Hotels near Merrill Field Airport - MRI, Anchorage

People from other parts of Alaska have a saying: 'You can see Alaska from Anchorage'. This sums up the city in that it is truly not representative of the State and has few reasons for tourists to stay there, other than as a jumping off point from the airport. Lake Hood is worth a visit and seaplane flights to other parts of the State are operated from here.

I stayed two nights in Anchorage, the first with cruise shipmates I was with on NorthWest Passage 30 day cruise which arrived in Nome - very interesting, but quite sad in parts, place - and then we flew to Anchorage. The cruise stay was in the Hilton, rather faded glory place, but great views from the Anchorage Tower Room I was in. Downtown Anchorage seems pretty tough. For the first time in my life, someone, a teenage boy, shot up with a syringe next to me on the pavement as I walked past. Another of our shipmates, in his fifties, and without provocation on his part, was challenged to an armwrestle by someone in a pub, so he left speedily. But outside the centre, Anchorage is quite a different place, and we had a good wander, and bumped into a retired teacher, who told us about an open mike bluegrass afternoon at Van's Dive Bar. So we went, and had a great time, free food, and met great people, with children playing fiddles joining in the fun! So take care after dark, and, if alone, return to your hotel or safe place, but Anchorage has lots of interesting history, great trains (and horns!) and more good people than troubled or challenging ones, to be sure!! Great museums, apparently, and good excursions, too.

So many experiences available within walking distance of our downtown hotel. Loved Anchorage Trolley Tours with our funny and exceptionally knowledgeable guide Ace - we learned so many interesting things. The Visitor's Center with the grass roof was so friendly and such a warm atmosphere. Absolutely fantastic world-class Anchorage Museum with Discovery Center and Planetarium for all ages, could have spent an entire day or more there. Kobuk for Chia Tea and their famous donuts and incredible gift shop, so enjoyable. Humpy's for dinner and live music, perfect ending to our day. And ALL within walking distance. Next time? Take longer and more in-depth trolley tours. Have two donuts at Hobuk's instead of one.

It was really nice to spend time in the general "downtown" area. We did partake of a very fun tour bus ride (the red Anchorage Trolley's Deluxe City Tour) that took off from the Visitor's Center - where the staff was very helpful. Lots of good coffee and breakfast places sprinkled all over. We also had some really nice lunches (F-Street Station!) As for more enriching activities, we thoroughly enjoyed the Law Enforcement Museum, the Aviation Museum, and the Museum of Anchorage - though we could have used a little more time there because we arrived too close to closing and the First Peoples' exhibits were spectacular!

Other than the surrounding beauty of the area, my thoughts of Anchorage are not good as a whole. It's got it's good points, but it also has quite a few bad. However, if you get a chance to eat at Home Town Korean Restaurant or at Charlie's, don't miss out on some exceptional food.

Anchorage is a great base for seeing many natural wonders in Alaska, including Denali National Park and several glaciers. There are many day trips you can take either by train, bus or car to nearby attractions like the Matanuska Glacier, Whittier/Prince William Sound etc. The city itself does not offer much in the way of things to do, but the trolley tour is worth it for the history of Anchorage.