Bluffs was warm and personalized like a cabin in the woods with lots of genuine historical artifacts. We had a minor food issue which was quickly corrected during their “soft” opening. The luggage situation is a bit quirky. You put your luggage out beside your door before 9:00 a.m. on the day you leave and they bring it to the train station. Checkout is at 10:00 a.m.; not very user friendly as our Alaska Rail train did not leave until 4:00 p.m. We were stuck hanging out for six hours. We rated the hotel 5/5 because it’s a beautiful property, clean, and the restaurant people were great.

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