We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Fairbanks for three nights during our recent visit to Fairbanks, in March 2015. We were in Fairbanks to see the northern lights, and the lights did not disappoint: we were able to see them every single night we were there. Unfortunately we had waited to long to book accommodations outside of Fairbanks proper, which is why we ended up staying at the Hampton Inn. It was all in all a nice place to stay, but if it’s the northern lights you are after, you don’t want to stay anywhere in town. There is just too much light pollution, and you need to drive at least 15 minutes out to be able to see them properly – which we did every night.
The Hampton Inn was a nice and comfortable place to stay. The rooms were pretty standard, but the beds and pillows were comfortable and we appreciated having control of our own thermostat. The rooms are nicely furnished and large enough for our family of four. There was a mini-fridge and a microwave, which came useful for leftovers and drinks, and a fairly fast wireless internet connection (though it didn’t work our first night there, and then we had to authenticate at least daily). The kids were happy enough with the cable channels.
The bathroom was large enough and clean. There was good water pressure and the Neutrogena toiletries were OK. Unfortunately, they were very stingy with them. They only left us a small bottle of shampoo and conditioner for the four of us. Sure, I got more at the front desk, but not before I had to go conditioner-less after a shower.
The hotel itself has nice common rooms. The main room has a plethora of easy chairs as well as high central tables for having breakfast. There is a pool, a gym and a business center, but despite the fact that I booked this hotel, in part, because of the pool, we never used it.
Breakfast was very good and the hot items were made in house. They had the usual hot and cold drinks, small and not very good pastries, and bagels and bread. They have two waffle makers and syrup, fresh raspberries, chocolate chips, slivered almonds and whipped cream as toppings. I combined all the toppings on my waffles, and they were heavenly – better than what you’d get at a breakfast joint. The hot items changed every day and included sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits with gravy and small omelets. They had cereals and hot oatmeal. All in all, a very good hotel breakfast. They had the local newspaper for reading and hot coffee and tea available all day.
All in all, the Hampton Inn is a very comfortable place to stay, though not a prime location for the northern lights.
Hampton Inn & Suites Fairbanks
433 Harold Bentley Avenue
Fairbanks, Alaska
907-451-1502
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