A 547-room three-tower downtown landmark founded by former Alaska governor Walter Hickel as a vote of confidence after the 1964 earthquake, with views of Cook Inlet and the Chugach Range, the grand-dame property of Alaska.
"The downtown Anchorage hotel that defines downtown Anchorage. Walter Hickel built the first tower in 1965 as a vote of confidence after the Good Friday earthquake; sixty years and three towers later it is still the city's grand-dame address."
The Hotel Captain Cook occupies a full city block at 5th Avenue and K Street in downtown Anchorage, in three connected towers built across two decades by Walter Hickel, a hotel-owner who was twice governor of Alaska and United States Secretary of the Interior under Nixon. Tower I opened in 1965 as a deliberate vote of confidence in the city's recovery from the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday earthquake that hit Anchorage on March 27, 1964. Tower II followed in 1972, Tower III in 1978. The building remains family-owned, is a member of Historic Hotels of America, and is the longest-running luxury hotel in the state.
The 547 rooms and suites are distributed across the three twenty-storey towers. Standard rooms run 26 to 32 square metres with king or two-queen layouts; the room product respects the building's vintage with darker wood panelling, leather and wool textiles, and brass detailing, rather than chasing a contemporary remodel. Higher-floor rooms in Tower III carry the cleanest line of sight across Cook Inlet to Mount Susitna (the Sleeping Lady) and the Alaska Range; Tower II rooms face the Chugach Mountains east of the city. Suite categories step up through Junior Suite at 50 square metres to the Romanoff Suite, a 250 square-metre two-bedroom on the top floor of Tower III with a private terrace.
Food and beverage runs across four named venues. The Crow's Nest sits at the top of Tower III, a fine-dining room with a 360-degree city panorama that has been the Anchorage business lunch since the late 1970s; the wine list runs 1,400 bottles and is the deepest in the state. Fletcher's is the lobby-level pub, a clubby English-style room with a long wood bar; Whale's Tail is the casual all-day cafe; and the Pantry handles morning grab-and-go. The fine-dining operation through The Crow's Nest is the only one of its kind in central Anchorage and is the right room for an anniversary dinner or a formal business meeting.
The hotel runs a small but proper Athletic Club with an indoor pool, a Finnish sauna, a salt-water hot tub, and a fitness studio open twenty-four hours. The Captain Cook Salon and Day Spa on the second floor runs a tighter treatment menu than the bigger resort spas, but covers the essentials competently. The location is the property's other defining asset: 5th Avenue is the spine of downtown Anchorage, with the Anchorage Museum, the Performing Arts Center, the 4th Avenue Market, and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail all within ten minutes on foot. The Captain Cook is the right Anchorage hotel for a guest who wants the city's grand-dame address and a working downtown base rather than a wilderness or ski-resort experience.
For a corporate or government stay in Anchorage, the Captain Cook is the operationally serious answer. The Crow's Nest is the city's de facto business lunch; the meeting space runs 19 rooms across 30,000 square feet on the lower floors; the dedicated executive floor in Tower III holds the Captain's Club lounge for breakfast and an evening reception. The 5th Avenue address puts the Federal Building, the Alaska state offices, and the major energy and shipping company headquarters all within five blocks. The hotel is the booking the locals make for visiting executives.
An anniversary at the Captain Cook is the right answer in a state that does not run a deep luxury hotel inventory. A Junior Suite in Tower III with the Cook Inlet line of sight is the room to book; a Crow's Nest dinner at the top of the building is the most formal restaurant in Anchorage and the right place to mark a milestone; and the Captain Cook's quietly excellent concierge can arrange a Beluga whale-watching morning at Beluga Point or a Mount Susitna flightseeing afternoon without the trip-of-a-lifetime price tag of the wilderness lodges.
939 West 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
United States
Heart of downtown Anchorage at 5th and K; five blocks to the Anchorage Museum; ten minutes by taxi from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC); on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail
547 rooms and suites across three twenty-storey towers
Doubles from $239/night
Junior Suites from $429/night
Captain's Club access in Tower III
Romanoff Suite to $1,499/night
Historic Hotels of America member
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened 1965 (Tower I), 1972, 1978
Family-owned, Historic Hotels of America
The Crow's Nest fine dining at the top of Tower III
Fletcher's English-style lobby pub
Athletic Club with indoor pool, sauna, hot tub
Captain Cook Salon and Day Spa
30,000 sq ft of meeting space across 19 rooms
Captain's Club executive lounge in Tower III
Complimentary WiFi throughout
From $239/night in the standard king. Reserve a Tower III room above the eleventh floor for the cleanest Cook Inlet line of sight, or a Captain's Club room for the executive lounge access. The Crow's Nest books two weeks ahead for Saturday dinners.
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