Hotel question in Anchorage

Has anyone ever stayed at Puffin Inn or Alex Inn and Suites on Spenard Street in Anchorage? Which one would’ve better for an overnight stay? Also which is closer to Enterprise car rental since we will be dropping off our car. Thanks

Janice

I've stayed at the Puffin Inn. Nothing fancy but reasonable price.

Thanks. We were just looking for a place to stay overnight when we come back from Denali National Park. Then next day we go to Princess cruise. We will be returning our rental car to Enterprise then stay the night.

Janice

Just an FYI (not sure if you're the type of traveler to care or not), those two hotels are in what the locals consider a shady part of town. The Alex had a drug related shooting in the hotel back in December but that wasn't random violence, and there is a lot of homeless and transient foot traffic in the area. In general it's just not a great area but if you're just passing through for the night it might not be too bad.

We have reservations at LongHouse Alaska Hotel for 1 night on May 29th Leaving early May 30th to drive to Denali. Then on June 1st staying 1 night at Puffin Hotel and getting to our ship on June 2nd. We should probably be ok We want to be close to the Enterprise rental car on Spenard Drive

Janice

We stayed at the Alex Inn for one night last year during the land portion of our Alaskan adventure. It is a nice hotel at a reasonable price and breakfast was included. I would recommend it.

We stayed at Alex Suites a few years ago. It's not fancy, but it was reasonably priced and clean. Our room was in the annex building across from the main building. We were staying for one night, arriving to Anchorage at 1:00am and leaving for the train at 8:00am. It was fine for that. They have a "free" breakfast which was sufficient, albeit it crowded in the morning. The staff weren't the most friendly, but they did have a free airport shuttle and a free shuttle to the train station. I'm not sure if that is the same.

If I recall correctly, Puffin Inn was almost across the street. Maybe a block away. It looked fine from the outside to me.

Interesting that it is considered a sketchy area of town. I did wonder that a bit while in the parking lot late at night, but I wasn't worried and never felt scared. I probably wouldn't walk around late at night by myself.

We have a different hotel booked for this summer's cruise, just because I like to try different hotels and areas. We've stayed at the Sheraton, Hilton, Homewood Suites, Alex Suites, and Fairfield Inn. This time we have our arrival night at Lakeshore (not the nice one, the other one. lol) and when we return from Denali, one night at the Captain Cook. I almost booked Alex again for the arrival night, but decided to try yet a different property.

Do you drive to Denali National Park? How many nights are you staying there? I may change my reservation from the Puffin Inn to Alex Inn and Suites. The price is a little less. We are not in the hotel much

Janice

I'd suspect the difference in rooms is minor, and since they're near each other, there's not really a location difference either. I'd go for the less expensive one. But, Puffin is smaller so maybe the service is better?

The only time we've gone to Denali in the past, we took the train there and a motor coach back. This time, we haven't decided. I've rented a car but we still may take the train again. The minimum amount of time there is 2 nights/3 days. When arriving, it is really too late to go into the park. Then you need a full day in the park the following day. Then the next morning for other activities or to head back to Anchorage. I'd love to have a few additional days to stop in Talkeetna, but it just won't work with our work schedules.

I wouldn't say that the area of Anchorage where these hotels are located, you are looking at, is "shady" particularly when you compare that residential area to other parts of Anchorage like Mountain View, Fairview and the Muldoon area. I drive around Lake Hood Spenard every morning and go right through that area, sometimes I even pick up something at the McDonalds which is right in the middle of those less expensive hotels, nice and quiet really. Having said that, there has been some crime difficulty there, i.e. the drug related murder previously mentioned and the case where someone with a stolen vehicle who the cops were on the lookout for and chasing, drove from the opposite side of town and got caught driving into the McDonald parking lot. What's apparently caused this is not the neighborhood but these cheaper hotels trying to make ends meet in the off season by leasing rooms for extended periods of time to down and outers.

Personally, if you want to stay in that area I would look at the Lakefront, Courtyard by Marriott, Comfort Suites Anchorage or even the Coast International Inn.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516224&page=3

Also which is closer to Enterprise car rental since we will be dropping off our car. Thanks

 

Janice

Unless I've missed something, the Enterprise vehicle drop off is next to the Airport Terminal like most of the others are. You can drop off your vehicle and get the shuttle back to almost any of the hotels near the airport and Lake Spenard. In fact all the 11 or so hotels in "Hotel Row" between Tudor Road and International Airport Road on C Street have free shuttles as well.

There's an Enterprise location across the street from the Lakefront, about 2 blocks from the Puffin Inn.

We wanted to stay around that area because the Enterprise car rental on Spenard is right by the Puffin Inn. We will be staying one night at Long House Alaskan Hotel and renting a car, driving to Denali for 2 nights, driving to see Mantanuska Glacier on our way back, and then back to Anchorage to stay at Puffin Inn and return the car. Next morning we have a bus shuttle to take us to Whittier to catch our cruise ship. We are using Alaska Cruise bus tour to get to the ship. Planning on leaving early the 3rd morning from Denali and driving to take a 5pm tour of Mantanuska Glacier then drive back to Anchorage. Is that a good plan? Thanks. Mantanuska Glacier Adventures has tours at 2pm and 5pm in the summer. Probably take the 5pm to allow enough time to drive from Denali. Any suggestions?

There's an Enterprise location across the street from the Lakefront, about 2 blocks from the Puffin Inn.

