sorry to hear u had luggage issues. we stayed at the Denali Princess Lodge last year (2023), and all i can say is everything was wonderful. we also used guest services to book a last minute excursion and they were most accomodating. we didn't have any luggage issues. we also stayed at the Princess Lodge in Fairbanks, and the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge - - again making a last minute excursion there to take a bush plane to Denali and landing on a glacier (was an exceptionally clear/calm morning; ours was the first plane to fly that day from Talkeetna) . . . awesome! Denali was also totally clear when we got to McKinley Lodge; everyone taking great pics at rear viewing area at that visitor center. understand this was a most lucky opportunity overall. guess we got lucky with the weather!
I really appreciate you taking the time to make such a thorough video review! I have worked for Princess for 6 years now and I truly value your feedback!
Thank you. We very much enjoyed staying at the DPWL and we will definitely stay there on our next visit. We will be posting more of our “Princess” Alaska trip next month: the train ride from Anchorage to Denali and our stay in Talkeetna. Also, there will be videos of our trip from Denali to Fairbanks and then up to Deadhorse and the Arctic Ocean!!!!
We stayed at the lodge just last week (June 2024) and had the same experience with poor guest service from the front desk. Like you, It was a luggage issue. Other than that we thought the lodge was nice. Food was ok but expensive. On the flip side, like you said in the video, the General Store had incredible deals on souveniers.
Thanks for sharing. The issue of lost luggage affected several people we met while there. In the video, I mentioned a woman who told us she had to wait two days to receive her bags. That's crazy.
Interesting bit about the luggage issue. Our travel agent told us our big suitcase wouldn't be going with us to the lodge . They said when we get on the train we should have a carryon with what we need & our big luggage will go on to Anchorage & will be at our hotel there when we finish up at the lodge. We'll see how it all works out. The trip is about 300 days away
Great advice about the carry-on. Interesting about your luggage. My wife has a suitcase that I could probably almost fit inside and they had no problem delivering that to us, other than it was delayed. Even with the luggage problem the place was amazing and I wish we had stayed there for more than two days.
. @3rdOrbitTravelers I've heard conflicting things here on RUclips. I wonder if it depends on the train. Some are set up as tabletop booths & others are set like a motorcoach with forward facing seats only. I would assume that they both have under the train storage. Guess I'll find out next August when we finally get to go. I will be checking every VLOG I can find until then.
The train we were on didn’t transport the luggage. Everything other than carry-ons was put in a large van and transported by road. That is why our luggage was late, due to the van breaking down.
Cold and wet. Mostly cold because we were wet. Other than that, it was great. We were very close to a female moose. She looked at all of us and it was like she thought, “you people again,” shook her head and went back to eating. Just make sure to dress warm.
No restrooms in main lodge. If u visited on your own u park car in lot and carry luggage to room. Not allowed to drive to area of room . There are golf carts that can carry u and your luggage to room. However carts are a high step if u are disabled or a very short person
We planned a 3-week trip through Alaska. It started on a cruise (Royal Caribbean), then we took a bus to Anchorage, and then a train up to Denali (where this video tour was done). The train and the two resorts in Denali were done through Princess. After that, we took another train to Fairbanks and then a plane to Deadhorse, which is on the Arctic Ocean. There are videos of the entire cruise up on this channel already, and the rest of the trip should be up in a month or two.
I was blown away by how bad they were. In fairness, there was one person that was great but she was only 1 of the 5 or so people we had to deal with. I am going to start posting a series of videos on our trip to Alaska, hopefully this week. We started with a cruise and ended at the Arctic Ocean after traveling on a ship, on several trains, a plane and a van. As a truck driver you might appreciate this, we even drove from deadhorse to Fairbanks down the Dalton highway. It is the highway in the original ice road truckers. Oh and if you are going to be in Anchorage of any length of time, we have a video on things to do there. We got really lucky and a local pointed us in the right direction to see the “must see” places.
I am so sorry for the delay in reply. I just downloaded the RUclips Studio app and 3 comments from 2 months ago showed up that I didn’t reply too. Yours was one of them. I went back to the regular RUclips app and none of them are listed on it. Again I’m sorry. As for your answer. We didn’t take a bus. It was on a train the entire way from Anchorage to Fairbanks, with stops along the way. I do have a partial answer however, when we were in Fairbanks we did look into renting a car. It was very expensive but that because people drive them out into the middle of nowhere in northern Alaska. If it’s possible to rent a car to drive up to the Arctic Ocean, then getting a car to drive up to Denali should be possible.
That’s a good question. I’m sorry I can’t give you an answer. Both my wife and I can’t remember. Did you see the room tour part of the video? I’ll watch it now and see if I can see one.
Yes. 5:35 in the video. I believe that is a hairdryer. Please take a look, just in case that’s not what it is. Neither of us use them, we are too lazy. :-).
