Alaska is great. Neither one of those cities has a lot to do in the city itself, but there is plenty nearby. Denali National Park is well worth the trek, and the trip on the Alaska Railroad to get there from either Fairbanks or Anchorage is scenic and a lot of fun. The train between Denali and Anchorage takes you through some very isolated wilderness areas where the train is the only connection to the rest of the world, and the nearest highway is many, many miles away. South of Anchorage, a roadtrip down to the Kenai Peninsula is a great experience as well.

We were thinking of doing Alaska this year but opted for New Zealand instead. Alaska is on top of our short list for next year as is the World's Fair in Shanghai.

the higher end properties are wiling to bargain these days too, they want people there!
The 'low end' places have more guests and are charging MORE than the high end.

I've seen comfort inn recently come in at 2x the cost of a Hyatt or SPG property nearby.

I just found out last week I have a cousin in GUM, I a tihnking about visit there next year.

Sweeet, five Vegas flights on WN for $81 each all in RT ^^. My day-trips are set for Sept and Oct.

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Sounds excellent. I'm going to do some more research when I'm done laying in the sun. :)

The only SPG property is in ANC so I will probably use that as my base. It will be a short trip but I would have almost 2 full days to check out the scenery.

Hilton Resort GUM is much ^^. Even better if you're Diamond. :D^

Yeah, that's the Wal-Mart/WN way of doing business.

1. Market yourself as the cheapest.
2. Be the cheapest, on some things, all of the time.
3. Be the cheapest on other things, some of the time.
4. Watch the lemmings flock to your website, without checking the competition.
5. Jack up prices and rip them off!
6. Make up the losses incurred when you were the cheapest.

That's a pretty fancy use of the WN fare sale.

Ask an ye shall receive

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviatio.../2/0592218.jpg

7. and make your shareholders happy :cool: (well at least for Wal-Mart)

There are hotels other than Hyatts?

I am nothing with hilton.....only Hyatt, Marriott, SPG. I don't normally stay in hilton properties, not that I avoid them, I just don't look for them either.

yes which is a great thing, I'd be stranded 60 miles from work in most places having to stay Hyatt only. :cool:

With two days, I'd definitely rent a car at ANC, and not worry about Denali or Fairbanks. It takes too long to get up there, and you'll not have time to enjoy it. Instead, get up one of those mornings and spend the day doing the Seward Highway. As you leave Anchorage, the freeway quickly becomes a two lane highway as it parallels Turnagain Arm. You'll have tons of places you can stop for amazing photos of the water and mountains, and you'll likely see Dall sheep. You may also see some whales/dolphins. Stop off at Portage Glacier for a bit, and if you're adventurous, and traffic isn't bad, take the turnoff over to Whittier, which is reached via a one-way tunnel that the highway and the railroad share. If waits are bad for the tunnel, skip it and continue down the road. Take the cutoff to Hope, Alaska, an old mining town that's about a 10-15 minute detour down a road that loops back to the main highway. It's very quaint, and a nice place to stop for a great burger for lunch. As you head south, you'll cross mountains, and see plenty of places to turn out to take photos or do a short hike. If you go all the way down to Seward, just before you get into town, definitely check out Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. It's about a five minute walk from the parking lot to the end of the glacier, and you can walk right up to the ice there. You may also see some wildlife; I've been within six feet of a mother black bear and her two cubs there.

If you're going this time of year, take advantage of the ample daylight hours, and don't plan on getting back to Anchorage until late. You'll even be able to stop off and see some things, like Portage Glacier, well after 8:00 PM thanks to the daylight. Also, if you time it correctly, you may be able to witness the tide coming into Turnagain Arm. The water rises an incredible amount in a very short period of time there, and it's a very cool site to see — a wall of water literally rushes up the Arm from the Cook Inlet. It's often about 6-15 feet high as it comes in.

You don't have a lot of time, but if you maximize the long daylight hours, you really can see a lot in a couple of days based out of Anchorage.