The Lakefront Anchorage

This is a review of a 2-night stay in July 2025. Summary for those who don’t read the long review: —I was charged $558 for a prepaid room. —Another guest was booked into our room, tried to get in 10 minutes after we got in room. Mgr called us with accusatory questions, challenged our right to be there. No apology. —Room was prepaid through travel agency. We gave charge card for incidentals, which showed a $658 pending charge instead of the expected $50. Mgr said she’d fix it, but never did. —Day after we checked out, a second pending charge was placed on our credit card, $558 (it became final and charged on our credit card account 2 days later). I called. No mgr available. Told mgr needed to fix it. —4 days later, not fixed. No contact from hotel mgmt. I emailed travel agency. They replied that they would refund the hotel charges and get hotel to pay them. —General mgr got involved after travel agency contacted them. I finally received an apology. Said they would issue refund to the travel agency and resolve the additional charges to my credit card. But incompetence continued. —I got call from a finance staffer. She told me it was fixed. While on phone with her I checked my account. Instead of crediting the $558, a $100 pending charge was added. She apologized and then processed a pending credit of $558, said the $100 wouldn’t finalize. Checked daily. Took another 7 days (12 days after checkout from the hotel) to straighten out charges to my credit card. —I gave 2 stars on review only because I got a refund (through my travel agency). And the bed in my room was very comfortable. And shuttle staff was great. *************************** Full report: Our room was booked by travel agency and prepaid for 2 nights. On arrival, we were checked in by clerk with an indifferent attitude. I gave a credit card for incidentals. Couple traveling with us then had same clerk unable to find their reservation. She did find a second room booked in our name. About 10 minutes after we got in our room, a single, young lady attempted to get into our room. She was terrified to find us there. She showed her keycard slip, which confirmed she was mistakenly given our room. She apologized and left. We then received call from front desk challenging our presence in the room. The caller finally accepted that they must have double-booked but we got no explanation other than we weren’t “in the system.” No apology. I became concerned and read some online reviews. Found several cases where rooms were double-booked (how hard is it to have procedures to prevent that?). Also, complaints about improper charges. I then checked my credit card app and saw that instead of the expected $50 pending charge, it was $658. I called desk, spoke to mgr. She told me she could do nothing that night because “finance” had to fix it. Said she’d follow up. Lost sleep worrying. The charge was still there when we checked out. I asked for a receipt showing no outstanding charges. Clerk said I could not have one because the travel agency paid for the room. When asked about how our stay, I said “I’ve never been treated so poorly.” I retold issues, no explanation, charge still pending. Clerk said there must be a misunderstanding because they showed no credit card linked to our room. I brought up credit app on my phone, showed the $658 charge. She got mgr(same one I spoke with previously). They determined that they had our room booked to the second couple and their room booked to us, but couldn’t explain the $658 charge. She again said she’d fix it with their finance unit. I checked my credit app periodically that day on my trip home, but saw no change to the charge. The next day, the $658 charge was still there AND ANOTHER CHARGE WAS ADDED! The second one was $558. I called the hotel. Was told no mgr was available. Person I spoke with expressed concern and did some research. Said she thought she knew why I was charged, said it was an error but needed mgr to fix it. I was told mgr would call. I waited 4 days after I checked out. The original $658 charge was removed but the $558 charge was finalized and charged to my credit card. I received no contact from the hotel. I emailed the travel agency we used to book the trip—Alaska Travel & Tours (I highly recommend them). They replied same day with phone number of hotel finance staffer, who told them the $558 was pending, not final. I called the hotel finance staffer, left voicemail but got no return call. I emailed the travel agency contact to explain that the hotel rep lied to them. The travel agent escalated the issue in their agency and I was contacted by email the same day by a supervisor who told me they were issuing me a credit for what they had paid the hotel. General mgr emailed me after travel agency contacted him. Said refund to be issued to the travel agency and my credit card charge would be reversed. Shortly after I received his email, I got phone call from the hotel finance rep. She told me a $558 refund was issued. I checked my credit app while on the phone with her. Instead of crediting the $558, a $100 pending charge was added. She apologized and then processed a pending credit of $558, which immediately showed on my app, and said the $100 won’t finalize. I checked daily, but it took another 7 days for the $558 refund to process and removal of the $100 pending charge to show on my credit card account. ************************** Additional observations : —Shuttles available to/from airport, train station and downtown. Shuttles were on-time and drivers were excellent to deal with. —Disappointed that restaurant offered only a $25 buffet for breakfast. It was subpar. Lousy coffee. Omelet I had was so tough that it couldn’t be cut with a table knife. —Room was acceptable. Room is dated, as others report. I’m very, very fussy about beds. I got a good sleep (except the hours I missed the first night). Bathtub floor flexed when I moved in the shower.

The only real positive remaining is the convenient location near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

It was very disappointing to see how far The Lakefront Anchorage has declined over the years. This hotel used to be one of the standout places to stay in Anchorage, but unfortunately the service, food quality, cleanliness, and overall guest experience have gone significantly downhill. The only real positive remaining is the convenient location near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Beyond that, the property no longer reflects the quality, atmosphere, or level of service it was once known for. It is genuinely unfortunate to see what was once an amazing hotel become such a disappointing experience in nearly every aspect.

Extremely friendly check in with Eurina, but downhill fast from there. Marshmallow beds, tub didn't drain, NO COFFEE, free "restaurant" breakfast was just a 1-star hotel buffet with all the undercooked eggs and cold waffles you would expect. Absolutely will not be back.

The staff was amazing! Friendly and made the visit enjoyable.

This place is a favorite when coming to Anchorage. The room is comfortable, the food is always good (especially breakfast) and the staff friendly and helpful! Last night checking in our desk clerk, Eurina, was super! She was able to arrange our small group of rooms close to each other and included breakfast vouchers as well! Thanks for a lovely visit!

Great stopover hotel while waiting for a flight out of Anchorage. Europa took great care of us at checkin.

I am not generally a complainer, but the person at the front desk in the morning of April 16, 2026 was so RUDE and unwelcoming, I would never stay at this hotel again. There is an sign that says Coffee Cove and looks like it could be a coffee shop. When we checked in the evening of April 15, I was told this was no longer a coffee bar but I could get coffee there starting at 6. They should remove the sign if it is not a coffee bar. The next morning the coffee bar did not open at 6 so I asked the person at the front desk. She barely looked up at me and said it opened at 6:30. I said that the night before I was told it opened at 6, and she scoffed and did not respond. I asked if they had lattes or just drip coffee and she responded “I have no idea” and turned back to her computer away from me. At 6:30 it still had not opened. I inquired at the front desk and she very rudely told me it was closed and I had to go to the restaurant. I then asked the person at the front desk where the fitness center was. She did not even make eye contact with me and said “second floor.” I walked up and down the second floor looking for it. After about twenty minutes I came back to front desk and said I could not find it could she tell me where on the second floor it is. She responded “Oh, sorry. Third floor past ballrooms.” That was it. She looked away. Done. I got a bland drip coffee from the restaurant. The fitness center, when I finally found it, was old and dingy. Our room looked out into the parking lot. The carpet was old and worn. I am pretty laid back about hotels and this would have been a fine stay but for the extremely rude worker at the front desk in the morning.