Girdwood, United States
The Hotel Alyeska: Year-round mountain resort in Girdwood, Alaska with 50,000 sq ft Nordic Spa and Seven Glaciers mountaintop dining
Surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Chugach Mountain Range and seven hanging glaciers in Girdwood, Alaska, The Hotel Alyeska opened in 1994 as Alaska’s premier year-round mountain resort. Combining chateau-style alpine architecture with native Alaskan art and timber, the 304-room hotel sits nestled in the lush glacier valley. In 2022, the property unveiled the revolutionary 50,000-square-foot Alyeska Nordic Spa—Alaska’s first hydrotherapy forest sanctuary—combining outdoor hot pools, cold plunges, barrel saunas, and halotherapy amongst old-growth rainforest.
Arrival introduces travelers to the grand scale of the Alaskan wilderness: personal hosts welcome guests in the soaring timber atrium beneath native wood carvings. Day-one logistics focus on coordinating alpine and glacial adventures: riding the scenic Alyeska Aerial Tramway to 2,300 feet above Turnagain Arm, heli-skiing and backcountry snowboarding, glacier trekking on Spencer Glacier, dog sledding on real snow in summer, and reserving dinner at the mountaintop Seven Glaciers.
Resort wellness and dining are legendary: the outdoor 50,000-square-foot Alyeska Nordic Spa features hot vitality pools, cold plunge waterfalls, Russian banyas, and Finnish saunas connected by heated forest boardwalks. Dining spans AAA Four Diamond fine dining at Seven Glaciers (perched atop the mountain), wood-fired Italian at Forte, authentic sushi at Sakura, and craft brews at Sitzmark Bar & Grill.
Accommodations comprise 304 rooms and suites ranging from 35-square-metre Deluxe Rooms to 65-square-metre Mountain Suites and 90-square-metre Townhouse Suites. Each room features warm cherry wood finishes, pillowtop king beds, heated towel racks, ski storage, and floor-to-ceiling windows framing hanging glaciers or valley forests.
Skiers, outdoor adventurers, and wellness travelers seeking world-class Alaskan wilderness, hydrotherapy Nordic Spa relaxation, and mountaintop glacier dining should book The Hotel Alyeska without hesitation. Travelers seeking tropical warmth or rapid metropolitan transit should look elsewhere. Grounded review consensus confirms legendary standing with a 4.6 out of 5 on Tripadvisor across 1,820 reviews and a 4.5 out of 5 on Google across 2,100 reviews.
First day
- Arrive along the scenic Seward Highway through Turnagain Arm and enter the grand timber lobby.
- Check into your suite, unpack, and take the aerial tram up to the 2,300-foot observation deck.
- Dine on wild Alaskan salmon at Seven Glaciers overlooking seven illuminated glaciers.
What guests say
Hotel Flock Score
Excellent
Based on 3.3k published ratings
Category breakdown
Guests Love
Seven Hanging Glaciers Setting
Guests love the dramatic Alaskan mountain setting, ski-in convenience, and scenic aerial tram rides.
50,000 Sq Ft Nordic Spa & Food
Reviewers rave about the outdoor Nordic Spa hot pools in the forest and mountaintop dining at Seven Glaciers.
Guests Warn
Nordic Spa Booking Needed
Visitors note that the popular Nordic Spa requires booking time slots in advance.
Mountain Weather
Travelers observe that Alaskan weather changes quickly, making cozy fires and indoor pools essential.
The overall score is a review-count-weighted average of named public platforms, normalized to /10. Category scores — including cleanliness and location — are Hotel Flock editorial readings of those reviews, not a platform's private formula. Hotel Flock is not affiliated with Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Trivago, or any other review site.
Awards & Recognition
AAA Four Diamond (Seven Glaciers)
AAA
Alaska First Nordic Spa Landmark
The Hotel Alyeska
In the stay
- Full access to the indoor heated saltwater pool, hot tub, and modern fitness center
- Complimentary resort shuttle between the hotel, tram terminal, and Girdwood village
- High-speed wireless internet and on-site ski/snowboard storage
Usually extra
- –Admission to the 50,000 sq ft Alyeska Nordic Spa hydrotherapy circuit and massages
- –Scenic helicopter glacier tours, dog sledding excursions, and Seven Glaciers multi-course tasting dinners
Good to Know
- The mountain resort features 304 rooms and suites in Girdwood, Alaska, surrounded by 7 hanging glaciers in the Chugach Mountains.
- Includes 50,000-sq-ft Alyeska Nordic Spa, Alyeska Aerial Tram, Seven Glaciers (AAA Four Diamond), and 650 skiable acres.
- Located in Girdwood, a 45-minute scenic drive along the Turnagain Arm from Anchorage Ted Stevens Airport (ANC).
Editor's Note
Book a Mountain Suite for panoramic views of seven hanging glaciers, and take the aerial tram up to Seven Glaciers for mountaintop dining at 2,300 feet.
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Reviewed by Hotel Flock · Last updated September 2026