Bear Lodge @ Wedgewood Resort

We were very grateful to secure last-minute accommodations at 9:30 PM when other hotel reservations fell through. The upgrade we received was wonderful and truly enhanced our trip, including our visit to the car museum and the beautiful nature trail. The excellent customer service, shuttle service, and overall experience were greatly appreciated.

Came at the end of August, just in time to see the Sandhill cranes at the Creamers field behind the hotel property fence. We enjoyed the room, the amenities if offered, the friendliness of the staff and willingness to answer questions. Having access to umbrellas was a great plus as we used it during our hike of the trails withing the property of this hotel. We were able to enjoy everything we hoped for: the outdoors property and the comfort of the hotel.

The rooms are clean, nicely appointed in a nice location in Fairbanks. We enjoyed our stay. They offer many amenties that most hotels fail to provide such clean Laundry Room with large folding table, 3 meal dining, a quirky museum and elegant lobby area. We highly recommend this hotel resort for those wishing a relaxing stay.

I stayed at this hotel as part of the land component of a larger land/cruise pack with Princess Cruises. We only stayed one night. It was the very start of our vacation. And the Bear Lodge did its best to start it off on a bad note.||We flew 7 hours from Chicago and we got to the Bear Lodge at 8:30am. They were not ready to check us in, which we were totally expecting. But the two women working at the front desk seemed so annoyed by us and were unnecessarily rude about it. They did hold our bags at the front desk so we could explore Fairbanks.||We got back to the hotel at 3pm and the front desks tells us that our room is till not ready and that guaranteed check in is at 4pm. So no big deal, we wait in the lobby. Then at 3:50pm, someone from the front desk tells us that there will be a 20 minute delay. What?!? The hotel knew we were waiting since 8:30am and they could not have our room ready by guaranteed check in?!? We spoke to the staff, who could care less about any inconvenience. Then the manager comes out 10 minutes later. Or I assume she was the manager, because she never identified herself. She basically threw us our room keys and made a big deal it was 4pm in the dot. No “sorry for the wait” or “welcome to our hotel”, just nothing.||Are you kidding me?!? I paid a good amount to be on this vacation and the hotel staff welcomes us with this unnecessary rudeness??? Looking through reviews here, I am not the first to have this unpleasant experience here.||As for the hotel itself, it is adequate. The room is spacious, the balcony is nice, and I liked the layout of the bathroom with duel sinks. What I did not like was the poor water pressure in the shower, a leaky shower head, and lack of outlets to plug things in. There is a restaurant on site that we did not use and a small cafe that was nice to grab coffee and a morning snack. But overall, it is the service that drags this hotel down. Which is surprising since I saw lots of tour buses unloading people here, so they have to work with the cruise companies. Princess, if you read this, please find a nicer hotel to work with that will not treat your cruise customers like trash.

Stayed at Bear Lodge over a summer weekend and the rooms were very clean, spacious and comfortable. The bedding was modern, and the mattresses and pillows quite cozy. The AC worked great, which was necessary for the hot Fairbanks heat. Outside our window we enjoyed seeing greenery and pretty flowers. It’s clear management takes great care of the grounds. The building looks freshly painted, the grass is manicured and the flowers with the old time trucks are a great addition. Staff members were respectful and friendly. It was also quiet which was great. We look forward to staying here again!

Nice hotel. We went as part of a group. Breakfast was 4 star. Went to the restaurant for dinner and ordered fish. It was horrible. Husband said we shouldn't have paid for it, but we did. I asked for it to go and threw it away. Staff was pleasant, rooms were clean and quiet.

This place had very very bad customer service. We arrived on July 17 and spent 2 nights. Our luggage was late coming in from our flight. The first night we had no a/c and while you may think it's Alaska and you don't need it well think again it was 80 degrees there. We called several times the next day regarding our luggage and they told us that the luggage was in our room and we also requested the a/c to be fixed they told us it has been repaired. After returning around 5 pm our luggage was not in our room the a/c was not fixed. We asked where our luggage was and no none could find our luggage. They sent a repair guy to our room to look at the a/c which he couldn't fix. We asked several people about our luggage and 45 minutes later found someone that told us our luggage was in a locked room and finally got it for us. Then we were told we had to move rooms because a/c could not be repaired. They had no maintenance staff on duty we were told. We had made plans to meet friends for dinner so we could not change rooms until we got back at 10 pm. I asked to speak to the general manager and it got worse from there. Her name was Jasmin and she was very rude and basically told me she spoke with her employees and they told her our luggage was in our room and basically called me a liar. Was only willing to comp us $20 for the room with no a/c. Being in the hotel business for several years I was so disgusted by the way they treated us. All I can say is I would never ever stay at this place again nor would I recommend this place to anyone. If I treated any of my customers that way I would not be in business. I told them I was going to give them a less than desirable review and the manager said do what you need to do as if to say I don't care. What a horrible way to run a business. If I were the owner of this business I would be very concerned that a manager would treat customers this way. There are much better places to stay in Fairbanks. Hopefully this helps someone else to not make the same mistake of staying here as we did.

