Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge

We checked in a day early and they were able to match our two reservations so we could keep the same room. Room 203, a mountain view room. It was a large room with two queen beds, large fridge, coffee machine. Bathroom with bath and good shower over, separate washbasin...

We checked in a day early and they were able to match our two reservations so we could keep the same room. Room 203, a mountain view room. It was a large room with two queen beds, large fridge, coffee machine. Bathroom with bath and good shower over, separate washbasin outside. Décor was a bit dated, but comfortable. WiFi ok, plenty of charging points. Housekeeping was on request. Location is a couple of miles out of town but there is a regular and reliable courtesy bus service.

Stayed at the Lodge for 1 night during our Cruise Land Tour. Our room was clean and adequate. Appreciated that the lodge had a free shuttle to Main St that we took advantage of during our one night stay. Lodge has a large lobby with plenty of comfortable seating with...

Stayed at the Lodge for 1 night during our Cruise Land Tour. Our room was clean and adequate. Appreciated that the lodge had a free shuttle to Main St that we took advantage of during our one night stay. Lodge has a large lobby with plenty of comfortable seating with great views. Lodge does offer an onsite restaurant but we only used the coffee shop for breakfast before getting on our bus. Would stay again if we return to Alaska.

Hello fellow Tripers! Been a while since my last Review and I really dont give them unless I feel really strongly about it, no matter if its good or bad. I wanted to give this a little time before I wrote (2 weeks) because I was waiting to see if...

Hello fellow Tripers! Been a while since my last Review and I really dont give them unless I feel really strongly about it, no matter if its good or bad. I wanted to give this a little time before I wrote (2 weeks) because I was waiting to see if I heard anything further regarding the appallinly BAD service that we recieved from this establishment. We did not hear from the agency or the lodge and at this point I dont care to, so here it goes. The lodge itself is nice and clean for the area. Our room was an Executive Suite which probebly thier best room category. It was comfortable so the room itself I would give it a B + , oh and the elderly driver of the shuttle was so sweet and HE gets an A+.. however that's where the compliments stop.. Firstly this Lodge is massive with many rooms in different buildings and it mainly caters to bus loads of tourists from Cruise ships and other tours so you have to keep that in mind.. Its a bit touristy so if that's not your thing, be advised. Frankly its not my thing either but I didint know better. My Husband and I came here as part of an itenary from a high end Custom tour agency who does adventure tours to Alaska and other places. It's expensive but up untill this stay it was well worth it. I did this trip for my husband as an early Birthday gift. We checked in to Talkeetna lodge and that first night we had Dinner in thier more spendy restaurant the Foraker,, it says its fine dining? At least the people working THAT place were nice but it took over an hour to get our food and the place was half empty. How long does it take to cook fish? Perhaps they went fishing for it? The food was not what I would call Fine Dinning, just so so, my Halibut was kinda cold like it had been sitting there waiting for attention and the crab legs were a little over done, plus it was well over 200 bucks for just the two of us. The bigger problem happend the next morning when my Husband went to have breakfast at the Base Camp Bistro. He went alone as I was not feeling well and when I learned what happend, I wish I had been there. Breakfast was indeed included with our stay but I guess some of the staff did not get the memo, . Our first night there we even double checked with the staff at the front desk and we asked if we needed Vouchers, they said "No, you just give them your room number " So that's what my hubby did the next AM. He was sitting and having his breakfast and while he was there a server, lets just call her "CRS" came up to his table, she sharply pointed out that his breakfast is NOT included. She became argumentative with him when he told her it WAS included and that we confirmed this with the Front Desk.. She supposedly went over and checked with the Front and comes charging back to his table saying the Front desk said our breakfast was NOT included and that he was going to "Pay for that breakfast and she's bring over a card reader" My husband is a very laid back guy so it takes a lot to get him angry, but he was upset at this point as anybody would be being put on the spot and litterally being scolded in public. He even told her " Look I have money, I can pay for this breakfast but that's not the point, but i'm going to go to the Front desk myself and see what the issue is" He was talking loud in attenpts to just be heard, but not cussing or saying anything other then to defend himself from this woman who in my opionion has no buisness working in Hospitality! She then ordered my husband to " Get out of her restaurant" My husband went to the front desk and asked for a manager, the only one there was a desk manager who's name started with an "A" Note: I know these peoples name but I dont believe in using them on the web, even if they deserve it. So at this point my husband is beyond embarrased and he tried to explained his side of the story. Now at one point the Base camp manager comes rushing out and tells my husband not to " Talk to his staff that way ECT.". We can only assume Miss CRS complained to her boss that she was being "Yelled at" or God knows what she told him! At this point its my Husband's word against this Server who thought she owned the place.. Bottem line was THIS should have NEVER happend.. When I found out about it I was mortified.. We travel all over the world and never have had something so odd over something so petty as a lousy 24.00 breakfast happen before. I have to say Miss A at the front desk just didint make up for the BIG Mistake of not putting us on "THE LIST" for breakfast, and her apoligy was just a bit insincere. She did offer to send me up some breakfast, which was nice but the damage was done. Also she kept on saying in a curt tone " She could see both sides" and "This matter has been resolved" As if THAT was going to make us feel better? Well, I disagree! Had I been there, I would have shown this beyond RUDE and impatient server our itinerary on my phone, I would have pointed out in black and white where it says " Breakfast included" in BIG letters! Oh and yes, I did contact our tour agency and reported the matter. Now I DID ask Miss A that I wanted to speak with the lodges general manager ASAP.. Next day rolled around,, needless to say my husband did not want to go for our "Included breakfast" so we took the shuttle into town. I asked who the manager was and confirmed he was indeed on duty. We waited to hear from him.. nothing.. not till my husband was in the parking lot later that day and saw his name tag and then was able to tell him what actually took place the day before. The Hotel Manager did confirmed there was a slip up with the front desk not getting the memo to Base Camp ECT.. He invited my Husband and I to enjoy our included breakfast the next day (our last day) which we did and lucky for US, Miss CRS was not there, but I must say it took some convincing to get my Husband back in there. I cant blame him really, but I have to say as the person who planned this trip I was determined to make sure we didint have a repete situation. Well, we gave the guy at Base camp our room number and wouldnt you know, he could NOT find it,, but unlike CRS, he calmly and proffessionally double checked and confirmed our room number should have been listed there and showed us to our table. I remember saying to him " OH no, not again?" If only CRS had bothered find out about my husbands breakfast privillages BEFORE he sat down and had his breakfast instead of humiliating him in public right in the middle of his meal! Upon check out Miss A was at the front Desk and curtly said " Ok you're all set" and that was all she said to me, Gee, no " How was your stay?" Sorry about what happend, hope you give us another chance" NOPE.. just again very curt. Keep in mind I had never met her in person, only talked to her on the phone when I called feeling lousy from my hotel room to get to the bottom of the fiasco at Base camp, so I'm not even sure she knew who I was. My hubby waiting outside as he was pretty much done. So the take away is this.. Lodges of this massive size cater to large amounts of tourists from all over the world. Some of thier employees assume these tourists are all on a ONCE in a lifetime trip to Alaska, never to be seen on thier property ever again.. so why care? Why go that extra mile to provide excellent service and just be NICE instead of Snotty? Well, we do plan on visiting Alaska again, we loved it, except for this place! I just personally feel if these people are going to be in the Hospitality biz, they should start behaving a little more " Hospitable" Thank you.

