Just finished a 3-night stay at the Sheraton Anchorage for the 4th of July weekend.

My 2nd time in ANC, though my family's first. I haven't stayed at the Hilton/Marriot/Captain Cook, so I can't compare, though I was very pleased with the Sheraton Anchorage given the choices that were available.

As an SPG Gold, we were upgraded to the last junior suite available (had to ask), even though we checked-in close to 1am. We booked club level to start with, but breakfast vouchers for the restaurant were given for all three of us. Nice touch! We were given breakfast vouchers for each night of our stay. Very, very nice of them. YMMV, as always.

The buffet breakfast is nothing really to write home about, though I believe you can use the vouchers to order off the menu, which we didn't realize until we were checking out.

The buffet breakfast has pastries, toast, reindeer sausage/link sausage, an omelette bar (fantastic veggie egg white omelette!), made-to-order waffles, bacon (inconsistent, crispy one day and way too soggy the next), fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, pineapple), hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, milk & cereal breakfast potatoes.

Food quality is not amazing (I would not pay $20 for this breakfast buffet), though does the job and I appreciated all the fresh fruit and omelette bar options. Coffee and orange juice are automatically provided to buffet guests.

Our junior suite was on a higher floor, facing the sound (not the side of the cemetery). I found the hotel itself to be actually nicely furnished and on-par with most mid-level Sheratons I've stayed at. Not in the best location, as it's further from downtown, but at most it would add 5 minutes to your walk. The view from higher floors is SPECTACULAR. You can see everything. Loved the views over the mountains and over the ocean, as well as the amazing, drawn out Anchorage sunsets.

The suite wasn't really a suite--the bathroom is the same normal size bathroom (with a straight-edged tub and a curved shower rod, water spills everywhere!), though the room is just bigger. It was perfect for the three of us though, and we enjoyed the extra space immensely. I should say, though, the sofa was dirty and there were a few brown spots on the cushions, though we removed them and just used the sofabed with new linens. The in-room fridge was nice as well.

I saw the cemetery on one side and didn't really find it a big deal, though I guess that's a personal thing.

Club lounge was horribly crowded during happy hour and breakfast. We didn't take breakfast in the lounge since we ate in the restaurant. Lounge breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, oatmeal, and then your standard cold items (pastries, toast, cereal, fruit). The espresso machine in there, unfortunately doesn't actually produce espresso, just coffee. I feel like if we didn't eat in the restaurant the lounge would still get the job done.

The lounge seems big, though fills up quickly and the food-service area gets very crowded very quickly as well. This was a busy, busy weekend for them evidently.

Evening appetizers consisted of reindeer sausage puff pastries (horribly greasy), and some crackers/cheese and crudite. No alcoholic drinks, though my dad did like the rarer Diet Dr. Pepper. It seems like the snacks are only restocked after each service and run out pretty quickly since it was a busy weekend. Snacks were granola bars and Frito Lay chip products, and were handy for us since we were out all day and it was nice to grab a few to stave off hunger.

We parked on the sidewalk right next to the paid parking lot, and we could see the car from our room, which was nice. Paid parking is $12/night for hotel guests I believe (or maybe $10?). It was a weekend so street parking was free.

Fitness room is small as well, but also gets the job done. On the 4th of July, the hotel opened the Summit Room (15th floor event space) and allowed guests to watch fireworks from there. Nothing was provided but it was midnight so all of us were pretty tired.

We did not find a fault in the service; I thought everyone was friendly and very warm and welcoming, save for two front desk employees late our second night, when I went down to exchange my $5 Green voucher for Starpoints instead. Very complacent employees there, though I only saw them one night. Otherwise all our requests (extra linens, toiletries, etc.) were fulfilled quickly and in a friendly way. Can't ask for much else.

We didn't try the spa, so no comment on that.

As a travel-industry employee, I received a good rate, though it seemed like going rates were pretty high ($300+/night).

I would definitely return to the Sheraton if I were to visit Anchorage again. My parents enjoyed the stay as well.