This place is designed for cruise tours and it delivers. The rooms are comfortable and clean, with just what you need. The staff are friendly and hospitable.||If you’re looking for a luxury or high end experience, this is not it. If you just want a clean and quiet place to sleep and shower, this is a great choice.

2 am We've just gotten back into cell service after being out of service on the Steese Highway. We've called five other hotels and they are completely booked up. I call this hotel and I get the after hours booking agent. She says there are rooms available and we can just walk in. We're 3 minutes away. We arrive. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. We tell the guy we're walk ins. That doesn't make sense to him. He wants to know who we talked to at booking. I tell him she didn't give me a name but said we could walk in. He asks for our reservation. I say we don't have one. I ask if they have rooms and he says yes, but I need to know who we talked too. And the process would have started all over if I hadn't gotten fierce and said: "It's after two am. Either you have a room you can book or I am leaving right now." He finally starting booking a room but took his sweet time. He did things like write down the price on a paper to see if I was okay with it. HELLO, it's 2:30 in the morning. No one is around. Just tell me the price. You already have my card. Just freaking charge it. So after wasting a half hour of my time (and not allowing any sort of late check out) we finally get to our room. I was PISSED. Like just SO, SO frustrated. But the room, beds, shower, black out curtains, were all stellar. And that guy was gone at 10:55 when we checked out.

Food was way overpriced and not tasty at all. The place was nice but the fitness center is locked down like fort knox and the workers don't know how to make you a card to get in.

I just checked in and found out there is only room cleaning every 4 days. I called the front desk and spoke to an extremely rude manager named Ruth. She would not give her last name. Says its a COVID policy they decided to keep. Obviously because it saves them money . I'm paying $ 279 a night for 3 nights so my room will never be cleaned. Beware ! Nearby Westmark at lower price cleans every day.

Their check-in time is originally at 4pm but we got here at 3pm and our rooms were ready. Some people were not so lucky though and had to wait in the lounge or lobby. The lounge has a bar and a limited menu of food. There's a gift shop near the entrance as well as a restaurant down the hall. You can have the front desk hold your luggage for free. There's a red school bus that drives you around Fairbanks by the hour. Basically, they have everything you need here! Food, room and board! :-) Our toilet had broken in the middle of the night and the guy they sent up temporarily fixed it and we didn't have anymore problems with it. The room has complimentary shampoo, conditioner, lotion and body soap. There is a fridge, tv, and they even had books about Alaska! It was only for one night but I really enjoyed my stay here. The staff are very polite and quick to service. The room, lobby, restaurant and lounge are all clean and tidy. I would definitely stay here again.

I stopped in to have lunch before heading to a car museum. The lunch menu had a decent variety of lunch options and I chose the sirloin burger with fries. The burger was delicious and I had it medium well and it was cooked to perfection. The fries were home made as well as the ice tea was freshly brewed. The cost is a tad expensive for a burger but not outrageous. The server was very polite and attentive, I was seated right away and everything was brought to me in a good time frame. I do recommend this place, it's good.

The person behind the desk couldn't even answer a question. Couldn't even tell me if our luggage was here. No lunch service, no place open. Had to walk to get food. This place I DO NOT RECOMMEND AT ALL. I would not recommend anyone one to come here.

I was warned that the hotel was not very organized. Made sure I checked into main hotel instead of Black Bear Lodge. Room was clean. I agreed with others that the blackout curtains were useless. I stayed 5 nights and was told they would clean the room on the 4th day. That was policy. Had to get my own towels, toilet paper, etc. at front desk. Definitely not like any "resort" I've stayed at. The hotel caters to cruise tours for their over-night stays. I guess they don't want repeat customers. The front desk people really do not impress. With the amount of criticism that has been posted you would think the hotel would address this major problem. Poor training and non-caring management allows this behavior to continue. When you go to the front desk and the clerk is counting quarters for several minutes before he helps you it's obvious he should be working somewhere else. Passive/aggressive behavior is not acceptable. Management said they hired foreign students who want jobs in the US, then train them. Most were just sitting around. Also, the housekeeping staff refused to do anything other than cleaning their allotted rooms. Very dysfunctional way to run a "resort." Most helpful was the dining staff. They went out of their way to address our needs. I would suggest a water station for guests and maybe coffee in the morning. I know you want to make money but simple things go a long way of having guests pleased with their stay. Those are amenities resorts routinely supply for their guests.

