Before this trip, I didn’t know much about Hilton’s Gardin Inn brand — I just assumed all Hiltons were up-scale and expensive. Well, it turns out I was wrong.

from  $119

Hotel Hilton Garden Inn Anchorage

 4555 Union Square Drive, Anchorage, AK, United States

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While the Garden Inn brand (with more than 500 properties worldwide) is used primarily by business travelers at the moment, it is also an ideal hotel chain for leisure travelers of all sorts — families, girlfriends looking for a getaway, young Gen Y travelers… the Garden Inn is suitable for all of these audiences.

Why? Because the Hilton Garden Inn chain is affordable. Rooms at these mid-range hotels can be half as expensive as rooms at Big Brother Hilton. And yet you still get a lot of the Hilton amenities.

Hilton Garden Inn chain is affordable

Here’s what I thought of my stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Anchorage:

The Pros:

Breakfast

The hotel had an amazing cook-to-order breakfast bar, along with the standard continental breakfast fare. You can wake up, grab a coffee, and then order a reindeer sausage omelette to get your morning started.

an amazing cook-to-order breakfast bar

Rustic lobby

I loved the lobby of this hotel. There’s a fireplace, a giant elk head, native artwork, and a stuffed bear that everyone calls Reggie. There are also comfy couches and a flat-screen TV, which my sister and I put to use while we waited for our room to be ready when we arrived. We hardly even minded the wait.

Free shuttles

Need a ride to the airport or to downtown Anchorage? The hotel has a free shuttle that runs frequently throughout the day.

has a free shuttle that runs frequently throughout the day

Big rooms

The double room for my sister and I had was huge and comfortable. It had two heavenly beds, a chair, a big TV, and a really nice desk. (I’m all about the nice desk when I’m traveling and have work to get done.) The bathroom was even massive!

Comfy beds

As noted above, the beds were amazing. Soft but not too soft, and with an ample amount of pillows. If you get a room with a King-sized bed, you are even able to control the firmness of it.

the beds were amazing

Pool/hot tub

The hotel has the standard fitness room, pool, and hot tub — perfect for relaxing after a long day of outdoor adventure.

Free wifi

This is one of the biggest selling points for me when I’m considering booking a room at a hotel. And yes, the HGI Anchorage offers FREE wifi in both the rooms and the lobby. Better yet, the wifi is fast and responsive.

FREE wifi in both the rooms and the lobby

Friendly staff

Another important aspect of any hotel is the staff. The staff members at this hotel were friendly, helpful, and just generally nice people from what we could tell.

The Cons

Breakfast

While breakfast is delicious, it isn’t free. In fact, the cook-to-order breakfast is downright pricey, at roughly $15 per person.

Location

I wished that the HGI Anchorage had been closer to the city center. It is located roughly 2 miles away, so you pretty much have to take the hotel shuttle (which only runs until 10 p.m.) or call a cab if you want to go downtown to explore.