Yes, there is a location on Spenard. I am walking there from the Comfort Suites to pick up our car in June. Part of the reason I picked the CS.

Planning on leaving early the 3rd morning from Denali and driving to take a 5pm tour of Mantanuska Glacier then drive back to Anchorage. Is that a good plan? Thanks. Mantanuska Glacier Adventures has tours at 2pm and 5pm in the summer. Probably take the 5pm to allow enough time to drive from Denali. Any suggestions?

My preference would be to spend the night near Matanuska Glacier and then head to Anchorage the next morning although the bus to Whittier may be leaving too early in the morning. Its 4+ hours from Denali to Matanuska Glacier. Would be easy to hit the road early and do the 2pm trek. You would get back into Anchorage at a decent time rather than arriving close to 9pm.

You might also look at MICA or NOVA for your glacier trek. The longer you can be on the glacier the better.

There's an Enterprise location across the street from the Lakefront, about 2 blocks from the Puffin Inn.

Thanks---That is correct, I learned something. They do close that location at 6:PM though.

I called Enterprise car rental on Spenard and they said they have an after hours car return. Nova has a glacier tour at Mantanuska Glacier that starts at 2:30 and goes for 3 hours. Mantanuska Glacier adventures has a tour that begins at 2 for 2 to 2/12 hours. We will be driving there from Denali so hope we can make it there before 2 to get on the tour. Should we pay ahead of time? Which tour do you think would be better and what time should we leave Denali so we can eat something and get the tour? Where is a place to get something to eat between Denali area and Mantanuska Glacier in Glacier View? Something right by Alaska highway 3

Janice

Thanks---That is correct, I learned something. They do close that location at 6:PM though.

It is kind of an odd spot. They have another location down by International and Fairbanks. Both have better prices than the airport every now and then.

My preference would be to spend the night near Matanuska Glacier and then head to Anchorage the next morning although the bus to Whittier may be leaving too early in the morning. Its 4+ hours from Denali to Matanuska Glacier. Would be easy to hit the road early and do the 2pm trek. You would get back into Anchorage at a decent time rather than arriving close to 9pm.

 

You might also look at MICA or NOVA for your glacier trek. The longer you can be on the glacier the better.

The bus leaves in the morning at 10 to take us over to Whittier so cant really stay overnight. Think our best bet would be to leave Denali in the morning to get to the Glacier tour at 2 or 230 then head back to Anchorage.

....Where is a place to get something to eat between Denali area and Mantanuska Glacier in Glacier View? Something right by Alaska highway 3

 

Janice

Consider Mary's McKinley View Lodge. It is located right on the George Parks Highway (we never used the "official" highway numbers here as we have so few roads). Just "google" it for more information about the original owner. And if Denali is out there are spectacular views.

Did you ever stay at McKinley View Lodge and is it far from Denali National Park? We have reservations at White Moose Lodge in Healy but we can change that. Also looks like they have a nice restaurant there. We can stay there if we can drive to Denali National Park for a day to take a bus shuttle. We can only go up to Toklat I think since the long buses dont start until June 1st when we are leaving.This is our first time in Alaska

Janice

We are at the Westmark for our nite before departure. It has changed since we first booked to the Westmark from the Captain Hook. Should I care? I've read that CH is much better. Thoughts?

Did you ever stay at McKinley View Lodge and is it far from Denali National Park? We have reservations at White Moose Lodge in Healy but we can change that. Also looks like they have a nice restaurant there. We can stay there if we can drive to Denali National Park for a day to take a bus shuttle. We can only go up to Toklat I think since the long buses dont start until June 1st when we are leaving.This is our first time in Alaska

 

Janice

I'm not sure if there is another McKinley View Lodge, but this one

https://www.mckinleyviewlodge.com/about-us

is 100 miles from the park entrance.

You might find this milepost of the George Parks Highway (Hwy #3) useful:

https://www.themilepost.com/highways/parks-highway/

Did you ever stay at McKinley View Lodge and is it far from Denali National Park? We have reservations at White Moose Lodge in Healy but we can change that. Also looks like they have a nice restaurant there. We can stay there if we can drive to Denali National Park for a day to take a bus shuttle. We can only go up to Toklat I think since the long buses dont start until June 1st when we are leaving.This is our first time in Alaska

 

Janice

I'm not sure if there is another McKinley View Lodge, but this one

https://www.mckinleyviewlodge.com/about-us

is 100 miles from the park entrance.

 

 

 

You might find this milepost of the George Parks Highway (Hwy #3) useful:

https://www.themilepost.com/highways/parks-highway/

Apparently Janice hasn't used "google" to find locations/directions. Mary's McKinley View lodge is located at mile 134 on the George Parks Highway. The entrance road into Denali National Park is located at mile 237 of the Parks Highway. I was just recommending they consider eating at Mary's McKinley View Lodge on their drive from Denali to Matanuska Glacier. Mary's McKinley view will be on the right as they drive south, and they can park right in front of the building. Mary Carey was an interesting person, and her family still owns the business. The restaurant has funky "Alaska roadhouse" decor. This is the type of business that those on cruise tours miss.

Mary's McKinley View Lodge is not to be confused with the Mt. McKinley Princess complex, which is several miles away.

We will definitely look into stopping at Mary McKinley Lodge for some food before getting to Matanuska Glacier. Sounds pretty funky and I like that. Im always looking for neat places to see on my drive. Hoping the sky will be clear so we can get a good view of the mountain. That would be great! I assume we should bring layers of clothing for the weather. Not sure about that.

Janice