Since I had stayed at one other hostel for a workshop in Anchorage once before with a fairly decent experience save for the inappropriate treatment of the employees by the owner, Lara and I decided that we would try a hostel stay in a different hostel for our five night stay in Anchorage for a workshop.
As such I booked the Alaskan Backpackers Inn for five nights. I was optimistic abut our stay since I was impressed with the website reservation booking system and thought that based on the photos it would be a suitable place for us to stay.
After a seven and a half hour-long drive, due to heavy construction on the Parks highway, we finally arrived in Anchorage. We went straight to a lecture that was part of the workshop we were participating in, which lasted fairly late. It was nearly 11pm by the time we got to the hostel in downtown Anchorage. Tired and wanting to get some rest, we were thinking it would be nice to get checked in and start our hostel experience. However our first indication of what was to become our “hostile” stay presented itself immediately when we arrived. There was a disagreement going on at the front desk between two men that were sharing a room in the dormitories. I understand the nature of dormitories and as such, Lara and I had booked a private room. However, this argument went on for about ten minutes between two front desk people and the two men, all the while Lara and I are just looking at each other in wonder and I’m thinking to myself that maybe we can get another hotel for the night and figure out other options tomorrow. Finally we get our turn at the desk and the man working there, while completely nice and accommodating, tells us our room is a private with a double bed and that they are full and there are not other accommodations available. Not two beds as I had repeatedly asked for in email exchanges, but one bed for us both.. Anyone who knows me knows I like my own bed. Not so much for comfort as for the fact that I toss and turn a lot at night. IF I have to share, I worry that I am disturbing the other person, which means I don’t sleep well. For this reason I have brought an air mattress to hotels so that I may have my own space to sleep, so that I don’t have to share a bed, don’t have to worry and I can then get a good nights rest. This news that we might have to share a bed, especially after multiple emails with the hostel prior to coming, combined with what we had just seen happen with the other two guests, was enough to make me really starting trying to come up with a plan for other accommodations.
Tired from our trip, Lara and I just look at each other again. I think we were trying to read each others minds to see what the other was thinking. Or maybe we were just so exhausted that neither of us could think straight and was hoping the other would have a brilliant idea. Instead the man behind the counter tells us he is trying to figure something out for us. Again I start thinking we are going to have to find and pay for an outrageously expensive hotel for the night and figure out what else to do the next day. Some minutes later he tells us he has worked out something. We end up with two private rooms and an adjoining bathroom, for slightly less than what we each thought we were going to pay. We think that is a fair enough deal and accept it, but not before a female guest that was in the clubhouse whispers to me “check the room first.”
We move the car over by the Annex, as that is where the private rooms are at. They didn’t look like much from the outside, but I’ve learned not to judge buildings in Alaska based on their exterior.
Sadly the exterior may have been the nicer part of the building. The rooms are cold and sparse, with a bed, a fridge and tv, and a rack for personal effects. No chairs to be found in the entire place. Colorful wall in the kitchenette area, which also housed a microwave, but the feeling was more like a jail cell than of a private hostel room. Not quite what we were hoping for, but we had already each paid for the full five nights and figured we would try to make the best of it. The next five nights would test our patience, that’s for sure.
Private Room:
I was very happy to have thought to bring an extra blanket and pillow to have as the blanket provided was very thin. I had planned to get some work done, hopefully from the hostel as the website promised free wifi and coffee, but after trying unsuccessfully to connect to three different open points, plus the one that was secure which we had a password for, I decided I would probably have to go into the office the next day so I took a shower before going to bed and called it a night.
Kitchenette:
Very likely the best part of the hostel. Fortunately we were sharing the same kitchenette. Hate to think about this being a shared area with someone I don’t know.