Help Pikes Waterfront Lodge

[Macy Jean]

My TA just called and said Princess wants to put us at Pikes Waterfront Lodge and not Fairbanks Princess. Do I want this or not they told my TA to get back to them?

Thanks

[ruvidu]

What compensation are they offering? Pike's Landing looked nice but it is not Princess. Will they pick you up there for tours or will you have to walk over to the Princess Lodge? Just some questions I would ask.

After the poor experiances we had with Princess in May your post is just one more reason we will go with someone else next time.

Let us know what you decide.

[elephant98]

I just stayed at the Fairbanks Princess Hotel last week. Its nice, clean, and well-kept, but in the end its just a hotel that happens to be owned and run by Princess. Also, don't expect to receive the same type of superior service (front desk/housekeeping) that you would receive on a Princess-run cruiseships. At best, the service and accomodations are on-par with your average, nice hotel. (In other words, the Fairbanks Princess is nice enough, but I don't think you are missing out on anything by staying elsewhere).

 

If I recall correctly, the Pike Waterfront Lodge is located on the same street as the Fairbanks Princess, on the very same river, just a few doors down. We didn't go inside Pikes. But, from the outside, it looked to be about the same size as the Fairbanks and looked nice enough. It also has a restaurant that was recommended to us by a few of the locals, but we did not get a chance to eat there. Enjoy your trip.

[tinydancer21]

Really the only difference is that Pikes is locally owned, the hotel is beautiful and you'll probebly get the same service or better at Pikes, they also have lots of other amenities that Princess does not offer, such as private bungalo's, an Ice cream shop and the resturant next door, owned by the same guy is one of the best resturants in Fairbanks. I'd go for it if I were you, you'll probebly enjoy it more then Fairbanks Princess. :)

[JPCruising]

My family and I stayed at the Pikes Lodge little over two weeks ago. It was a nice hotel but not extraordinary. I liked the lobby area and we did eat in the hotel restaurant and liked the food. The Princess hotel is a very short walk.

 

JPR

www.jprphotos.com

[saxygirl]

We stayed at Pike's a couple of weeks ago and were not impressed at all with the service. The hotel is right next to the Princess Lodge. Pike's is a nice hotel in appearance and accomodations, but they lack in service, especially regarding the Princess tour reps who operate there. Tour buses do pick up there for tours, but the arrangements were poorly made for us (by the Princess reps) and a bus was not requested for us. After we waited for about 10 minutes after the scheduled time, we called it to their attention. They did find another bus to come get us about 5 minutes later. We also arrived to find someone else's luggage in our room (along with ours). It took a good bit of fuss by us to get them to understand and take care of the situation. So, I'd say if all you're going to do is spend the night there, it would serve you just fine. If you're staying there a couple of days and will have excursions from there, you may want to reconsider.

[Macy Jean]

Update: My TA called Princess and they told her Princess is going to give us a $25.00 pp ship board credit and they will not forget about us at Pikes Lodge when it is tour time. I hope this works out I will let you know. It sounds like a nice hotel.

[tinydancer21]

We stayed at Pike's a couple of weeks ago and were not impressed at all with the service. The hotel is right next to the Princess Lodge. Pike's is a nice hotel in appearance and accomodations, but they lack in service, especially regarding the Princess tour reps who operate there. Tour buses do pick up there for tours, but the arrangements were poorly made for us (by the Princess reps) and a bus was not requested for us. After we waited for about 10 minutes after the scheduled time, we called it to their attention. They did find another bus to come get us about 5 minutes later. We also arrived to find someone else's luggage in our room (along with ours). It took a good bit of fuss by us to get them to understand and take care of the situation. So, I'd say if all you're going to do is spend the night there, it would serve you just fine. If you're staying there a couple of days and will have excursions from there, you may want to reconsider.

 

Sounds to me like you had more probelms with Princess then with Pikes Lodge? Am I right?

[saxygirl]

The princess reps were the bigger problem. However, the baggage situation (and lack of enthusiasm for correcting it) was all on the hands of the Pike's staff.

[tinydancer21]

That is to bad that the staff was not helpful, if you ever come back to Fairbanks there are a few really good B&B's that have excellent customer service. :)

A real cute and unique B&B is the Aurora Forget-me-Not the rooms are re-furnished rail cars, here is their web site:

http://www.alaskaone.com/auroraexpress/index.html

you can also get information about other B&B's at http://www.explorefairbanks.com

[tg1974]

Is the restaurant at Pike's Lodge better than Fairbanks Princess Lodge?

[tinydancer21]

Is the restaurant at Pike's Lodge better than Fairbanks Princess Lodge?

 

YES! 100%! Pikes is one of the better resturants in Fairbanks, the chocolette mouse is to die for! ;)

[tg1974]

thanks Tiny,,,we'll be there the 28th,,,can't wait

[ruvidu]

That is to bad that the staff was not helpful, if you ever come back to Fairbanks there are a few really good B&B's that have excellent customer service. :)

A real cute and unique B&B is the Aurora Forget-me-Not the rooms are re-furnished rail cars, here is their web site:

http://www.alaskaone.com/auroraexpress/index.html

you can also get information about other B&B's at http://www.explorefairbanks.com

Thanks for that web site. We have decided that will be one of our stops on our next trip.