Alaska - Denali hotel recommendations for 1 night?

Traveling to Denali during a weeklong Alaska trip in July '08. As our desire is to spend the majority of our trip based out of Anchorage to do day cruises and sightseeing within range of Anchorage, we are only planning a 1 night stay at Denali (we are planning to drive up from Anc. early one morning, spend the rest of the long-daylight day in the Park, stay the night, then do the same the next day and drive back down late that evening).

I am unable to find any reviews of any reasonably-priced properties ($300 or below during high season) around Denali that don't include more than a few negative reviews. I'm generally willing to write off one or two as "one-offs" that can happen to anyone, but for just about every property there are quite a few more than that, whether it's poor accommodations, bumping due to overbooking (that seems to be a common theme), etc. I know it's only one night but I still don't want to regret it.

Soliciting feedback/experiences from the audience. Thanks!

I've only stayed at the Denali Princess (twice, both times several years ago, and not on my dime), so I don't have a lot of experience to recommend anything. All I can say about the Princess is that it's surprisingly comfortable, nice, and the rooms feel at least a bit like "real Alaska" (e.g. slightly rustic but homely) especially considering that it's a mega-mondo-cruise-corporation operation. The common areas can get crowded with lots of the cruise crowd (i.e. clueless gray-haired sheep...sorry:p) on days when the tours are in town.

I have heard nice things about another couple of places, but I can't remember which ones for the life of me. Sorry! Hope others around here know more...

Stayed at the Crow's Nest in '05 based on recommendations from friends. It's rustic, to be sure, but sitting on the side of the hill looking down on the (very small) town was pretty great, and we enjoyed the food at the Crow's Nest bar. Don't stay there if you need a big bathroom, fluffy pillows, TV and/or bellhop service down the hill from your car to your cabin. Do stay there if you want convenience to the town and main entry to the park, and if you're in the area because of what's outside, not what's inside.

The Earth Song Lodge is just north of the park entrance on Stampede Road (yes, THAT Stampede Road, of "Into the Wild" fame). I think it's the best-kept secret among the Denali accommodation crowd. I would highly recommend it. It's away from all the tourists and crowds, but at the same time close enough that you can get into the park with ease. Give it a try.

This is too late for drat19, but we liked the Denali Dome Homehttp://www.denalidomehome.com/ a lot, but you will need a car to get to Healy and back (a 10-min drive). The Black Diamond Grill http://www.blackdiamondgolf.com/Pages/blackdiamondgrill.html is a great local place to eat, also in nearby Healy.

We stayed at Denali Lakeview Inn last summer for two nights. It is a bed and breakfast and overlooks Lake Otto. It was nice to be able to sit outside and look over the lake. Kind of what you expect when you're up there! It is 10 miles or so outside Denali going toward Healy. It was nice enough, everything up there is pricey. They brought in a huge plate with danish(packages from Sam's Wholesale), fruit and juice each evening and put it in the refrigerator for you to eat the next morning.
The Black Diamond Grill is just up the road and we ate supper there one evening.
Don't be put off by the gravel drive and the four-wheeler rental near-by. You're in Alaska and things are a little different!

We stayed at Denali Lakeview Inn last summer for two nights. It is a bed and breakfast and overlooks Lake Otto. It was nice to be able to sit outside and look over the lake. Kind of what you expect when you're up there! It is 10 miles or so outside Denali going toward Healy. It was nice enough, everything up there is pricey. They brought in a huge plate with danish(packages from Sam's Wholesale), fruit and juice each evening and put it in the refrigerator for you to eat the next morning.
The Black Diamond Grill is just up the road and we ate supper there one evening.
Don't be put off by the gravel drive and the four-wheeler rental near-by. You're in Alaska and things are a little different!

We also stayed at the Lakeview Inn and enjoyed it very much. We watched from our balcony a moose and her twins walk around Lake Otto. The Black Diamond Grill is about the only place close to the Inn to eat so we were thankful that the food was great. We ate there 3 times. We also did a 10:00pm golf round. It is like golfing in a pasture but fun just the same. The staff at the Inn made a bag lunch for our Denali bus trip for a decent price.

The Black Diamond Grill is about the only place close to the Inn to eat so we were thankful that the food was great. We ate there 3 times. We also did a 10:00pm golf round. It is like golfing in a pasture but fun just the same. The staff at the Inn made a bag lunch for our Denali bus trip for a decent price.

Agree with the comment about the Black Diamond Grill. It was excellent!