Approx price for Princess Wilderness Lodge?

[paddingtonbear]

Reney and oldmama,

 

Did you think taking the bus all the way to Wonderlake was worthwhile or, looking back on it, would it have been sufficient to have only gone as far as Eielson?

[4_Leaf_Clover]

Thank ya'll so much for your friendly suggestions!

 

After talking to the family, I think we are most interested in staying in cabins somewhere that have full kitchens and cooking/grilling our own food in the evenings in the privacy of our own cabins. I have found AK Spruce Cabins..and there is actually only 3 cabins on site, so with 3 couples we would actually have the whole place to ourselves! Of course I would need to decide the exact dates we are going and go ahead and book that to ensure all 3 cabins are available.

 

What my family would REALLY LIKE to do (and what I think I am having the most trouble with...yes, Im actually having MORE trouble with something else aside from this Denali lodging trouble haha :eek: ) is go halibut fishing on this trip as well.

 

As we all know, the area between Homer and Denali is VAST! I dont know that Homer will be the place we go, but do any of you know a closer place to Denali that offers Halibut fishing?? I'm so lost :confused:

[4_Leaf_Clover]

Thank ya'll so much for your friendly suggestions!

 

After talking to the family, I think we are most interested in staying in cabins somewhere that have full kitchens and cooking/grilling our own food in the evenings in the privacy of our own cabins. I have found AK Spruce Cabins..and there is actually only 3 cabins on site, so with 3 couples we would actually have the whole place to ourselves! Of course I would need to decide the exact dates we are going and go ahead and book that to ensure all 3 cabins are available.

 

What my family would REALLY LIKE to do (and what I think I am having the most trouble with...yes, Im actually having MORE trouble with something else aside from this Denali lodging trouble haha :eek: ) is go halibut fishing on this trip as well.

 

As we all know, the area between Homer and Denali is VAST! I dont know that Homer will be the place we go, but do any of you know a closer place to Denali that offers Halibut fishing?? I'm so lost :confused:

 

Maybe take the train from Anchorage to Seward, stay a couple of nights there, do a combo halibut/salmon fishing charter trip, take the train back to anchorage, rent a car, stay a night and then drive up to Denali?

[Budget Queen]

I understand your problem, we are travelling with others and require our own bathrooms too, so we're not lining up in the morning.

 

We wanted to be close to the park entrance to maximise our time there rather than trekking to Healy everyday (no cheaper we found and you have to add cost of petrol and time).

 

We haven't been to Alaska yet but after researching I have found Grande Denali Lodge is $109 incl tax pp with the northern lights book. (hopefully this will continue) You have to stay 2 nights. It is a few minutes drive from the main "glitter gulch area" so a car is necessary so you don't have to rely on shuttles and also so you can choose where you want to go to dinner rather than be restricted to the $$$ hotel restaurant. Have breakfast and pick up lunch in Glitter Gulch.

 

Please let me know if you find anything better.

 

You can hire an SUV which seats 7. Don't panic about the prices you see on the rental places for this year as they drop out of season, the advice above, to book early, (you don't have to pay early) is important if you don't want to pay $$$.

 

There are deals on the railway but the timetables are restricted and with 6 you should be able to share the driving and stop off where you want.

 

Healy is at most a 15 minute drive. Hardly an issue. This is a "must" area if there in the fall and want some Northern Lights views. Also quieter and some cheaper lodging.

[4_Leaf_Clover]

Healy is at most a 15 minute drive. Hardly an issue. This is a "must" area if there in the fall and want some Northern Lights views. Also quieter and some cheaper lodging.

 

Id love to see the Northern Lights, but we'll be going in July

[reney313]

Reney and oldmama,

 

Did you think taking the bus all the way to Wonderlake was worthwhile or, looking back on it, would it have been sufficient to have only gone as far as Eielson?

 

We booked to Wonder Lake because all the buses to Eielson were full By the time we arrived.

 

We ended up switching buses back to the entrance at Eielson and did not go all the way to wonder lake. We would have loved too..,but didn't get to the park until 11-00am so it would have been very late plus the clouds started coming out when we got to Eielson. On advice of our bus driver we chose to head back as she said A. Not much more wildlife (we had already seen everything). B. with the clouds coming in the view would not be so good...we decided to heed her advice and make it back for the last shuttle to the lodge and a reasonable dinner time.

 

That all being said--if we had left earlier in the morning and had clear weather by the time we got to Eielson I definitely would have continued on to wonder lake.

 

 

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[SunshineCoast]

Just to let you know that we have tried to book the Princess Wilderness Lodge in Denali for July 2013 hoping to use the Norhtern Lights coupons, but not only will they not accept them, we cannot even book there at full price - and we are cruising to Alaska on a Princess ship. I have been in email correspondence with them since August and was told to wait until October for next year's bookings, which i did - only to be told 'no availablity'. Contacted their head office only to be told i should have booked their land cruise and i would have been able to stay there. Their loss in the long run as we will not sail with Princess again.

[Chenega]

Just to let you know that we have tried to book the Princess Wilderness Lodge in Denali for July 2013 hoping to use the Norhtern Lights coupons, but not only will they not accept them, we cannot even book there at full price - and we are cruising to Alaska on a Princess ship. I have been in email correspondence with them since August and was told to wait until October for next year's bookings, which i did - only to be told 'no availablity'. Contacted their head office only to be told i should have booked their land cruise and i would have been able to stay there. Their loss in the long run as we will not sail with Princess again.

 

That's a major problem for independent travelers who opt to do their own land tours. The big Denali hotels like the Princess and McKinley Chalet cater primarily to people on prearranged land tours through the cruise lines and room availability for others can be very sporadic.

 

Although I love the Alaska Railroad, it does limit your access at Denali. During the summer, my wife and I prefer lodging in Healy. It's about a five hour drive for us and there are plenty of places to stay there at a fraction of the cost. When the big tours are in, the major Denali hotels often look like Walt Disney World on a major holiday!

[warriorprincess]

Just to let you know that we have tried to book the Princess Wilderness Lodge in Denali for July 2013 hoping to use the Norhtern Lights coupons, but not only will they not accept them, we cannot even book there at full price - and we are cruising to Alaska on a Princess ship. I have been in email correspondence with them since August and was told to wait until October for next year's bookings, which i did - only to be told 'no availablity'. Contacted their head office only to be told i should have booked their land cruise and i would have been able to stay there. Their loss in the long run as we will not sail with Princess again.

 

I just booked 2 night at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge for July3-5, 2013. I booked online through their website. Just google the name. I was hoping a coupon would be in the Toursaver for 2013, but I did not see it listed in their coupon listing on their site. Was anyone able to find the coupon in the Toursaver listing online for Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge? I emailed Toursaver to ask, but no response yet.

[frugaltravel]

That's a major problem for independent travelers who opt to do their own land tours. The big Denali hotels like the Princess and McKinley Chalet cater primarily to people on prearranged land tours through the cruise lines and room availability for others can be very sporadic.

 

Although I love the Alaska Railroad, it does limit your access at Denali. During the summer, my wife and I prefer lodging in Healy. It's about a five hour drive for us and there are plenty of places to stay there at a fraction of the cost. When the big tours are in, the major Denali hotels often look like Walt Disney World on a major holiday!

 

Probably best to leave such hotels to cruisetour passengers and those who like a Disney-eque feel vs. a national park experience :)