A couple months ago I went to Alaska for a weekend. (It was the cheapest way to complete my Delta Platinum Medallion challenge.) I didn’t realize how cold and snowy it’d be in October! But I made the most of it.
I just needed a quiet, comfortable place to stay in Anchorage, and the best option seemed to be the Hyatt House.
This was my first time staying at a Hyatt House (though I’ve stayed at a few Hyatt Place properties before – more on that later on in this post). It’s one of the highest-rated hotels in the area on TripAdvisor (though the city doesn’t really have any flashy hotel brands at all – if there’s a property in Anchorage called W it’s only because the other letters on the sign fell off). I paid about $100 a night for my room.
Location
This hotel’s location isn’t exactly in the middle of it all. It’s a few miles east of the airport and a few miles south of downtown Anchorage. However, there are some restaurants nearby, as well as a bunch of other hotels…and like a million car dealerships.
I checked in late at night for my two-night stay. The woman on duty was really friendly and welcoming. She quickly explained the amenities of the hotel, gave me my room key, and wished me a good night’s sleep.
The Room
The furniture looked new and modern, which I like. In many cases, I’d rather stay in a hotel with contemporary décor than a fancier one with a more “traditional” style.
The bathroom was basic but clean. The KenetMD toiletries didn’t feel like anything special to me, but they were totally fine.
I had only two minor complaints about the room: first, the faucet in the bathroom didn’t reach far enough into the sink. The stream of water was only about an inch from the edge of the basin, which meant you had to jam your hands against the edge of the sink to wash your hands. I’ve seen this in a lot of hotels, and I can’t understand why.
The second thing that I didn’t love was the lighting – or lack thereof. Both the room and the bathroom felt a little on the darker side, even with all the lights turned on. The floors, furniture and accent wall were all dark grey, and some more lights would have helped brighten it up.
Breakfast
Breakfast is included at Hyatt House, and while it wouldn’t compete with a Michelin-starred restaurant, it’s hearty enough to fill you up and there’s enough variety to keep you interested over a few days. Here are some photos.
Other Stuff
Hyatt Houses have a pantry area with frozen and packaged food (and some other essentials) for sale. There was also a business center, a gym, and a pool. Both times I went to the pool to try to get some photos, the only people there were some pre-teen girls, and I didn’t want to be mistaken for a former Senate candidate creeper.
The hotel offers a free shuttle to the airport, but I rented a car (so I appreciated the free parking).
Hyatt House vs. Hyatt Place
As far as the rooms themselves, Hyatt Place rooms may be a small step up quality-wise, and they have separate sleeping and living areas.
Hyatt Houses are often marketed as extended stay properties, while Hyatt Places aren’t. Hyatt Place tends to have a better free breakfast, with “Kitchen Skillet” options that are actually really good. Hyatt Place also has a 24/7 “Gallery” area, where you can get hot food (and some really good pastries) at any time.
Bottom Line
Considering the other options in this hotel category, Hyatt House is a good choice. Alaska in October, not so much.
THIS IS THE WORST HOTEL EVER I STAYED AT..
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS REALLY BAD..DO NOT CARE CUSTOMER..ALL STAFF WITH ATTITUDE? NOT PROFFESIONAL AT ALL..
NEVER EVER AGAIN GOING TO THIS HOTEL IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!
THIS PLACE NEEDS TO CHANGE THE FRONT DESK STAFF FIRTS.
Wow! That breakfast looks like any other hotel breakfast. Impressive!
Hi Andrew. I also live in Anchorage. Wish you could have stayed at the Captain Cook which is a much more interesting property and is in the downtown corridor. Next time come during the dog races.
The Hyatt House Anchorage looks so different from the 2 Hyatt House properties that I've stayed at in DFW. Both Hyatt House properties in DFW had a separate fully equipped kitchen like the Residence Inns. They were like apartments to me.
I have made four "status", one night runs in the months of Oct, Nov, and Dec during the six years. Overnighted at the downtown Marriott, $100 a night with breakfast. Each trip provided close to 10,000 airline status miles and the fare was less than $600 (off-season ). Great city to buy and bring home fresh fish. There is a nice large fish market, just out of the downtown area. Best time to go off...
