The Wildbirch Hotel Review: My Stay in Anchorage, Alaska

Wondering where to stay in Anchorage, Alaska? Before our Alaska cruise, we spent several days in Anchorage on our own exploring the city and the surrounding area.

And because I honestly do love Hyatt, my eye was drawn to The Wildbirch Hotel. This hotel was renovated and renamed in 2025 when it joined the Hyatt family and became The Wildbirch Hotel – JDV by Hyatt.

I was intrigued by the adorable online room photos and the convenient location, and I’m happy to say that it pretty much lived up to my expectations.

Despite a couple of inconveniences, I really loved this cozy hotel downtown! So let me tell you all about our stay, what I loved, and a couple of things that didn’t go quite right.

The Wildbirch Hotel Location

The Wildbirch Hotel is located in downtown Anchorage on the corner of C Street and 4th Avenue. This location was super convenient, because it meant that a lot of things we wanted to do Anchorage, like hop on the Deluxe Trolley Tour or visit the Anchorage Museum, were in easy walking distance.

However, it is kind of on the edge of downtown. Which means some things, like Snow City Cafe, are a little further away (Snow City Cafe is about a 15 minute walk). And in potentially bad Alaska weather, it means you might be driving anyway.

As far as getting there goes, the hotel is about a 15 minute drive from the airport. We rented a car at the airport to drive there (you’ll need a car for a lot of the best things to do in Anchorage!) and it was really easy to find!

The Wildbirch Hotel Lobby & Check-In

Cozy modern lounge with a curved cream sofa leather chairs and a large round ottoman arranged beside a glowing fireplace. Vertical wood slats and warm lighting create a relaxed contemporary seating area. — The main lobby in The Wildbirch Hotel.

Checking-in did get a little confusing for us though. The main parking area along with the porte-cochere is technically in the back of hotel. Which meant we had to park our car, then ring a bell to be let in the back door, and then take an elevator up to the main lobby.

One great thing about this hotel though: There is plenty of parking around back!

Getting our room was also a bit of issue too though. We had used a suite upgrade certificate to book a suite, but when we arrived in our room, it seemed to be just a single room.

So I had to walk back down the VERY long hallway here and ask about it.

Long hotel hallway with dark guest room doors on both sides and patterned carpet resembling cracked stone. Recessed ceiling lights create a symmetrical view stretching toward the far end of the corridor. — My biggest complaint about this hotel: The hallway felt never ending!

Turns out, we were in the right room. They just hadn’t given us the key to the second part of our room, which was an adjoining room with a Murphy bed and kitchenette next door.

They were very kind and very helpful, but after a long day of travel it was a bit frustrating.

I will say though that my parents were also staying at the hotel with us, and since they just had a regular room they had zero issues when checking in.

I should also mention the lobby here, which is really pretty. It feels cozy yet modern, outdoorsy yet stylish, which is perfect for Anchorage.

My only complaint is that the lobby is on one side of the hotel instead of centrally located. Which means if you have a room at the other end, like we did, it’s a very very long walk to get to the lobby.

This is supposed to feel like a boutique hotel, and while the decor does give it that feel, the size definitely does not.

You should also know that there is a foyer on the first level of the hotel (the level you enter from the back parking lot). You may think this is the lobby at first, but it’s not! You have to go upstairs to check in.

Spacious modern hotel lounge with colorful woven chairs arranged around wooden tables and sofas beside a central fireplace. Warm wood floors and geometric ceiling panels give the communal seating area a contemporary feel. — The lower foyer, not to be confused with the main lobby.

The Wildbirch Hotel Rooms

Modern hotel room with a neatly made bed beneath a large carved wooden headboard with topographic style lines. White robes hang from an open wardrobe beside the bed and a colorful striped pillow adds a bright accent. — Our king bed room, which was attached to a second room to make it a suite.

I absolutely adored our room at The Wildbirch Hotel! The room decor brings that same outdoorsy-chic vibe into the interior, and feels a bit vintage and VERY Alaska.

Our room was full of all kinds of cool details, including the wall decor behind the bed which was a abstract topographical map of Denali made of wood.

Like I mentioned, we had a suite. In one room, we had a king bed with a small sitting area with a table and banquette seating. In the adjoining room we had a Murphy bed, a small table, and a kitchenette.

Hotel room sitting area with a gray corner sofa and small blue table beneath a woven pendant light. A coffee station and bright red mini fridge sit beside the seating area. — The banquette corner seating in our King Bed room.

Hotel room with a queen size Murphy bed pulled down over the sofa and dressed in white bedding with a patterned runner. A desk and chair sit beside the bed with warm wood built ins framing the sleeping area. — The Murphy bed in our attached room, which made up our suite.

You can also get just a king room here or a room with two queen beds. My parents had a two-queen bed room that was very much like ours. However, the two-queen bed rooms don’t have as much of a sitting area. There is just a chair here instead of the banquette seating.

