dmacst

Looking for some feedback. I am scheduled to be in Anchorage AK in the end of June, 2015 for two nights and was wondering if I should stay at the Downtown Marriott on 7th in Anchorage or the Springhill Suites on University Lake Drive. Not sure what is best. Family of four, two adult children, my wife and my self. We will be based in Alaska a total of seven days but based out of Anchorage for only two nights.

One day will be strictly travel oriented the other day, Saturday, during the day they plan on eating breakfast, going to the downtown market and riding bikes along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. I have stayed at the Downtown Marriott a few times over the past 5 years but never the Springhill Suites. Any constructive feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

dayone

I've stayed at all the Marriott properties in ANC except the TPS. Of the two you offered, definitely the SHS for a family.

My choice would be the RI.

dmacst

Thanks for the response.

Loungeact

Hands down Springhill Suites out at the University. I believe you get free breakfast (used to at least) which is a nice spread with eggs and waffles... Always had a great experience there.

It's been years since I've stayed at the Marriott downtown, but it was so bad, that I ditched my platinum status and switched to the Sheraton. It was filthy and the service very poor. I would never stay there again unless they did a major reno and change ownership.

dmacst

thanks

davidash

I prefer the full service ==plus you get breakfast if your Gold or Plat

Make sure you try Snow City Cafe for bfast -- I short walk away.

ryanmcv

I haven't stayed at either of these hotels. However, I spent 2 weeks last fall staying at the Hotel Captain Cook downtown and working at the university. As far as location, it's pretty hard to beat downtown for restaurants and walkability. I don't recall there being many dining options near the university. I usually ended up having lunch in the student dining hall or the hospital cafeteria across the street. There are so many options downtown that I was able to eat at a new restaurant almost every night, all within a 5-10 minute walk of each other. Downtown hotels also offer easy access to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which makes for a beautiful bike ride.

As someone mentioned above, check out Snow City Cafe for breakfast if you end up staying downtown. Highly recommended!

coreygaby1

Whatever you do, don't stay at the RI midtown. We were there last summer and the place had TERRIBLE service! My profile says high floor and I made the reservation at least two months ahead. I was probably expecting too much being a Plat Prem, but they gave me the smallest first floor, dark room facing the street. And the bathroom hadn't been cleaned. The front desk seemed to be really inconvenienced by this because housekeeping had already left for the day and they had to call someone in to clean the room. Really, you give me the most undesirable room and it not even clean? I guess it was the FD reaction that really put me off. Things happen, hotels are full and a guest might not be able to swap rooms, I understand. But to give me attitude about it?

bigguyinpasadena

A brief but nice stay at this property. I am glad I chose this property for my first trip to Alaska.
Nice staff,Nice breakfast room great location IF you have a car-otherwise it would be miserable as everything is going to be a hike (they do offer a shuttle service) but if you have a car the perking is free and the lot is large.

The lake is very close by and I loved walking around it. I met the Best Dog in the World while walking around the lake and I am sad that I could not have brought him home with me.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the trip report bigguy. Appreciate it.

Cheers.

fmkgb

Any recent trip reports on Anchorage Springhill MIDTOWN (university is not available for my dates). They finished a renovation in May. I'm booked at the Hilton Garden Inn but Springhill midtown is now over $20 per night cheaper. Also appreciate any comparisons of this to the HGI or Hyatt Place. TripAdvisor rates Springhill and HGI about the same, Hyatt rated lower I think because it's a new hotel and they are still working out all the bugs. I would get complimentary breakfast at all of the 3 properties. Thanks in advance.

s0ssos

I stayed at SHS before reno and nothing special, never stayed at HGI but Hyatt Place is new but not great, poorly organized and staff not great (only benefit is jacuzzi and lobby, rooms are still junky Hyatt Place style)
I would recommend Hyatt House as rooms are bigger.

jeanie

I stayed at SHS Anchorage Midtown in May, right after it was renovated. I had a car. However, I think their shuttle will take you to the train station or airport. I liked it. However, I didn't like the sofa/trundle/daybed. The back cushion of the couch barely reached my mid back.. The fact it was also a trundle/daybed meant that it was the width of a twin bed, not a normal sofa. The combination of the two made it uncomfortable for me. I also stayed at the SHS in Fairbanks on that trip, and they had the same trundle/daybed instead of a sofa as well. Maybe they are owned by the same company.

The SHS in Anchorage Midtown is within walking distance to Walmart and Outback Steakhouse. So if you forget something, that is convenient. The Walmart had some good souvenirs that were less expensive than the gift shops downtown. The rooms are laid out like an older SHS. There is a desk, sink, fridge and microwave on one side as you walk in, and the couch is on the other side. The restroom is the old style where the toilet and shower are in the same room right next to each other, and there is a separate vanity. I think the reno was new paint, carpet and furnishings.

Edited to add: BTW, the internet was incredibly slow. As a Titanium, I got the 'high speed' version. I did a speed test and it was 1.5 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload. It was so bad, that I actually called technical support. That was worthless. The rep said several times that the only thing they guarantee is that there is an internet connection. They don't guarantee the speed. Then he had me go to this weird speed test sight that averaged together the download and upload speeds and said I had a 10 Mbps connection. I ended up tethering to my phone instead.

dshafiee

Just stayed at Sheraton. Recently renovated and would recommend.

Michilander

We have a stay here coming up. How were the lounge and restaurant?

UPDATE: Just completed 3 day award stay. SNA's cleared into a One Bedroom Junior Suite (Like most junior suites, no door between bedroom and sitting room, despite being called one bedroom)

To answer my own questions from above:

Lounge was not bad, but small. Breakfast was pretty nice; eggs, sausage, potatoes, fruit, cereal, including oatmeal, breads. However, it got very crowded. After the first morning we swapped our arrival gift from points to breakfast in the restaurant. Ticket said continental, but we got access to everything, including cook-to-order. Evening offering was one hot item (spring rolls, meatballs, chicken kabobs), fruit, cheese, crackers, cookies, brownies. Not enough to make a meal.

Lounge is accessible 24 hours for bottled water, juices, coffee, tea and some snacks, which included a nice trail mix.

The restaurant is only used for breakfast. Dinner is done in the bar. Menu was not real extensive, but the food was pretty good. Just make sure you ask for the dressing on the side if you order a salad. As a dark beer drinker I was pleased to discover they had two stouts and a porter on tap. Very unusual for Marriott.

One strange thing. If you do not finish your bottle of wine at dinner, or even if you buy a bottle to take to your room, one of the staff has to carry it across the lobby for you and hand it to you once you are on the elevator. Never asked why, but suspect a prudish state law.

Like all the hotels in Anchorage, it gets lots of cruise traffic. There seems to always be people sitting around the lobby. Still, other than the overcrowding at breakfast in the lounge, it was a pretty nice stay. Would stay there again.