Be careful. We were on a tour with Norwegian Cruise Lines. We had no say in our flight time as it was arranged between Bear Lodge and the cruise line. We arrived at 7 am and when I approached the front desk to check in, they had no idea we were coming. Same for another family. We were not allowed to check in until 4pm! It was awful! We were exhausted after having travelled all night from New Jersey to Alaska. The situation was made worse by the staff. They were rude and did nothing to help us. I was actually physically escorted, by my elbow, out of the manager's office and told to "go away" when I asked if we could check in "early." I wrote a letter to the hotel and the cruise line asking for an apology or explanation. Nothing. This will happen to you if you travel on a tour group that utilizes both NCL and Bear Lodge. One other point - the restaurant is very, very expensive. Not worth the price. But, by the time we got to actually sit down and eat, we were so tired and hungry, we didn't have the strength to care.

Room: Black out curtains were no good. And I'm not using the balcony that is pretty much shared with the patio of the restaurant. Sheets were very scratchy. This place needs an update. Shuttle: Nice, but slow, limited stops, and doesn't run between 2-3. Front Desk: I asked if we could check out late. The answer was I won't know until 6:00am tomorrow morning; check back then. What??? Walking nature path: It's nice to have this perk at this location, however we only saw gulls in this "conservatory" and only heard the highway traffic. I wanted it to be nice but... Other: It is close to the historic car museum which is hard to find but definitely a place to see. Restaurant: Sigh. I know we were at the restaurant at a weird time (11:00 am with the change from breakfast to lunch) and early in the season but the service was horrible. The server we had was obviously new as he wore a dark sweatshirt, not a nice shirt and didn't speak much at all. There were two other waitresses around setting the tables but they completely ignored us. I mean, I was missing a napkin, wanted a refill on coffee, and wanted condiments and pretty much had to stand up and tap them on the shoulder to ask for anything. My chicken sandwich was missing cheese and was way too thick and stringy. And no sauces to help (I had to ask for mustard and ketchup... received only ketchup and in a condiments cup). A few other weird things: - I overheard them having a kitchen inspection during our meal but that is no excuse for the entire staff leaving the floor completely unattended for nearly 10 minutes. - When we asked for hot sauce, one person asked what kind and offered many choices. Then we were brought only tabasco and then ignored. - Super glad the other lady left the coffee pot after we asked for a refresh the first time. Otherwise I'd still be waiting to get more.

The Bear Lodge reminds me of a low-cost motel with a fancy, thematic facade. The outward appearance is presentable, but as you dig deeper, the veneer starts to peel. First of all, the staff is FANTASTIC. As with every Alaskan we've met, the staff are friendly, happy, and helpful. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but the shower, Internet, and restaurant are all subpar. The shower temperature and water pressure reminded me of college dorms, with temperatures varying between ice water and scalding. The Wi-Fi speeds varied between reasonable (2Mbps) when nobody else was using it, to unusable during peak usage. Finally, the restaurant's "special" consisted of a small, dried out piece of red salmon. We won't be back.

Check in times are ridiculous! 4:34pm right now and many of my friends and I are still waiting on our rooms to be ready for check in. No offer of compensation... do not stay here!

Horrible horrible customer service! I would never stay here again and if I could I would stay else where. Location is outside of town in a not great neighborhood either. Within minutes of getting to our rooms from an all day trip on a bus we got a call from the front desk complaining that our kids were being too loud. First we just got off a bus that we had been on for 8 hours! We were all wound up from being cooped up for so long. Next we weren't in our rooms long enough to be so loud to warrant a call to the front desk. The young lady at the desk said they take their complaints very seriously and we better keep them quieter. I've never been talked to by anyone like this. Or told something as ridiculous as to keep my kids at a whisper level in a place that barley deserves a star. Stay clear if you have the option. Sadly I didn't.

