Aurora Villa - Hotel in Fairbanks - 1110 John Kalinas Rd, USA

We stayed as a family in the lodge. It was a great and seem less experience. The place was clean. The beds were super comfortable and all the little extras from the thank you gift, slippers, toiletries and the fresh fruit and juice and water upon arrival were super helpful. ||It’s the perfect spot. We weren’t able to see the lights from the cabin due to clouds. But the scenery was great. So quiet. The Wi-Fi worked great and had access to streaming Roku device which was great for the family after a day in the snow.||Thanks for a memorable stay.

The fridge is stock with drinks and the freezer has some breakfast food. The road in is a little rocky but otherwise fine. Overall great stay.

The room was spacious and clean comparing to other hotels in Fairbanks, there is no similar hotel around the area. The staffs were mostly not presented but was friendly and helpful especially when the cleaners always made sure we have been taken care of. It was a bit of drive but can understand for the purpose of viewing the northern light.

I am giving an overall rating of a 3 because this property is expensive and it’s not a hotel. It’s more like a shared 7 bedroom Airbnb only without a stove or pantry or even vending machine making it hard to justify a 4-star hotel listing. In addition it’s all contactless check-in and no option for housekeeping. There’s no one working at the desk they built. And because everything is designed so minimally with hard lines the acoustics are harsh. Hence the strict rules about noise after 10. But it didn’t matter. Guests would return at 2-3 am and their walking around and talking sounded like they were outside my room. Again, if all of this was half the price perhaps this would be better justified. In addition instead of receiving a waiver of all the rules not to break it would have been optimal to receive a welcome packet with suggestions of where to order food or where to food shop before arriving since it’s a food desert near the property. Despite what I describe above I have to share that the location is unmatched and the big wall of window makes for the most incredible views. If the conditions align, it is out of this world to be able to watch the Aurora from your room. It was truly incredible. Everything in the room was very clean. When housekeeping would come to clean a room they were always lovely and helpful. When I felt cold my first night I could text and was given options and direction to find comfort. The bedding was great and my room was comfortable once I got the thermostat right. I truly looked for all the places where things were outstanding but some 4-star opportunities were missed.

This contemporary hotel offered a wonderfully pristine environment during my stay. The Northern Lights view was a remarkable highlight, leaving me utterly delighted. It's worth noting that while it's about a 25-minute drive from downtown, this distance is a definite advantage for avoiding light pollution, enhancing the magic of the Aurora experience.

We went to Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights and chose the this property because of a referral in a travel magazine. This is a love/hate review, the love is nature and the lights came through 3 nights in a row. The property is located 15 miles from Fairbanks, difficult to get to with snow covered roads. This place is completely handled like Covid is still active, there are no employees there to help with any questions of any kind. To find out anything you call a local number and a male answers who very difficult to understand and doesn’t know hardly anything about the area. This place is being advertised as a B&B but there is no breakfast unless they consider coffee offered (you make yourself) to be breakfast. The rooms are adequate with large windows and the common area has big windows too for viewing the Northern Lights. The problem is their exit and security lights are on which interferes with viewing and taking pictures of the Aurora light show so you need to be outside away from the building. The building is two levels and you can hear footsteps upstairs a lot and other guests making a lot of noise. A part time employee comes in every day to take out trash and clean rooms of those who have checked out. They threaten you with financial penalties if you don’t check out at 11:00 am.|Other than a generally pretty location there is absolutely nothing good to report here. Oh, by the way the price for this awful experience is $600/ night, takes a lot of nerve to charge this but I assume something has to give or they will close their doors.

Our 4 night stay was a disappointment especially given the price which is substantially higher than other places. This is not a hotel but rather a contactless airbnb type facility with no services. We never saw any staff except a housekeeper the first day. To start with, we arrived to an empty facility and it was extremely confusing how to check in. We were given the room code by phone and entered an unmade room. The room wasn’t made up until 3:45 pm (3 pm check in) which was unwelcome news after a full day of travel. It was disappointing there was no housekeeping or even cleaning supplies to clean ourselves so our room was filthy by the end of the stay. We were told they would clean our room day 3 upon us asking for this but this didn’t happen. The common room was dirty including old takeout food in the dirty frig( which didn’t belong to anyone- we were the only guest initially) a filthy microwave and food in the trash. On day 2 I asked for an extra blanket because it was well below zero and was told there were plenty in the cabinet but there were actually none, which made sleeping difficult throughout the stay. It’s a remote location, treacherous via car in the winter and There were no block car engine heater plug in’s so we had to deal with scary warnings in the car to plug in and fears we would get stranded. During our stay, we were either the only guest or just one other so it made me feel uneasy if something were to happen in such a remote location without any staff on premises to help us. On a positive note- the location is beautiful and we could see the aurora. Common room was pretty for photos but uncomfortable furniture (couches without backs and hard chairs) so I didn’t spend time there. Rooms were pretty with quality towels and toiletries, plus heated floors and a nice tv. But there was almost no place to store things like drawers and only a few hangers for jackets…and little counter space in bathroom so we had to live out of the suitcases and everything felt cluttered. No breakfast anymore since COVID and be aware there’s no food or stores within 20 minutes, and it’s not an easy thing to go in and out especially if it’s snowing. Overall do not recommend.

This place is absolutely filthy and a complete disappointment. The staff doesn’t care about their customers or know how to treat clients. The room had been urinated in by an animal or human and they wanted me to clean the room upon arrival. He made it clear it wasn’t his job and the housekeepers wouldn’t return until the morning. He said I could clean it or leave. It was up to us. We arrived late in the evening and he knew we were stuck for the night. I cleaned the room upon checkin. The floor was wet with urine and the smell was unbearable. We left the next morning.