I came here for a Convention at the beginning of October. I was sharing a room with a friend (she'd reserved the room online, i was just gonna give her cash for my half of the bill) and as it was a 2 night stay, it turns out, I'm paying 1 night, she pays the other - very fair. She said she had requested a room on the upper floor when she booked, but when we got there, the front desk had no record of her booking (I'm not surprised tbh, her technological skills are somewhat lacking) fortunately, they found us a room, but it was on the lower floor. The rate we paid was extremely reasonable, tanks mostly due to the desk clerk i think, rather than my friend. As i have dreadful back pain, i was grateful not to have to climb stairs. The room however, seemed hugely far away from the lobby, which was where most of our Speakers and Workshops were located. This meant walking quite a way, which hurt my back. So she had to keep driving us from the Lobby to our room. Had this been mentioned beforehand, I'm sure they'd have accommodated us, but with it being a convention, i don't think too many rooms were left.
In my opinion, whilst it's a fairly decent hotel, the common areas are somewhat dated, and i think for such a landmark hotel, a gradual remodel wouldn't hurt. Not everything needs done all at once, but maybe an area at a time, during non-tourist season. This hotel has the best views, literally. Beautiful sea views, i don't know if that's the case in every room, but ours was stunning. We had 2 queen beds, and a beautifully remodeled bathroom from the one i stayed in last time i was here 5years ago. Huge luxury bathtub, with a standalone feature faucet in the corner, beautiful frosted glass separate enclosed shower cubicle. I particularly liked the way the light switches operated. The room had microwave, refrigerator, all the usual things you'd expect. Hotel has a coffee shop with Gift items for sale. They have 2 hot tubs, an indoor pool, a sauna, but you need to book an appointment for the hot tubs. The indoor pool is small, and could be improved. I've never gotten to try the sauna, as it was locked the 1st time i stayed, and it was occupied this time. The hot tub was ok, but i prefer Chena Hot Springs hot tubs. The best things about these ones are that they have a sea view. There is entirely too much foam floating around on it, that you have to keep trying to sweep off the water surface.
The restaurant is pretty good, though i did not go there this time (i was there 5 years ago, and it was good) but our Convention was catered by the Hotel, and the food was very good. I had a Chicken Alfredo with Garlic bread and i was beautifully creamy, with tender chicken. The salad and dessert were good too. It wouldn't take too much to modernize this Alaskan Landmark, and i think it's a good resort, especially for tourists to come and stay.
One point of note, i went to use a bathroom on the lower floor near the lobby, and a staff member was sitting with cleaning supplies waiting to clean it. When we get out of workshops or speakers, there will naturally be a rush for bathrooms, but i did feel awkward that i needed to pee, as she declared we needed to hurry so she could clean. I understand she may have been having a bad day, and that people continually kept coming to use the facilities were disrupting her work schedule, but it's a Convention weekend and it's obviously busy. read more