We took our mother to Fairbanks the Christmas of 2011 to fulfill her last bucket dream -- seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). That we did see and on Christmas Eve, no less! We had booked the trip through Orbitz and the hotel was a package deal in combo with Alaska Airlines. We arrived the week before Christmas and were given a two queen room in the basement. The room was terrible and the beds had mattresses that must have been picked up from trash bins -- no lie. When we complained the general manager of the property admitted that he sells the crappy rooms to the discount travel sites (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, etc...) but that for an extra $10 per day he put us up in a two bedroom suite on the second floor. The beds had pillow top mattresses and were very comfortable. The property GM was the only member of the hotel staff that was pleasant. The front desk staff would not even acknowledge you when coming or going through the lobby and to ask them for local advice or a hotel service it was like asking Leona Helmsley how her day was. The restaurant / bar in the basement does have pleasant staff; however, the food and drink prices are very high and the food was subpar. The maid service was horrible and during a 10 day stay there our room was only serviced/cleaned 7 times. All of the rooms have kitchenettes; however, the appliances are mediocre and dated and a deposit must be put down to obtain cooking ware, silverware, and dishes (all of which are of the cheapest quality) and don't expect the maids to wash your dishes. ALSO, beware -- even though the hotel has wireless service it is not secure and our Ipad, laptop and Iphones were hacked and we are still trying to get it all straightened out. The better bet would be to stay at the Westmark hotel just a block down 10th Street or one of the other hotels near the river.
- Regency Fairbanks
