It has always been a dream of mine to visit the Alyeska Ski Resort. A visit to this resort means staying at The Hotel Alyeska, which is the only real property in town that offers skii in and ski out access. Our stay at The Hotel Alyeska Ski Resort was during the week after spring break and was designed to take advantage of possibly the best weather that skiing in Alaska could offer; late spring conditions and warmer temperatures.

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This post is one chapter on a winter trip to Alaska, United States. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Mileage Plan and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: The Hotel Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska, United States of America

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“The Hotel Alyeska represents luxury lodging with Alaska style. The hotel experience has recently been upgraded. However, the execution remains a little rusty with seemingly over worked and few staff inconsistent with the hotel’s price point”

It has been a long standing dream of mine to visit the Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood Alaska. The Hotel Alyeska Resort is the primary and pretty much the only main hotel in town. As a result, it was an obvious choice for us to stay while visiting Alyeska Ski Resort.

Booking The Hotel Alyeska Resort:

The Hotel Alyeska resort started off life as the Westin Prince Alyeska resort in the year 1992. The resort has changed hands since then and is now run by Pomeroy Lodging resorts as a luxury destination with contemporary Alaska style.

Since the Hotel Alyeska Resort is an independent hotel, there is no current point redemption opportunity at this particular property. The only possible reward redemption route is unless you consider redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points against a cash reservation booked through the American xpress travel portal.

I ended up booking directly on The Hotel Alyeska website. I found the pricing to be generally pretty much fixed, with very little dynamic rate fluctuation.

There were hotel rate options for a daily rate (overnight only), an Alaska Resident’s Rate, and a Stay and Ski Package rate that included overnight and two adult lift tickets per day.

The stay and ski package rate represented about a 25% savings on the lift tickets over the window price. Since we intended to ski three days, we ended up booking the stay and ski package. Although it’s not specifically advertised anywhere, the stay and ski lift ticket, can be used on the day of arrival or the day of departure.

Getting to The Hotel Alyeska:

We drove a rental car from Anchorage to Girdwood Alaska. We appreciated having a rental car to complete this trip on our own schedule. A private car booked through the executive chauffeur service offered by the hotel is approximately US$500. An Uber from the airport to The Hotel Alyeska will run approximately $100 – $125 USD one-way. The trip is approximately one hour.

There is one main road into Girdwood which allows for a great view up to the Alyeska Ski Resort. From the main “T” intersection, it’s a left turn on the road that leads you to the second base area and The Hotel Alyeska.

We arrived to The Hotel Alyeska and were promptly attended to by a valet attendant. We were offered valet parking at US$27 a night, or complimentary self parking.

We were offered bell captain assistance with the bags although the valet indicated they couldn’t loan out cart to use for self service luggage transport to the room. We ended up leaving our bags ans ski gear in the car while we went and got checked in. We later moved the luggage on our own after a few trips, after we self parked the car.

Checking Into The Hotel Alyeska:

The lobby was decorated in dark brown tones similar to a Gentleman’s club. The lobby had a high ceiling with a full polar bear landscape and forest scene. This would’ve been a little artificial anywhere else. However, it seemed to fit in with the Alaskan environment.

I lined up to the front desk and had a short wait to check in. There were a few people in line ahead of me, with only one person working despite the busy 4 PM arrival time. The check-in was not a super friendly experience that you might expect for a property charging $450 USD a night. There weren’t any questions about how your trip into Girdwood or Alaska was, or where you were visiting from, or anything along those usual pleasantries that you might expect.

We were directed over to the neighbouring concierge desk to get our ski passes and cards activated. We were assigned room 725, which ended up being a signature king room and a one category upgrade from what we had initially booked.

At the end of our stay, we would discover after check out that a $25 a night resort fee was added to our bill. There wasn’t any explanation or card insert in our room key cards that explained what this resort fee was for. While we’ve come to expect resort fees from luxury resort style hotels, it’s always appreciated to know in advance what the inclusions of any such resort so that you can at least make an effort to manage getting some value out of them.

The Room: Signature King

We navigated ourselves up to room number 725. It was a short walk from a triple bank of elevators. With the recent renovation, the hallways of the seventh floor made a nice first impression.

