Hotels on cruise tours

[Missouri travel girl]

Hi, can anyone give me advice on the hotels holland America uses on their

cruise tours please? Just seeing reviews on tripadvisor has me a little worried.

[alyxkat]

I just returned a week ago from cruisetour D4C. Here was my experience with the hotels HAL used for our cruisetour in Girdwood, Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks.

 

Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood - lovely grounds and nice room. They give you free bottled water with your chocolates when they come by for turn down service.

 

Hilton in downtown Anchorage - this was our least favorite of the hotels that we stayed at this trip. Our room was right next to a maid station, and was very noisy all the time! Also, there was a huge gap at the bottom of the blackout curtains, so we had to stuff extra towels on the window sill to block out that midnight sun and get some sleep. Finally, we had hot water issues in the morning - as in, there was none. The location was good though, centrally located and close to lots of good restaurants.

 

McKinley Chalet Resort in Denali- it looks rustic, but we actually liked our room here. We had a 2nd floor room in the Cottonwoods building, with a small balcony that overlooked the river. It had all the necessities, and the bed was quite comfy! The buildings are spread out, so they have shuttles that come by often to take you to the lobby. Try the bread pudding at the Nenana Grill - yum!

 

Westmark in Fairbanks - nice, large room, but the bed was hard as a rock! It was also one of the quieter rooms we stayed in, which was nice. I didn't see too much near the hotel in terms of food or shopping, so we just ate in the hotel. The food wasn't horrible, but it wasn't particularly good either. Except for the dessert. The hot fudge sundae dessert was delicious - and huge!

 

Hope this helps!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Some times HAL uses the Westmark in Anchorage.

[agabbymama]

I found the Westmark hotels to look very similar to the photos on their website. Some of them look more like Motels than Hotels, but we found them all clean and comfortable.

 

We also stayed at the Hilton (overflow because the Westmark was full). I was very pleased with our room and breakfast at the restaurant.

 

The McKinley Chalet was our favorite (before HAL purchase). Our room was set up as a two story Duplex, but no stairs to climb. It was set up in such a way that we walked straight to the door on the Upper Level and it felt like our own cabin in the woods. Rustic wood furnishings inside. There was a living room/dining room, bathroom located in small hallway before entering the bedroom. The complex is huge, so there is a shuttle to get you from the main lodge to the cabins/rooms.

 

They are not 5 star accommodations, but they are clean and comfortable.

[cruisemom42]

Where (what area) are you considering?

 

In Europe, I generally recommend that people make their own reservations or find a travel agent to help them if they don't want to do the research.

 

Why?

 

The cruiselines charge a crazy price for their packages, often twice as much as it would cost to book the same hotel yourself.

 

Second, the hotels they use for these cruise tours or pre- and post- cruise packages are generally not that well located, probably because they have to accommodate groups. If you are going to be staying somewhere like Rome or Athens, you want to be in the central historic area, not out on the seventh hill of Rome or near the airport where you can't get around easily on your own to sightsee.

[CruiserBruce]

Agree with cruisemom42....we don't know where the OP is referring to. And, yes, for pre and post cruise hotels, along with transport, you can usually do better, frequently far better if you book on your own.

 

The phrase "cruise tour" might imply Alaska, but not absolutely.

[PROCRUISE]

I just returned a week ago from cruisetour D4C. Here was my experience with the hotels HAL used for our cruisetour in Girdwood, Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks.

 

Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood - lovely grounds and nice room. They give you free bottled water with your chocolates when they come by for turn down service.

 

Hilton in downtown Anchorage - this was our least favorite of the hotels that we stayed at this trip. Our room was right next to a maid station, and was very noisy all the time! Also, there was a huge gap at the bottom of the blackout curtains, so we had to stuff extra towels on the window sill to block out that midnight sun and get some sleep. Finally, we had hot water issues in the morning - as in, there was none. The location was good though, centrally located and close to lots of good restaurants.

 

McKinley Chalet Resort in Denali- it looks rustic, but we actually liked our room here. We had a 2nd floor room in the Cottonwoods building, with a small balcony that overlooked the river. It had all the necessities, and the bed was quite comfy! The buildings are spread out, so they have shuttles that come by often to take you to the lobby. Try the bread pudding at the Nenana Grill - yum!