I stayed at this hotel during AFN Convention, literally right before the hotel shut down for the season, so it was especially quiet. The restaurant and gift shop were closed so I don't have the best perception of what the hotel is "usually" like but it was clean and quiet. The rooms have a nice layout with a patio or balcony for each room, and double sinks (bonus!). Furnishings are not high-end but comfortable enough and clean. There is a fridge in the room. It seems to be a good price. The reason it lost a star is because of location. It is on the outskirts of town which is hard without a car. The best thing about this hotel is the front desk manager, Mariko. She is absolutely wonderful! Very kind and helpful- I wish all hotels had front desk personnel like her :)

I'm giving this hotel 4 stars because they are affiliated with Wedgewood Resort (see my review about that "resort"). After rejecting our initial room at Wedgewood, we were offered a stay in their luxurious Bear Lodge. We were pleased with our room as it was clean and comfortable. The only off-putting thing about the hotel was the permanent stale Asian food odor lingering in the lobby from the hotel's restaurant. If I were to come back to Fairbanks, I still wouldn't return to this property simply because of the deceptive practice of their parent company Fountainhead Hotels.

My wife and I stayed one night as part of our cruise tour. Our room was very comfortable, & clean. The bed, twin doubles, were really comfortable. The staff was very nice and accommodating. I would stay again if we revisit Fairbanks.

Compared to the Princess Cruise lodging at Mt McKinley and Denali lodge, this is a palace. Beautifully appointed, clean and roomy with plenty of amenities. The restaurant was clean and the staff was friendly and quick to get the orders on the table. I'm loving it !

Excellent value, wonderful hotel, the best food in Fairbanks, beautiful grounds and friendly staff. 5 stars!

Lovely peaceful place. Staff is friendly environment is calm, bear in the lobby is quiet. Just ready to get to the room and rest.

This hotel had so much potential, but still managed to make our stay unpleasant, to say the least. Backstory: I booked my reservation 3 days in advance and specifically told the agent that we would be arriving early in the morning (close to 1am) on the 14th, and would be staying until the morning of the 15th. The agent assured me the price we would pay was for one night (the 14th), and sent me a confirmation email reflecting that. Upon arrival at approximate 12:30am, I greeted an agent at the counter and checked in. At first she said she had no rooms available, to which I was very surprised. I gave her my name and offered to show my confirmation number, but she then said I did not need it and gave me a room. My party and I proceeded to our room and found that it was extremely hot (around 85°). The decor was nice, and the room itself was very cleanly. We first tried to bare the heat, but finally called the front desk and asked for a worker to look at our AC or find us a fan. We were told that it would be taken care of and then waited 30mins. With nothing being done, I went to ask the agent why we hadn't been helped. When I got to the front desk, the agent was talking to a friend on the phone and seemed to have completely blown off our request. I got her attention and asked to change rooms, which she did do. The next room was temperate enough for us to sleep. We did not have any issues following these until the morning of checkout. I was given my receipt which totalled around $320, about twice that of the total given to me on my confirmation. I asked the front desk agent for an explanation, but he could not provide me with one. He referred me to a supervisor in an adjacent building because his supervisor was on lunch break. The next manager told us that because we arrived early in the morning, we would also be charged for the previous night. This was never explained to me during my reservation call or during check-in. She proceeded to tell us that since we already stayed, we would get no refund even though they were the ones at fault. Last weekend's hotel experience was by far the worst that I've had to deal with. I would never recommend the Bear Lodge to anyone, especially fellow military service members. Pros: - Cleanly rooms - Building/Interior/Property was very presentable Cons: - Lack of Clarity/Truthfulness - Unprofessionalism - Zero compensation for the uncomfortable conditions

