Merrill Field Inn — Hotel in Alaska

My flight got in around 11pm, so my arrival-to-shuttle-to-check-in was happening during a crew shift (front desk and shuttle).

When I called for a shuttle, the person I spoke to was clear in her instructions for where to meet the shuttle. Our shuttle driver was absolutely delightful, and delivered us to the hotel, engaging us with pleasant conversation along the way.

The lobby was a simple, lived-in, cozy room with comfortable furniture and a great vibe--a warm, inviting, friendly vibe, just like the vibration of the woman behind the front desk. The check-in process was smooth, and I went to my room, but then I got locked out due to a mechanical problem with the door. Their facilities manager came right out to fix it swiftly, and in the meantime, the hotel manager made me very comfortable in the lobby and hung out to keep me company. She was very friendly, and we had a pleasant conversation.

The room was nice. Very clean with all the usual stuff. It was really warm when I walked in, and though I turned the thermostat all the way down, it's kind of hot in here. But I just cracked the door for a while. There is also a wall unit AC.

The TV has basic Direct TV, so it's a lot of nothing channels and no premiums. So, you might want to bring an HDMI cable and a laptop if you want access to your streaming services.

The bed was comfortable (the pillows are really soft). Good water pressure in the shower.

Here's a pro travel tip, btw: If you don't have bluetooth speaker, but you want to elevate the sound of your phone speaker, put the phone inside the ice bucket.

In the morning, I went to breakfast, and everybody was engaging one another in conversation. I "met" about 8-10 really cool people. Meanwhile the staff was everpresent, keeping the continental breakfast well stocked. The breakfast was a simple one, no frills, but it was hot, and it was real food. There were eggs, hash browns, and sausage on the hot bar. There were also hard boiled eggs, hot and cold cereal, various kinds of bread for toast, muffins, etc. And of course, coffee--which was good. So often hotel coffee is kind of weak and burnt tasting. This was strong, fresh black coffee from a good bean.

The hotel was very accommodating with my request for a late check out, and arranging a shuttle was easy.

Speaking of the shuttle: Their shuttle service is really friendly. It operates 24/7, as far as I can tell, and I can't imagine how many trips they make to and from the airport (I believe it's on a cycle every half hour. But sometimes, the shuttle is able to get passengers to other places like downtown, and I noticed people arranging rides that fit into the driver's route. It's a small operation, just a couple of drivers and a couple of vans, so I thought they were very generous and accommodating.

Anyway, this is where I will be staying next time I'm in Anchorage. If you want things fancy, this might not be your jam, but if you like cozy, quaint, down-to-earth, feels-like-family, I highly recommend this...

They have great people working behind the desk. You can sometimes do early checkins before 11am-1pm upon request and can reserve certain rooms you may favor upon request and availability. They keep the clientle clean of drug dealers or others of the same charcter. They do not discriminate or judge people. They do have at times long term rentals upon request and do allow pets. And you cannot forget their breakfast buffet between 6-9am. They always have a decent spread during the winter time yet during the summer they have the whole breakfast smorgasbord along with juice machines available in the lobby. They are flexible with you and I have always had a great rapport with them. They are bed bug and roach free. And they They have a wheelchair accessible room with a wheelchair accessible bathroom with a nice spacious bath tub. Their housekeeping is excellent and they are willing at anytime of night to help accommodate you with extra linens and toiletries. They have free cable with the HBO channels along with free WiFi. Their rooms are spacious and have single or double beds available upon request. Nice spacious bathrooms with a nice sink area upon entering the room adjacent to the bathroom, a nice small table with chairs next to the window, microwave, and comfortable bed with a nightstand and two lamps. Well lit with a key card entry. They have 2 soda and juice machines outside next to the stairwells and a chip and candy machine right next to the ATM upon entry to the lobby. They have a laundry facility with a soap and fabric softener vending machine. The ice machine where you can fill your ice bucket which is provided to you in your room on top of the microwave is in the laundry room also. It can only be accessed by your room key card. They are always willing to give change for the vending or laundry machines. I have been staying there to get a sanity break for the past 5 years and have always been treated with the same level of respect that I have given...

I stayed for a single night at the Merrill Field Inn. First impression was it was a basic motel style place with direct outside door access from the parking lot. The staff was extremely nice and seemed pleasant enough as people. The morning breakfast was okay for selection.

Now for the bad:

The room was run down. The outlets on the walls in my room [room 115] were seemingly pulled out of the dry wall. Everything felt like it had a film on it, as if the floors were wiped down but not fully wiped down. The bathroom was also musty, with the soap tray in the shower being completely busted off. There were dirt stains in the bathtub floor. The carpets were stained and looked as if they had not been really steam cleaned in decades. There was a small kitchen table that wobbled when you attempted to use it, and some old kitchen chairs to give you something to sit at that wasn't your bed. The in room refrigerator did not work very well, and seemed to be on it's last legs also. The walls were super thin, so I could hear some muffled mumbles or walking from guests in the rooms above or next to me. There was an air conditioner unit built into the wall of the room. When I operated it, it had a very distinct musty smell emitting from it. I assumed that the filter had not been cleaned in ages, so when I popped off the face place to at least wipe down the filter, I found out that there wasn't any filter at all. Dust and grime was stuck to the cooling intake fan of the air conditioning unit.

The reason that I give this place a 2 instead of a one was the bed was clean. That part is the most important thing to me in a motel like this. The sheets were clean and the bed was comfortable. Additionally, I did not feel unsafe on the...