I'm sorry, but this review is not complete nor thorough. You can't assume that your viewers have read the complete title or description of your video. You kept mentioning "the river" in your video. What river are you speaking of? There were lots of flat walkways in the video, but when it came to the buildings, all I saw were stairs, stairs, and more stairs. Where is the information for your mobility challenged watchers? Are there ramps and elevators available? How many sit-down restaurants are there overall? What is the price range of the different restaurants? Can they provide different dietary needs meals such as kosher, vegan, gluten free, low carb, or keto? Does the lodge provide transportation to the National Park Visitor's Center? I did find the video interesting even though I have so many unanswered questions.
Thanks for the feedback! It’s the Nenana River. There were a lot of stairs. If booking and have any kind of disability, you would have to definitely let them know. We had a room on the second level and there were only stairs. I believe there was an elevator in the lodge itself but we didn’t use it so not 100% sure. There was a bus/shuttle that took you around the property. There is also a bus/shuttle to the visitors center (for a small fee $5 round trip). There are 4 dining places and two coffee shops. As far as dietary restrictions, the menus seemed to have a good variety of foods and the staff were extremely friendly and I’m sure could figure something out for any one requiring a special change. If you are looking to book a vacation to this location, www.princesslodges.com is their website. It is a beautiful property and we enjoyed it so much.
Thanks. Sorry about the speed and I agree but we are in the minority. Did you know that 85% of RUclips viewers (according to RUclips) watch videos at faster than realtime? They increase the playback speed. Audible, the audio book company also offers a setting to listen to books faster, and a large percentage of their customers do increase the playback speed. Personally, I feel I'm getting more for my money when an audio book lasts longer. :-)
sorry to hear u had luggage issues. we stayed at the Denali Princess Lodge last year (2023), and all i can say is everything was wonderful. we also used guest services to book a last minute excursion and they were most accomodating. we didn't have any luggage issues. we also stayed at the Princess Lodge in Fairbanks, and the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge - - again making a last minute excursion there to take a bush plane to Denali and landing on a glacier (was an exceptionally clear/calm morning; ours was the first plane to fly that day from Talkeetna) . . . awesome! Denali was also totally clear when we got to McKinley Lodge; everyone taking great pics at rear viewing area at that visitor center. understand this was a most lucky opportunity overall. guess we got lucky with the weather!
We will definitely go back, and stay longer this time. The problems we had were small and I agree, everything else was great.
I really appreciate you taking the time to make such a thorough video review! I have worked for Princess for 6 years now and I truly value your feedback!
Thank you. We very much enjoyed staying at the DPWL and we will definitely stay there on our next visit. We will be posting more of our “Princess” Alaska trip next month: the train ride from Anchorage to Denali and our stay in Talkeetna. Also, there will be videos of our trip from Denali to Fairbanks and then up to Deadhorse and the Arctic Ocean!!!!
Great advice about the luggage and bringing a separate carry bag. Thank you.
It was very frustrating.
Great to see the lodge again. We were there in 2022 and much of it was still shutdown. ❤
We really enjoyed it. Our biggest regret is that we didn't stay longer.
Grizzly burger pretty good, esp if there are small children in your party
Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, we were not able to try it.
Try King Salmon in Am . Not a sole personal in in there as tourist busses had left
Thank you once more. This information could prove very beneficial to people.
Very helpful video. Thank you!
You are welcome.
We stayed at the lodge just last week (June 2024) and had the same experience with poor guest service from the front desk. Like you, It was a luggage issue. Other than that we thought the lodge was nice. Food was ok but expensive. On the flip side, like you said in the video, the General Store had incredible deals on souveniers.
Thanks for sharing. The issue of lost luggage affected several people we met while there. In the video, I mentioned a woman who told us she had to wait two days to receive her bags. That's crazy.
THANK YOU
You're welcome.
Thank you
Interesting bit about the luggage issue. Our travel agent told us our big suitcase wouldn't be going with us to the lodge . They said when we get on the train we should have a carryon with what we need & our big luggage will go on to Anchorage & will be at our hotel there when we finish up at the lodge. We'll see how it all works out. The trip is about 300 days away
Great advice about the carry-on. Interesting about your luggage. My wife has a suitcase that I could probably almost fit inside and they had no problem delivering that to us, other than it was delayed. Even with the luggage problem the place was amazing and I wish we had stayed there for more than two days.
. @3rdOrbitTravelers I've heard conflicting things here on RUclips. I wonder if it depends on the train. Some are set up as tabletop booths & others are set like a motorcoach with forward facing seats only. I would assume that they both have under the train storage. Guess I'll find out next August when we finally get to go. I will be checking every VLOG I can find until then.
The train we were on didn’t transport the luggage. Everything other than carry-ons was put in a large van and transported by road. That is why our luggage was late, due to the van breaking down.
We are headed there in May with my 2 teen boys. Thinking of doing atv excursion. How was yours?
Cold and wet. Mostly cold because we were wet. Other than that, it was great. We were very close to a female moose. She looked at all of us and it was like she thought, “you people again,” shook her head and went back to eating. Just make sure to dress warm.
