Hotel options in ANC
Closest to the airport: Millennium, Courtyard by Marriott, Quality Inn (and attached Econo Lodge), and Holiday Inn Express are on Spenard, just a few minutes from the airport. There is also a Comfort Suites and a Microtel on the frontage road just off International Airport Road.
All of the above have airport shuttles, though I do not know if they run 24 hours. The Comfort Suites is the newest, but the Courtyard, HIX, and Microtel are all new and fine; the Quality Inn and Econo Lodge used to be a Best Western and is older but well-maintained. The Millennium has a great setting on the Lake Hood seaplane base and is quite nice; it also retains some of its local character from the days it was known as the Regal Alaskan.
You also have your pick of chain properties in Midtown. These are all only an extra 5-7 minutes away from the airport, and all of those have free airport shuttles as well. These choices include (in order of distance) the Crowne Plaza, Marriott Fairfield, Motel 6 [very new and nice as far as Motel 6s go], Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Marriott SpringHill Suites, Embassy Suites, and Marriott Residence Inn. The farthest one--the SpringHill Suites University Lake (different than the midtown SpringHill)--is only a 15-minute drive from the airport. I would feel comfortable recommending any of the above--all are in safe areas (safer than the closer ones on Spenard, actually) and are good, new properties.
If price at any of the chains is an issue (this
is summer we're talking about), there are some non-chain properties that are decent and have airport shuttles. FlyerTalker
ozstamps was quite impressed with the Executive Suite on Spenard, and the Puffin Inn's remodeled side (the deluxe rooms) is quite nice (though avoid the older side). The Puffin's owner, Jay, is a kick, too. They are both right across the street from the HIX on Spenard. I've seen many of my customers stay at the Coast International Inn or the Long House Alaskan Hotel (both on Lake Hood very close to the Millennium), and I've never heard anything negative about them, but they're unknown commodities to me. The Dimond Center hotel is on the south side of town, relatively far from the airport (a 15-minute drive) and in a commercial district with not much activity late at night, but it is a very nice property (huge rooms, jacuzzi tubs, HD TVs, etc.) with a free airport shuttle. It's also probably the closest hotel to
BOB W's house.
Downtown will afford you the easiest access to the Alaska Railroad depot. Aside from the big four full-service places (Marriott [newest of the downtown options], Hilton [less than a five-minute walk from the depot], Sheraton, and the locally-owned four-star Hotel Captain Cook [probably the nicest and definitely the one with the most character]), there are some other lodging options downtown. There's a Clarion, a Hawthorn Suites, an older HoJo, and a run-down Ramada Limited on the chain side of things and a smattering of independent places. The decent independents downtown are not going to be cheap, but they do have some character. Check out the Historic Anchorage Hotel (next door to the Hilton), the Anchorage Grand, the Voyager Hotel (across from the Captain Cook), and the Copper Whale Inn. I'm probably missing a few, but do stay away from the Inlet Inn. (The Inlet
Towers is completely different and reportedly decent, but I know absolutely nothing about it other than having driven by it.) Also avoid the Econo Inn, which is so crappy it lost the Econo Lodge franchise rights
, and the Red Roof Inn, which looks new but is in a junky area. The Days Inn gets mixed reviews, too.
ANC in the summer can be a great value for point redemptions. But if you are not bound to hotel points, the above-mentioned non-chain properties are worth looking into.
I also have a couple of B&Bs that I always recommend to people visiting. These are absolutely gorgeous properties that can be cheaper than many of the chain places:
http://www.alaskafrontiergardens.com/
http://www.alaskahighlandglen.com/