I have made four "status", one night runs in the months of Oct, Nov, and Dec during the six years. Overnighted at the downtown Marriott, $100 a night with breakfast. Each trip provided close to 10,000 airline status miles and the fare was less than $600 (off-season ). Great city to buy and bring home fresh fish. There is a nice large fish market, just out of the downtown area. Best time to go off season to Anchorage is early Oct. while in Nov you can purchase fresh king crab just off the boat from Homer, Alaska. Dec. is cold with rain or snow. Great trip for a point run but there is not much to do Anchorage except dining and drinking.
Hey Now! I probably flew there the same weekend to complete my AS MVPG status for the year. I had a great time. Stayed at the Sheraton downtown, it was “meh.”
ANC in winter can be fun. I used to live in AK, so I’m probably more familiar, but even alone, it sure isn’t depressing.
Ive stayed at this hotel several times in the past year. It looks like you stayed in their basic room. I highly recommend the nicier rooms which have a kitchen island and separate living area. The also have huge corner rooms with a separate bedroom which is great for family stays. I've never had to pay for the upgrade, only kindly requested it with my Hyatt CC status. The staff are some of the niciest...
Ive stayed at this hotel several times in the past year. It looks like you stayed in their basic room. I highly recommend the nicier rooms which have a kitchen island and separate living area. The also have huge corner rooms with a separate bedroom which is great for family stays. I've never had to pay for the upgrade, only kindly requested it with my Hyatt CC status. The staff are some of the niciest in town. The 40k bonus from the Hyatt credit card can get you 5 free nights here where rates in the summer (may-october) can be from $170-$250/night. Im usually just gojng thru Anchorage so thd Location is awesome. Its close to the airport or a short ride to downtown or South Anchorage via C street or Minnesota. This is one of your best bets for hotels in Anchorage
Thx for this review. I live in ANC and have been looking at this hotel for friends and family. For 8k points/night it is a steal in the summer when decent hotel rates easily exceed $250/night.
Andrew, great post like always.
@ Ben L.—If you find the premise of this post "unfathomably bleak," I'm not sure you're in the right place. Unless maybe you're here for all the credit card reviews.
Hyatt house in many markets are "suite only" hotels where room is larger than a typical Hyatt Place.
In some/quite a few markets, however, the Hyatt House brand does offer standard King/Two doubles, at which point the basic room type may be smaller than the common Hyatt Place.
Hyatt House has 2 (or 2.5 generations for now), the first generation is what those Summerfield hotels were when acquired, with a wooden-toned room, feels...
Hyatt house in many markets are "suite only" hotels where room is larger than a typical Hyatt Place.
In some/quite a few markets, however, the Hyatt House brand does offer standard King/Two doubles, at which point the basic room type may be smaller than the common Hyatt Place.
Hyatt House has 2 (or 2.5 generations for now), the first generation is what those Summerfield hotels were when acquired, with a wooden-toned room, feels more like dated stuff, but often starts with 1 br suite. Hyatt House 2.0 features "Studio" room type which is a large square room with separate living/br area. It's like a transposed Hyatt place room with added space so Bathrooms are larger.
Hyatt House 2.5 is similar to 2.0, but the kitchen area features greyish stone counters, some of them even have stone islands. That's around the same time for Hyatt Place 2.0 when greyish/modern decor is introduced (but Hyatt Place kept the same lay-out, just the lobby has been much, much nicer)
On the breakfast, both HH and HP offers mediocre breakfast and the quality is almost always inline of revenue generated. In a poor market both offers very little while in good markets (for example, HP Flushing/LGA) the breakfast is much better than average for a limited service hotel.
I forgot to add "alone". This is unfathomably bleak the more I think about it.
Fine review, but what a depressing premise "flying to Alaska in October to spend two nights in a Hyatt House nowhere near anything interesting to complete an airline status challenge in the cheapest way possible" is.