Hotels

While hotels in the United States may be similar to hotels in your home country, there are some differences that you should keep in mind:

• You are not required to leave your passport with the front desk but will be asked to show proof of identity when checking into the hotel.
• You should keep your room key with you when going out of the hotel.
• If there is not a safe in your room then you should take all valuables with you when you leave the hotel for the day. Usually there is a safe in the lobby of the hotel that guests can use for items like a passport, jewelry or large amounts of money but it is becoming more common for hotels to keep a safe in the room for the guest’s convenience.

Extra Charges

In addition to taxes that will be added to your base room rate, there could be extra charges that come up on your final bill if you are not aware of them.

Pay Per View

Hotels often advertise movies or other special programming on the television in the room. While you may watch regular programming free of charge, the pay-per-view options are billed to your room.

Mini-Bar

Some hotel rooms may have a small collection of snacks or beverages mostly alcoholic, kept in a small refrigerator in the room. These are NOT free and housekeeping will charge you for used products. In some cases there is even a sensor on the door of the refrigerator and if the door is open for a certain amount of time you could be charged for items in the fridge. If you know that you are not going to drink any of the items in there, it is safer to just leave it alone and don’t open the fridge door.

Telephone Calls

Most hotels charge approximately $1 for each local call and approximately $2 a minute for long distance calls made from the hotel room. Even toll free numbers may be subject to charges. It is more economical to make local telephone calls from "pay phones" (coin-operated telephones) in the hotel lobby, with a calling card, or using your cellphone.

Room Service

(ordering food to be delivered to the room from the hotel kitchen/restaurant)

Room service can be quite expensive so keep that in mind before you order anything from them, especially if they don’t list prices on the menu. Not only is the food price usually high, you are also expected to tip the hotel delivery person. We suggest instead that you order from restaurants in the city because the delivery fee is usually minimal and is often less expensive than room service or the hotel restaurant.

Helpful Hint:

Most hotels will supply information regarding FREE and paid services in each hotel room so make sure you look to see what they offer as a part of their amenities.  This may be available on the hotel website as well as in a book in each hotel room.

Most hotels offer the ability to book, reserve a room online.

Discounted Rates

Usually when you book last minute you can get some pretty good rates from hotels. Here are a few options for you to look at when you are booking your next trip!

Hotels.com

Hotels.com has over 150,000 hotels in more than 60 countries. The 3.5 million hotel reviews will help you find the best deal in the right location. They also have a 24-hour call center, if you would prefer to speak to a real person. They have a Price Match Guarantee and Last Minute Deals. They also advertise no change or cancel fee.

Hotwire.com

Travelocity.com 

Expedia.com

These are just a few places that you can find some great rates as well, especially if they are last minute bookings. Keep in mind when booking though that sometimes to get the cheapest rate you have to pay when you book the room and some, if not all, of the rate is non-refundable. They do have regular bookings as well (when you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance) but they usually are not quite as cheap.

Fairbanks Area Accomoditations

The accommodations page of the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau has listings bed & breakfasts, cabins, hostels, hotels/motels, lodges, campgrounds and vacation rentals.  Listings are available for Fairbanks as well as Denali and interior and Arctic Alaska.  

Source photograph: Alaska Tour & Travel