Hotels near Merrill Field - MRI, Anchorage

Anchorage is a good 'launch pad' onto other spots in Alaska. Make sure to do the coastal bike trail - we saw 2 mum Moose with their calves, very special. The drive from there south toward Girdwood is fabulous.

We were in Anchorage for medical reasons, however, when we had free time, we were able to take in the 5th Avenue Mall and the Sullivan Steakhouse which was really enjoyable. It was a 5-minute walk to the mall, and we enjoyed the walk. We also were able to take in a Japanese restaurant, a restaurant at the Marriott hotel and a Mexican restaurant outside of the area. We would have love to have taken in some of the other attractions.

I enjoyed Anchorage and enjoyed the Federal building which was free entry and had a lot of interesting information about Alaska and all its wildlife etc and has a theatre which presents short videos about different things about Alaska life. I enjoyed strolling around the town. For me coming from a busy city I think Anchorage was a tad boring because I come from a busy place and Anchorage was not enough for me to amuse myself in the 4 days we are here (maybe a bit too long). Also hardly anyone on the streets in downtown Anchorage mainly tourists.

The city is convenient but I did not find it attractive. There are some good tours from Anchorage although I did not participate. We arrived from Seward with Salmon Berry Tours which was enjoyable. The Tour Guide Driver was very pleasant and did her best to make sure we had an enjoyable journey.

On our bucket list. Beautiful beautiful. Wife and I rented a car and even drove 8 hrs round trip one day to Denali on a whim. 3 grizzlies just came up and started walking on the road 1 car ahead of us. That long trip was worth it. I would plan places to go though. We did the train from Anchorage to Seward and then back which takes an entire day. That was a little long. Just one way would have been fine but since we were staying in Anchorage..... We did see the Turnagain Arm numerous times just because we were driving south to different places but the view never got old. It was gloomy and off and on rainy half the time but that was expected because of the time we were there - Aug 30 - Sep 6. We did get out a lot because of having a rental car. If doing a cruise then I guess you will have to rely on the excursions only. We did get to see lots of things and were in no rush. We drove thru the tunnel to Whittier. Seen the Salmon swimming upstream near the Portage Glacier. Went to Alyeska Resort as part of an excursion and had lunch at a gut truck parked just outside of Girdwood Brewing. Also the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was awesome.

Very poor response to request for room cleaning - never done; they double charged - accepted the booking.com payment and then charged my credit card for the stay; elevator barely worked - more often not