Nice Hotel, but HORRIBLE STAFF SERVICE AT CHECK-IN!!!! Took a cruise/tour package with Princess Cruise lines which accommodates us at the Bear Lodge. The hotel is actually nice and I probably would give it 4 stars if it wasn't for the awful staff service!!!! Arrived on the motor coach at 1:45 pm, but our room wasn't ready. Neither was anybody's room in the group that arrived with us.  Jack was the clerk behind the desk.  He explained that our room wasn't ready (rm 225) but took our info and said he would call if our room was ready earlier, or by 4 pm.  I explained that we were waiting in the lobby.  But Jack went home as I didn't see him after a while, and Elaine didn't seem aware that we were waiting.  I reminded Elaine we were waiting in the lobby who said our room still wasn't ready.  After 4 pm, I asked Elaine isn't our room ready yet??!!  Elaine now pulls the keys out and said, "Oh, your room is ready."  I told her that we were waiting in the lobby and why didn't she tell us.  She said that she tried calling us, but we didn't hear her.  ELAINE IS A LIAR!!!  I kept watching the front desk and WAITING for such a call which never happened!!  When I started questioning Elaine, that would have been the first thing she would have said to me, (that she tried calling me) but she is making these things up as she goes along.  When I first spoke to Elaine, she kept exhaling heavily and doesn't seem to be able to handle her job efficiently.  Perhaps the Bear Lodge could have other staff members assist Elaine. Food in the restaurant was good but pricey. We had ribs for $28/pp. There's a McDonalds about a mile away and I walked it about 25 min. Downtown Fairbanks is about 1.5 miles away and there's a free shuttle, but it takes a fixed route of stopping at various places first, so it's takes about an hour to get to town, but about 6 minutes to get from town back to the hotel. The only negative about my room was the A/C which is very loud and it was difficult to sleep. Our room was warm without the A/C.

I have to say my experience was horrible. For one the "Free WIFI" is only free if you are in the lobby. It is not powerful enough to reach the rooms. There was a cigarette butt in the middle of my floor when I walked into the room. I was there for four days and everyday I would kick it to the middle of the room and it would get pushed back into the corner after the maid service. On the second day I can only assume that maid service smashed a fly with the curtain and just left it on the window. Not only was it right at eye level it stayed on the widow till the day I left. And lets not forget about all the bus traffic in the parking lot of the hotel. Not only do the buses sit and idle for 20-30 minutes the exhaust comes right into your room along with the noise of the diesel engine. Very loud even with the door shut.

Salmon Teriyaki, the Halibut pasta and Creole Mussels... all were really good but the Alaskan Mussel in the creole sauce was through the roof. Good service too.

This is not a family friendly hotel. Each room only for 2 people but they didn't list it anywhere openly. Additional people will be charged $10.00 per child/adult up to 4 people in a room. We booked our room thru Expedia for 5 people (2 adults + 3 young kids). But, when we got there, we have to open another room because their max is 4. We have to pay full price for the additional room plus additional $10.00 for our third kid. Expedia tried to help us since it was not our fault. They took our reservation for 5 people, and then they trapped us at the last minute without giving us any options. Their customer service were very poor, even the manager have a bad attitude and not helping at all. If you think to stay in this hotel with your family, think again. I want to give this hotel 0 star, but its impossible. I am very disappointed with our visit there.

I don't have photos and this place is beautiful. We were part of a tour and this location was part of the package. (We were staying an extra day but had chosen to stay elsewhere using our points) This place as a car museum and what looks like a stunning lake and a beautiful animal sanctuary thing with hiking trails. Keep in mind my review is not based on any of those things because I did not get to go inside the museum see the lake or go through the gates to the hiking and nature portion of this facility but it does look good.We arrived on a Sunday around 6 and the museum and nature portion of the resort were all closed. You can walk to all of this on the property. I did not take any pics. I give this location 2 stars bc I am very disappointed with the customer service and my room was really hot. 221 ( the other people in our group did not have problem with there rooms being hot) When we first walked in we thought wow this place looks cool. We were disappointed we were not able to see museum and nature trail or lake but we were staying an extra day and we planned on spending the day enjoying the facilities but we decided to move on. We were going to have breakfast but the other people in our group said the food on the buffet was cold. Other people in our group had dinner in the restaurant the night before and had the same problem with there dinner entrees so we decided to skip breakfast and just hit the museum however when I called down to find out about check out we were informed it is an 11:00 check out. I asked for late check out and they were not able to accommodate. There was one person working front desk and the place was supposedly booked solid? I don't know but I left not liking this place and after going through the process of getting our luggage downstairs and stored we no longer cared to see the museum and just wanted to leave so we did. Unfortunately i can't recommend this place.

We arrived a day early for our princess cruise & we pleased. Quest, comfortable, and homey. Staff provides excellent customer service & advice on local things of interest. Very friendly. Well appointed & live the Alaska books and artwork throughout. tip: very nice free bus service that takes you around town. On time, comfy. One stop is Fred Meyer, a local grocery store/dept store.

Unfortunately, we only stayed one night. The room was quiet, very clean & nicely decorated. Loved the mattress. The breakfast buffet was wonderful. Would definitely stay here again.

Stayed with my husband and 6 year old son. Clean, comfortable room and very friendly and helpful staff. We enjoyed walking the trails in the nature sanctuary. The location was great for getting to other Fairbanks attractions.