Chena Hot Springs Restaurant — Restaurant in Alaska

I write this review with about 10 years of serving experience, now let's begin. To start there was a wait, no big deal, its a busy restaurant. Just know this if you decide to stop reading the review now. However, after we got in and was sat probably 10 minutes after we were greeted by our server. He asked if we knew what we wanted, we asked a couple questions and he answered them very straight forward. No excitement or hyping up a dish. Probably because he knew what was coming. He brought us a lemonade which wasn't bad and then the best part of the meal; a side salad and tomato basil soup. The clam chowder was at least warm, but it was so thick it was more like oatmeal consistency. Nonetheless not bad (I know I am critical of clam chowders). Finally our food was brought out after I had to yell at my wife to converse because the music sounded more like a concert than a restaurant. This is where I just had to laugh because the "chicken breast" I ordered seemed to have been run over by a snowmobile before they cooked it. This chicken needed to do more weights because it's breast looked like the tail end of a fish. The shrimp wasnt bad but the rice was overcooked and could tell it was cooked in a bowl and dumped onto the plate. The veggies tasted like they were microwaved in a plastic bag and water and tossed on the plate. I'd expect this from a 2 for $20 at Applebee's, not a $38 plate of food. Then my wife got the "Slightly blackened Halibut" which I think they call it that in case they burn it. Because there was no blackened anything except our hopes of a good dinner. The halibut was so flavorless that she dipped it in my sauce to make it edible. We didnt touch the rice or vegetables. The server never came back to check on us or ask how dinner was (again, probably because he knew). The person who truly hustling and bust his butt was the Host. He was bussing tables, getting waters, getting yelled at by a 6 top demanding they get sat before anyone else and more. He deserves better for sure.

P.s. I ran into someone else on a dog sledding excursion who ate there the same day and had the exact same situation. Their baked potatoes weren't fully cooked, their $61 steak was cooked incorrectly, but her grilled cheese with tomato basil was the best dish.

P.p.s I also forgot the part where the server brought me the wrong check for the table and almost charged me 30% more for another table. I get this falls on me not double checking, but I had a 90 minute drive home and just wanted to leave after waiting 10 minutes just to...

They seem to have an odd system of seating where when you ask for a table, the host goes inside to look if there any tables and set them up, if there is one. It isn’t the usual yes/no with a wait. Anyway we were seated within 10 mins and while we browsed through menu, we noticed how no one came by to provide water. After more than acceptable minutes had passed, we finally had to ask if we had a server and the host mentioned that she will stop by. 5 mins later she did come by to take our order. She seemed nice and to the point. I ordered the aurora margarita for myself and soda for the kids. For dinner I ordered the scallops. My husband had the alaskan halibut, and the kids had pasta primavera and chicken tenders. Food and drinks came out at a reasonable time and my scallops were very tasty…first time having such kind of scallops. The veggie medley that came with my food wasn’t that great - odd mix of veggies, summer squash, carrots, etc which made few of the veggies overcooked. My kids enjoyed their food and so did my husband. My margarita was also quite perfect. The dessert order took a while to be served but we enjoyed it - although for the life of me, I can’t recall what it was. We had trouble paying for dinner because first our server took a while to get us the check and then we saw it was the wrong tables check. When we gave her the card to be swiped, she came back saying that their machine was broken and they had to write down card info like back in the day. Eventually it was all taken care of. If you are at staying at chena resort, I don’t think you have any other choice for your meals but otherwise it is a good place to try once for visiting kinda...

Resort is in a beautiful llocation and uses natural geothermal energy to provide hot spring experience. However, many facilities and areas are poorly maintained. Rooms are in need of deep cleaning and updating. Signage is haphazard or absent. Employees for the most part are seasonal workers who aren't afraid to share their own gripes with ownership and management.

The service at check in is the worst I have seen in 25 years of travel. Long wait. No courtesies. Old fashioned room keys. Zero helpfulness on what to do and where to go. Oh, and the entire resort has one tiny restaurant that has only one vegan item. A $34 Thai vegetable curry which wasnt bad. Pretty sad cuisine overall for a place that grows their own vegetables in greenhouses. There is a tour of the facilities where they show you the greenhouses and geothermal generators. Our guide wasn"t shy about telling us that the steam system doesn't really work. The trails that originate at the resort are weak compared to ones just a few miles away - like Angel Rock.

I am glad I visited the area but would stay elsewhere next time. You can get day pass for hot springs. If you need to have internet, it is super slow. Download your routes on Maps otherwise you will have no map data. I would give one star to owner/ management and five stars to natural beauty of the area. Although the employees dont seem to care much about your stay, they complain that the management cares even less about their well being. Unfortunately, this shows. Because of that, the total score comes up...