We were recommended this for drinks and views and it didn’t disappoint. We never stayed but got the free shuttle bus up from Talkeetna which leaves every 30 minutes, with Jimmy who was lovely. It had rained all day but the sky’s cleared as we were drinking at the bar...

We were recommended this for drinks and views and it didn’t disappoint. We never stayed but got the free shuttle bus up from Talkeetna which leaves every 30 minutes, with Jimmy who was lovely. It had rained all day but the sky’s cleared as we were drinking at the bar and the views outside were something else.

This is a difficult place to review. The location is great—it's easy to get to town and trailheads. If the weather cooperates, the views of Denali are stunning. The young people imported to work in the summer are earnest and hardworking. Those are the positives. The negatives are many. Minor...

This is a difficult place to review. The location is great—it's easy to get to town and trailheads. If the weather cooperates, the views of Denali are stunning. The young people imported to work in the summer are earnest and hardworking. Those are the positives. The negatives are many. Minor things - it is very dated. The vibe in the public areas felt like I was visiting my mom in her assisted living community. The breakfast buffet is average at best. Dinner in the upscale restaurant has terrible reviews online, but we had a lovely meal there. The rooms are VERY dated. It has been a long time since I was in a hotel with TVs this old. Overall, very tired appearance. Ask for earplugs if you are assigned a room with a connecting door. The sound insulation is zero. You effectively share a room with whoever is on the other side of the door. Finally, they note online that they offer minimal housekeeping (I guess staffing shortages and they turnover lots of room, it appears for busses from cruise ships each day). Well, minimal means none. The expectation was trash taken out, towels replaced as necessary, etc., but not a deep clean. We did not have a visit from housekeeping during our stay. And, for what we paid for the room, that is not really great. The photo also shows you a bit of how clean the rooms are. This is the jacuzzi tub which, frankly, looked gross if you saw the jets.

Arrived at this lovely place as part of our driving Alaska tour. Bit shocked when walked in as thought it was an old age home! Mind you we are probably the same age as most of the people there! Every available seat was taken with most people asleep and one...

Arrived at this lovely place as part of our driving Alaska tour. Bit shocked when walked in as thought it was an old age home! Mind you we are probably the same age as most of the people there! Every available seat was taken with most people asleep and one sprawled on the sofa. They were waiting for train pick ups etc and as we were early we had to wait for our room so struggled to find a place to sit. Room was ready as soon as possible and we loved it here. Rocking chairs facing large windows. Talkeetna was a delight and great fun. Bit of a Wild West town. Hotel was comfortable with friendly staff and would highly recommend if you can avoid the cruise ship crowds.