The Bedroom:

The Signature King room at The Alyeska Hotel represents the newest and most upgraded king bed room available at the property. The Signature King room features newly renovated space along with a few additional room amenities that include a heated towel rack in the bathroom and upgraded fixtures and fittings.

Like the hallways, the room made a great first impression with modern contemporary grey and white colours. The room offered a king size bed, a large flatscreen television, a chaise lounger and floor to ceiling windows that physically opened at the end of the room.

While the room was nicely appointed, the only small critique that I had of the room was that it was a touch small when all of your ski equipment and ski gear was scattered about the room. Aside from the in room closet, our gear took up most of the couch, leaving us nowhere where to sit during our stay. As a result I wished the room was about 15 to 25% larger, than it actually was.

As is customary for a room of the size, there was a small working desk and a small cabinet that supported the flat screen television. There was limited counter space in each of these areas for a ski resort where you would have gloves and helmets drying. As a result the counter space got full pretty quickly.

The room also offered a small Hamilton beach Keurig coffee maker featuring local Alaskan coffee pods, a small in room fridge and freezer and a microwave. The fridge was exceptionally handy for keeping après ski ciders cold for those like us that wanted to self cater.

The room featured an in room dining menu that offered the usual breakfast, lunch and dinner items. There was also a pretty straight forward wine list.

The Bathroom:

The bathroom was another slightly compact space. It features a single vanity sink with limited counter space room around it. There was a separate water closet and stand up shower and tub combination. Both spaces featured upgraded and modern fittings and fixtures.

The Hotel Alyeska offered Lather toiletries in the room that consisted of hair wash crême rinse, hair wash, moisturizer and body wash.

In terms of sleep quality, I found the beds at The Hotel Alyeska to be pretty comfortable after a day of outdoor exercise. The room was pretty quiet and the peaceful forest surroundings in the mountains made for a tranquil stay.

Around the Hotel Property:

The Hotel Alyeska is a large format mountain styled resort. As a result, there were lot of spaces marked with large windows allowing for excellent views.

On the second floor, we would regularly pass by our self named moose “Arthur” who hung above the fireplace. This was a popular gathering spot for those looking to a little escape from their rooms.

From the lobby spaces at The Hotel Alyeska, there were pleasant mountain views looking up the hill. The views were often gray, but that didn’t make them any less majestic or enjoyable.

In the clever design feature, the hotel offers a combination retail / rental / coffee shop / ski area space on the second floor. The space integrated together and allowed skiers space to get ready indoors, before they set out for a day of skiing.

This part of the hotel was pretty much alive during the day only, with it being pretty quiet after hours.

The space of the retail zone lead to an outdoor walkway leading to the Alyeska tramway. This would be our access point to the ski resort every day. It features a cupboard space for the rare days where there was a line. During our stay, we never had to line up for the tram as it was pretty quiet throughout the resort and ski area.

Indoor Pool and Gym:

The Hotel Alyeska offered an indoor pool. The pool was located in a large arch styled ceiling. The space was really popular with children throughout all hours of the day and evening. There was an attached hot tub by the glass, which was a little on the smaller side.

The Hotel Alyeska also offered a spacious gym at the property. The gym was quite frequently used during our time there.

Pool Towels were provided at the pool itself. This wasn’t something that we learned of until after we arrived. There was a pool attendant that checked our room keys to provide towels, although there was a little confusion on whether we should be bringing towels down from our room for use at the pool.

Food and Beverage:

The Hotel Alyeska has a number of restaurants as a resort destination. It’s worth mentioning that during our visit the Aurora Bar and Grill (lounge) restaurant was boarded up and closed for renovations. It is also quite a ways off property to get to any other independent restaurants. Girdwood – Alaska doesn’t have a whole lotta restaurants, but you will need a car in order to access the other of property restaurants such as our great meal at Jack Sprat.

Sakura Asian Bistro:

During our stay. I try to take away from the Sakura Asian Bistro. I arrived at 8 PM and the place was fully packed with a line out of the door. It seemed that the resort did not have enough space to accomodate everyone who was interested in dining.

My take away rolls were quite expensive, despite being a sea side location. My Baked Crab roll with dyamite sauce, red crab legs and soy paper was $13 USD (pictured right) and my Spicy Tuna with cucumber was $14 USD (pictured left).