No restrooms in main lodge. If u visited on your own u park car in lot and carry luggage to room. Not allowed to drive to area of room . There are golf carts that can carry u and your luggage to room. However carts are a high step if u are disabled or a very short person
wow! Thank you again. I apologize for the delayed response. I only noticed your comments today.
Did you do a cruisetour?
We planned a 3-week trip through Alaska. It started on a cruise (Royal Caribbean), then we took a bus to Anchorage, and then a train up to Denali (where this video tour was done). The train and the two resorts in Denali were done through Princess. After that, we took another train to Fairbanks and then a plane to Deadhorse, which is on the Arctic Ocean. There are videos of the entire cruise up on this channel already, and the rest of the trip should be up in a month or two.
@@3rdOrbitTravelers thank you!
So many vlogs and reviews say the same thing that front desk are awful to deal with.
I was blown away by how bad they were. In fairness, there was one person that was great but she was only 1 of the 5 or so people we had to deal with. I am going to start posting a series of videos on our trip to Alaska, hopefully this week. We started with a cruise and ended at the Arctic Ocean after traveling on a ship, on several trains, a plane and a van. As a truck driver you might appreciate this, we even drove from deadhorse to Fairbanks down the Dalton highway. It is the highway in the original ice road truckers. Oh and if you are going to be in Anchorage of any length of time, we have a video on things to do there. We got really lucky and a local pointed us in the right direction to see the “must see” places.
Here is the link to the video I mentioned:
ruclips.net/video/f0JB9Hfs2Bo/видео.htmlsi=oNr_OrpHrPZPSriX
What time of year did you go?
August.
What month were you here??
Middle of August 2023
Thanks for vid! Is the bus leg of this journey mandatory? can I rent a car somewhere instead of taking the bus?
Thanks
I am so sorry for the delay in reply. I just downloaded the RUclips Studio app and 3 comments from 2 months ago showed up that I didn’t reply too. Yours was one of them. I went back to the regular RUclips app and none of them are listed on it. Again I’m sorry.
As for your answer. We didn’t take a bus. It was on a train the entire way from Anchorage to Fairbanks, with stops along the way. I do have a partial answer however, when we were in Fairbanks we did look into renting a car. It was very expensive but that because people drive them out into the middle of nowhere in northern Alaska. If it’s possible to rent a car to drive up to the Arctic Ocean, then getting a car to drive up to Denali should be possible.
Does this have elevators
That’s a great question. The building our room was in didn’t have any but I’m not sure if the main lodge does. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Hair dryer in bathroom??
That’s a good question. I’m sorry I can’t give you an answer. Both my wife and I can’t remember. Did you see the room tour part of the video? I’ll watch it now and see if I can see one.
Yes. 5:35 in the video. I believe that is a hairdryer. Please take a look, just in case that’s not what it is. Neither of us use them, we are too lazy. :-).
I'm sorry, but this review is not complete nor thorough. You can't assume that your viewers have read the complete title or description of your video. You kept mentioning "the river" in your video. What river are you speaking of?
There were lots of flat walkways in the video, but when it came to the buildings, all I saw were stairs, stairs, and more stairs. Where is the information for your mobility challenged watchers? Are there ramps and elevators available?
How many sit-down restaurants are there overall? What is the price range of the different restaurants? Can they provide different dietary needs meals such as kosher, vegan, gluten free, low carb, or keto?
Does the lodge provide transportation to the National Park Visitor's Center?
I did find the video interesting even though I have so many unanswered questions.
Thanks for the feedback! It’s the Nenana River. There were a lot of stairs. If booking and have any kind of disability, you would have to definitely let them know. We had a room on the second level and there were only stairs. I believe there was an elevator in the lodge itself but we didn’t use it so not 100% sure. There was a bus/shuttle that took you around the property. There is also a bus/shuttle to the visitors center (for a small fee $5 round trip).
There are 4 dining places and two coffee shops. As far as dietary restrictions, the menus seemed to have a good variety of foods and the staff were extremely friendly and I’m sure could figure something out for any one requiring a special change. If you are looking to book a vacation to this location, www.princesslodges.com is their website. It is a beautiful property and we enjoyed it so much.
Loved the information,, however the video needs to go a little slower in places.
Thanks. Sorry about the speed and I agree but we are in the minority. Did you know that 85% of RUclips viewers (according to RUclips) watch videos at faster than realtime? They increase the playback speed.
Audible, the audio book company also offers a setting to listen to books faster, and a large percentage of their customers do increase the playback speed. Personally, I feel I'm getting more for my money when an audio book lasts longer. :-)
You got the name wrong... it's called Mount McKinley.
😢Wrong. It was called Mt McKinley until Obama era when it was changed back to the First Nations name of Denali.
@@parkerilla Wrong, I've never heard of Denali... is that some kind of Indian food?
Well you must be living under a rock or something. Simply google the matter n set yourself straight