The Millennium Hotel by Daniel Scott

Welcome to Alaska! Do not adjust your eyes. Yes, that really is a 1500lb stuffed polar bear behind a glass case in the lobby of the Millennium Hotel, Anchorage. Yes, it is a Kodiak Brown Bear (again courtesy of the taxidermist) measuring 9ft 2 from nose to tail over there in the corner.

If the Millenium Hotel Anchorage is your first stop in Alaska after a long flight – and this is quite possible as it is the only decent property close to the International airport – you can be forgiven for thinking that jet lag is playing games with your imagination. But this rather startling introduction to the Millennium certainly beats the usual airport hotel experience. Or indeed any of the nearby alternatives, that suffer from the unfortunate combination of ugliness and expense. In fact, you may feel you are better placed out here at the Millennium, positioned on the shores of Lake Spennard, than at any of the downtown chain options or the flagship Hotel Captain Cook. Regular shuttle buses run the few miles downtown to museums and shopping anyhow.

You’ll be happy to discover that the 248 guest rooms do not feature full-size examples of Alaskan wildlife, but they are certainly large and functional enough, for both business and leisure travelers. Food and drink outlets, such as the Fancy Moose Lounge and the Flying Machine restaurant, both with access to a terrace for the short months of warm Alaskan summer weather, provide steady and unspectacular fodder. The same two words aptly describe the service, though cheerful can be added for the reception and restaurant staff. The bell boys and concierge are overrun at times with mountains of luggage and shuttle bus responsibilities and so can be forgiven their occasional terseness.

Facilities including a sporadically-functioning business centre and small 24 hour gym and health centre are a little on the minimal size for a hotel of this size, with a regular business clientele. But Lake Spennard does offer both a touch a green and a circular trail if you want to do your exercise outside. In cold weather, the couches adjacent to fireplaces are the places to idle.

This is an airport hotel, Alaskan style, with easy access to the biggest city in the state and a hint of what lies beyond the limits of what locals jokingly call Los Anchorage in the shape of some impressive stuffed wildlife in the lobby.