The bathroom was clean and nice too, although we did have an issue with our faucet not being attached to the sink right.

Overall, I will say that there are a couple of instances (like our faucet needing a repair and like the phones by the bed which still had the old name on them) where you can tell the hotel has been retrofitted. This hotel used to be a Holiday Inn and the The Aviator Hotel before becoming a Hyatt hotel.

But despite a few little nitpicky things, we really loved our room. It was such a cozy place to come back to each evening we were in Anchorage, we slept fantastically thanks to comfy beds and blackout curtains, and I especially loved that we had lots of space to spread out in our suite.

The Wildbirch Hotel Restaurants

Crimson

Modern hotel restaurant dining area with wood floors and tables set with wine glasses and red napkins. Woven chairs and large sliding wood doors complement the warm contemporary interior. — Crimson seating at The Wildbirch Hotel.

Crimson is the main restaurant at The Wildbirch Hotel, and we had breakfast here each morning. They have typical breakfast items like Buttermilk Pancakes and Steak & Eggs, along with some specialties more geared toward Alaska like Reindeer Hash.

Overall the food was really good. However, the service was a bit slow both mornings we ate here. I do think that had to do with how early in the season it was though. We were there in late May and most of the tourism doesn’t pick up until later in June. So it did feel like they were working out some kinks from the winter season stlil.

While we only ate here for breakfast, I’ve heard lunch and dinner here are excellent too. You’ll find things on the menu like pizzas, Bison Steak Salad, Alaska Salmon, and Shrimp Rigatoni.

Breakfast plate with two fried eggs. Bacon. Sausage. Breakfast potatoes. A biscuit. Fresh melon and blueberries. Ketchup and a creamy sauce. — My breakfast at Crimson.

Breakfast menu for Crimson restaurant listing morning classics. Local specialties. Sides. Beverages. Crimson Bloody Mary. Mimosa. And Mimosa Spritz Board. Menu items include steel cut oats. Greek yogurt and granola. Biscuits and gravy. Buttermilk pancakes. Breakfast burrito. Traditional eggs Benedict. Farmers omelet. Brioche French toast. Avocado toast. Alaska eggs Benedict. Reindeer hash. Crab omelet. Eggs. Applewood bacon. Link sausage. Reindeer sausage. Smoked salmon. Home fries. Fresh fruit. Sausage gravy. Toast. Fresh juices. Iced tea. Soda. Kaladi Brothers coffee. Harney and Sons fine teas. Espresso. Latte. And cappuccino. — Crimson breakfast menu.

Deck 85

Open in the summer, Deck 85 is the outdoor portion of Crimson. You can get the same food and drinks from Crimson, but with views of the water and the Chugach Mountains.

Canteen

Canteen is located in the gift shop in the lobby. Here you can grab quick bites to eat and coffee.

The Canteen gift shop is super cute too! They have so many local Alaska goods that feel like high quality, beautiful items and not just tourist shop junk. I loved browsing in here (and bought myself a cute sticker for my journal!).

Undertap

Undertap hadn’t opened yet while we were there, and it’s supposed to be opening in Fall 2026. It’s located in the lower level foyer and will offer local Alaska brews and small plates.

Room Service

You can of course get room service here too! The room service menu is from Crimson.

The Wildbirch Hotel Amenities

Modern hotel fitness center with a Precor cable weight machine. Treadmills. Stationary bike. Free weights. Exercise benches. And a mirrored wall. — The Wildbirch Hotel Fitness Center.

I’ll just be honest: This hotel isn’t one that offers a ton of amenities. But really that’s okay because you’ll probably be spending most of your time out exploring beautiful Alaska anyway!

You will find a small fitness center here. I didn’t use it, but my parents did and they seemed happy enough with the equipment there even though it was pretty small.

There are also laundry services, and meeting and event spaces.

There is not a pool here, so if that’s important to you, you might want to pick a different hotel like The Captain Cook Hotel (we also stayed there one night and it was really nice!).

The Wildbirch Hotel Pros & Cons

The Wildbirch Hotel Pros

Clean and cozy hotel that feels VERY Alaska!
Good on-site dining.
Convenient downtown location.

The Wildbirch Hotel Cons

A large hotel, but few amenities.
Can get pretty pricey depending on the season (but most Anchorage hotels are like this).

Round hotel room sign with the number 2139 in raised red lettering and Braille below. Teal. Red. White. And gold stripes decorate the bottom of the wood sign. — I really appreciated all the decorative details, even down to the room numbers! (This was not our room by the way.)

The Wildbirch Hotel Review: Bottom Line

So would I stay here again? Absolutely!

Despite our check-in snafus and my annoyance at the long hallway, I really loved the Alaska feel of this hotel and thought our room was so comfortable and cozy. The location was very convenient downtown, and there was plenty of parking.

This feels like a hotel that embraces the outdoor spirit of Alaska while elevating the ruggedness. Which I thought was the perfect vibe to kick off our time in Alaska!