 

Westmark in Fairbanks - nice, large room, but the bed was hard as a rock! It was also one of the quieter rooms we stayed in, which was nice. I didn't see too much near the hotel in terms of food or shopping, so we just ate in the hotel. The food wasn't horrible, but it wasn't particularly good either. Except for the dessert. The hot fudge sundae dessert was delicious - and huge!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Did HAL Land/sea tour 6/9-22/14. Agree with above evaluations of Westmark in Fairbanks (very nice) and Chalet Resort in Denali (very nice). In Anchorage we were placed in the Westmark, Anchorage. I understand that HAL purchased this hotel and is trying to turn it around. They have a long way to go. Basically, this a 2.5 star place at best. Dust an inch thick in our room, a huge rusted and chipped area in our bathtub/shower with no rubber tub mat to cover it, elevators that could only hold 8 persons at a time and the view out our window was the roof over the entrance way, covered with thousands of cigarette butts. This is not a place one who pick to stay, so luckily it was only for one night.

[chrispb]

You need to read a number of posts on TA to gain a true idea of a hotel. What may be important to somebody else could be irrelevant to you.

For me, it's location and cleanliness plus maybe air-con (depending on whereabouts), so the food or restaurant wouldn't bother me at all. I rarely eat in hotels, much preferring to try local places.

[lindaa]

I too am concerned with the Sheraton hotel that Holland has chosen in Santiago Chile for the pre cruise. According to TA posters the hotel is probably not one of the better choices available. Most posters say it is in need of a major facelift that apparently is scheduled for sometime in 2015. It makes me wonder if Holland monitors their hotel selections on a regular basis or do you think they have some type of global contract with Sheraton worldwide that requires they use Sheraton where available. Has anyone stayed there recently and what did you think?

 

Just curious how it works... Thanks!

[RuthC]

... or do you think they have some type of global contract with Sheraton worldwide that requires they use Sheraton where available.

That part I doubt highly. I have done the HAL pre-cruise hotel many times in many cities. That includes cities with Sheraton Hotels, too. I've never stayed at a Sheraton as part of the HAL pre-cruise.

I have found that most of the hotels HAL has put me in are very high end, and expensive.

[QueenGlassHalfFull]

I too am concerned with the Sheraton hotel that Holland has chosen in Santiago Chile for the pre cruise. According to TA posters the hotel is probably not one of the better choices available. Most posters say it is in need of a major facelift that apparently is scheduled for sometime in 2015. It makes me wonder if Holland monitors their hotel selections on a regular basis or do you think they have some type of global contract with Sheraton worldwide that requires they use Sheraton where available. Has anyone stayed there recently and what did you think?

 

Just curious how it works... Thanks!

 

We stayed at the Sheraton Santiago in Chile in January. The rooms are fine - not great but just fine. Our room had two single beds with a desk, mini bar, large closet, room safe and bathroom with a tub and shower. The public areas of the hotel are wonderful. There is a large lobby bar with live night time entertainment. The outdoor pool area is beautiful with a pool bar with a great bar food menu. There is also a very large outdoor restaurant by the pool. A huge buffet breakfast (included with the room) is served there - both an American and a European buffet. The hotel is located on the edge of town but the Hop On/Hop Off bus stops right in front of the hotel. I'm fairly certain that I reviewed this hotel on Trip Advisor. My screen name is the same on Trip Advisor.

 

If we return to Santiago, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at the Sheraton again.

[lindaa]

Thanks! Nice to hear from you all.

[serendipity1499]

Hi, can anyone give me advice on the hotels holland America uses on their

cruise tours please? Just seeing reviews on tripadvisor has me a little worried.

 

Missouri travel girl Welcome to the HAL board..Unfortunately we don't understand your question about the cruise/tours as you don't indicate what cruise you are interested in.. Would it be Europe or Alaska, or perhaps South America..

 

Also, this is not to criticize but wonder if you aware that the little red faced smilie :mad: means that you are angry/mad about something?

 

Did you mean to use either the happy :) face or perhaps the face which indicates that you may be econfused :confused: about something or perhaps you meant to use the big grin face:D..:D

 

If you hold your curser over each smilie it will explain what each means..