I was quoted 30 minutes for this takeaway order but it ended up being closer to 47 minutes by the time the order was fulfilled.

Sitzmark Bar and Grill:

The Sitzmark Bar and Grill is a food and beverage location that is run at the resorts main base ski area. To be crystal clear, this restaurant is located approximately 2 km away from The Hotel Alyeska property. The Sitzmark Bar and Grill is a bit of a dive bar but along with these types of establishments, it offers great personality when it a ski bar.

Our ski in – ski out visit to the Sitzmark Bar and Grill coincided with a late lunch at about 2:30 PM. Sitting in the corner, we marvelled at the bars crazy psychedelic ceiling, along with enjoying a plate of nachos that was actually pretty reasonably priced.

The Sitzmark Bar and Grill is a little gem of a ski bar. You won’t be coming here for terrific food, but rather the old school skiing atmosphere that this place represents.

Seven Glaciers:

The Hotel Alyeska offers access to the Seven Glaciers Restaurant. This restaurant is a little unique because it’s located on top of the Alyeska tramway. The tram is attached to the hotel. The tram runs every 15 minutes after hours. Dining at the restaurant includes access to the tram; no separate ticket is required. This has the potential to make for a romantic evening as you take the tram up in the darkness towards the restaurant to enjoy some time together.

The Seven Glaciers Restaurant has a showy wine list and has won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for several years. While the primary dining concept is a three to four course prix fixe menu, the seven glacier restaurant also offers an après-ski / night cap dinner menu offering light favourites.

We made a reservation through the hotel concierge for the nightcap menu which started at 8 PM. A reservation is pretty much needed to secure your spot on the tram and there isn’t likely any walk up traffic.

The Après Ski nightcap menu has all of the usual favourites. It’s also perfect for a later dinner. The price point for the bar menu at seven glacier’s is also exceptionally reasonable and represented probably the best value dining on the property during supper time.

I enjoyed a croque madame with cured ham and with béchamel sauce on toasted sourdough. It was presented a little on the cool side temperature wise, but was still exceptionally tasty.

MrsWT73 enjoyed a French onion soup presented in a classic style with sourdough croutons and topped with Gruyere cheese. It was also quite tasty but a little cool temperature wise on the presentation side.

The seven glacier’s restaurant was a nice evening featuring mountain top dining that you wouldn’t normally get at home. I was happy to have tried the experience while I was in town.

Activities near Alyeska Resort:

For those that have travelled all the way to Alyeska Resort, it’s clear that you are here for skiing.

One of the best features of The Alyeska Ski Resort, is that the lifts start spinning at 10 AM, and don’t close until 5 PM. This allows you get to get in a great sleep in, a leisurely breakfast if you choose, along with plenty of time to hit the slopes.

Checking Out of The Alyeska Resort:

We checked out of The Alyeska Resort at around 10 AM. We had plans to ski the last day prior to driving back into Anchorage and staying at the Marriott Anchorage Downtown hotel.

When the bill arrived, we noticed the addition of the Resort Fee of $25 per night. As mentioned earlier, this was something that was never explain to us what this included. It’s almost as if I would rather see the extra $25 added into the room rate as opposed to an additional fee that we had no idea what is included.

My check out process involved the same staff member that checked me in. Much like the arrival process, there was no inquiry on how this day was or whether everything was to our satisfaction. Admittedly, I didn’t pursue it and it wasn’t till after the fact that I discovered about the resort fee when I checked my email folio. I didn’t follow up on it either.

Bottom Line: The Hotel Alyeska Resort

It had long been a goal of mine to come skiing at Alyeska ski resort. Our stay at the hotel Alyeska resort was a pleasant one, with a terrific room upgrade, but I can’t help think that there could be some minor improvements for a hotel at this price point.

The service was not as friendly as it could be, they were often waits and cues at restaurants and the staff generally appeared overworked and disinterested. There was also a resort fee that was added on to our bill, without any explanation. While I really enjoyed the property and the experience of it all, I couldn’t help but think that with a few tweaks, this could be a really spectacular stay experience.

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If you have visited The Hotel Alyeska, did you enjoy your stay ?

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