Tonglen Lake Lodge — Hotel in Alaska

I will share the pros and the cons of this lodge. My wife and I are seasoned travelers and have stayed at many luxury resorts in the United States. That said, we have a good sense of luxury vs. trying to be luxury and if you are getting value for your money.||Pros: The rooms are clean. The location is secluded, so if you are looking for something not too busy this would work out well. The rooms and overall grounds have a rustic ambiance and provide a nice escape from the ordinary hotel room. The breakfast, lunch, and dinners are very good food and you don't want to miss them as it was in our opinion the best food in the Denali area.||Cons: The cabins do not have WIFI. There is WIFI in the main lodge/lounge but you have to walk to it from the cabins to use it.|Technically this problem can be solved, and requires some investment to fix this problem. The cabins we were in also did not have any coffee maker. There is a sign in the room to "dial 911" in an emergency, but given that cell phone service is very poor (we have Verizon), and there is no WIFI (so no WIFI calling), it is likely your call would go nowhere and you would have better luck opening the door, screaming, and hoping someone in one of the other cabins hears you and can help. Just from a safety perspective, they really should have WIFI reaching the cabins or at least put in actual phone lines so that you can call someone in an emergency.||Our cabin also had a really bad rotten egg/sulfur smell coming from the water. If you poured a glass of water it smelled like rotten eggs. We drank bottled water and brushed our teeth with bottled water because we didn't know what that was.||At night when you are eating dinner in the lodge they sometimes have talks and presentations. There was a slight bit of pressure to stay and watch them. As a simple example you will be eating dinner and then they will start their talk/presentation while you are eating. It kind of ruins the evening if you were looking to have a quiet/romantic evening with your partner/spouse in the lodge, and for those that feel awkward easily (I don't), you may feel awkward getting up and leaving when you are done with dinner but they are still in the middle of their presentation or talk. The owner should focus less on telling everyone how great they are with their talks, and more on guest services/hospitality/wifi. Have the talks out in one of the other buildings and those that want to go can go, and then this way there is no pressure and people can have a nice evening of dinner in the lodge without all the other stuff.||In my view the price you are charged to stay at this resort does not justify the experience. I believe a few other reviews mentioned something similar. In addition to cost, at the end of your stay you are asked if you want to add a gratuity. The owner should not be looking to their guests for that, and instead should pay their staff more, especially given the high cost to stay here.||So if you are looking for something more like a quiet lodge bed & breakfast in the woods with good food, then this is your place, but just be prepared for the high price, awkward dinners, no wifi in the cabins, poor cell coverage in the cabins, and the ask for the...

I will share the pros and the cons of this lodge. My wife and I are seasoned travelers and have stayed at many luxury resorts in the United States. That said, we have a good sense of luxury vs. trying to be luxury and if you are getting value for your money.

Pros: The rooms are clean. The location is secluded, so if you are looking for something not too busy this would work out well. The rooms and overall grounds have a rustic ambiance and provide a nice escape from the ordinary hotel room. The breakfast, lunch, and dinners are very good food and you don't want to miss them as it was in our opinion the best food in the Denali area.

Cons: The cabins do not have WIFI. There is WIFI in the main lodge/lounge but you have to walk to it from the cabins to use it. Technically this problem can be solved, and requires some investment to fix this problem. The cabins we were in also did not have any coffee maker. There is a sign in the room to "dial 911" in an emergency, but given that cell phone service is very poor (we have Verizon), and there is no WIFI (so no WIFI calling), it is likely your call would go nowhere and you would have better luck opening the door, screaming, and hoping someone in one of the other cabins hears you and can help. Just from a safety perspective, they really should have WIFI reaching the cabins or at least put in actual phone lines so that you can call someone in an emergency.

Our cabin also had a really bad rotten egg/sulfur smell coming from the water. If you poured a glass of water it smelled like rotten eggs. We drank bottled water and brushed our teeth with bottled water because we didn't know what that was.

At night when you are eating dinner in the lodge they sometimes have talks and presentations. There was a slight bit of pressure to stay and watch them. As a simple example you will be eating dinner and then they will start their talk/presentation while you are eating. It kind of ruins the evening if you were looking to have a quiet/romantic evening with your partner/spouse in the lodge, and for those that feel awkward easily (I don't), you may feel awkward getting up and leaving when you are done with dinner but they are still in the middle of their presentation or talk. The owner should focus less on telling everyone how great they are with their talks, and more on guest services/hospitality/wifi. Have the talks out in one of the other buildings and those that want to go can go, and then this way there is no pressure and people can have a nice evening of dinner in the lodge without all the other stuff.

In my view the price you are charged to stay at this resort does not justify the experience. I believe a few other reviews mentioned something similar. In addition to cost, at the end of your stay you are asked if you want to add a gratuity. The owner should not be looking to their guests for that, and instead should pay their staff more, especially given the high cost to stay here.

So if you are looking for something more like a quiet lodge bed & breakfast in the woods with good food, then this is your place, but just be prepared for the high price, awkward dinners, no wifi in the cabins, poor cell coverage in the cabins, and the ask for the...

I will share the pros and the cons of this lodge. My wife and I are seasoned travelers and have stayed at many luxury resorts in the United States. That said, we have a good sense of luxury vs. trying to be luxury and if you are getting value for your money.||Pros: The rooms are clean. The location is secluded, so if you are looking for something not too busy this would work out well. The rooms and overall grounds have a rustic ambiance and provide a nice escape from the ordinary hotel room. The breakfast, lunch, and dinners are very good food and you don't want to miss them as it was in our opinion the best food in the Denali area.||Cons: The cabins do not have WIFI. There is WIFI in the main lodge/lounge but you have to walk to it from the cabins to use it.|Technically this problem can be solved, and requires some investment to fix this problem. The cabins we were in also did not have any coffee maker. There is a sign in the room to "dial 911" in an emergency, but given that cell phone service is very poor (we have Verizon), and there is no WIFI (so no WIFI calling), it is likely your call would go nowhere and you would have better luck opening the door, screaming, and hoping someone in one of the other cabins hears you and can help. Just from a safety perspective, they really should have WIFI reaching the cabins or at least put in actual phone lines so that you can call someone in an emergency.||Our cabin also had a really bad rotten egg/sulfur smell coming from the water. If you poured a glass of water it smelled like rotten eggs. We drank bottled water and brushed our teeth with bottled water because we didn't know what that was.||At night when you are eating dinner in the lodge they sometimes have talks and presentations. There was a slight bit of pressure to stay and watch them. As a simple example you will be eating dinner and then they will start their talk/presentation while you are eating. It kind of ruins the evening if you were looking to have a quiet/romantic evening with your partner/spouse in the lodge, and for those that feel awkward easily (I don't), you may feel awkward getting up and leaving when you are done with dinner but they are still in the middle of their presentation or talk. The owner should focus less on telling everyone how great they are with their talks, and more on guest services/hospitality/wifi. Have the talks out in one of the other buildings and those that want to go can go, and then this way there is no pressure and people can have a nice evening of dinner in the lodge without all the other stuff.||In my view the price you are charged to stay at this resort does not justify the experience. I believe a few other reviews mentioned something similar. In addition to cost, at the end of your stay you are asked if you want to add a gratuity. The owner should not be looking to their guests for that, and instead should pay their staff more, especially given the high cost to stay here.||So if you are looking for something more like a quiet lodge bed & breakfast in the woods with good food, then this is your place, but just be prepared for the high price, awkward dinners, no wifi in the cabins, poor cell coverage in the cabins, and the ask for the...