The Chandalar Ranch is known for its fantastic views of the Aurora during winter months, however, we stayed here for a Summer Youth Conference and had a great time!! There were about 20 of us, and we stayed from August 4-10. Everyday was sunny and had the perfect temperature between the 70s-80s. The view is tremendous, absolutely stunning, it looks like a painting. Even after 6 days of looking at the view, it still took my breath away. They have a fully functional kitchen, and 2 bathrooms, 1 for the men and 1 for the women. There's an open field 5 feet from the door. It is on a slight slant, so we walked to the Two Rivers School for basketball, kickball, soccer, frisbee, and mouse-on-ground. In the dining room there was an assortment of puzzles and games, such as Connect 4, which we all had fun with. There is no lake nearby, but the Ranch is only a 30-minute drive to Fairbanks, and we had a day where we went to the Tanana Lakes Recreation Area Swim Beach which was a blast. The owners, Keith and Velma, are the nicest people on Earth!!! Keith had to come in and fix one of the toilets that kept running, and it took him very little time to fix it. Maggie and George are the managers. They were helpful getting us set up, and then they mostly stayed out of sight. Which was really nice, not to have someone watching over our shoulders. That was a real plus for our group, which made everyone feel like the space was ours, and it empowered everyone to show respect to the place and keep it clean. All in all, it was a great Youth Conference and I would highly recommend this place! Parked our car on the side of road and was then threatened to charged our money. Right after we were charged, they said we need to leave right away and they said they had guns. We were threatened to pay the money then we got nothing about the service but threatening and kicking out!!!! This is the worrrrrrrst experience I have since I came to US several years ago. I realized all they want is money, and in order to get money, they don't care what they do to their 'customers' or just people passing by their house. I stayed in one of the bunk rooms in the lodge with a friend for four nights recently and we had a good time overall. My main complaint is that their website needs some major updating because it's a bit deceptive. There aren't any horses there anymore, the little log cabin that appears to be off on its own is actually in a rather busy parking lot, and the back decks weren't even built yet in the photos of the lodge. I also think Maggie, the host, could have been a little friendlier and more helpful -- especially when it came to locating Chena Hot Springs Road from the Parks Hwy and finding the lodge. I also had asked her via email about stopping at a grocery store on the way out there and she did not provide enough useful information. I had to call a friend who lives in the area because I got a bit turned around. Maggie also did not provide enough info about finding the lodge in the dark. Many road signs were covered with snow and I had no idea what mile marker the lodge was. I had to pull over and call her. The owner of the resort, Keith Koontz, and his son George, as well as Linda the housekeeper, were the most helpful and friendly. George always gave us a heads up when the aurora was out and even knocked on our room door to let us know it was out strong to ensure we didn't miss it. His sense of humor was a pleasure! Maggie did redeem herself a bit on our last night by treating my friend to a large cupcake with a candle and singing Happy Birthday with her family. I would recommend the place for anyone wanting to see the aurora because we did catch a couple of good shows two out of the four nights. The common kitchen was well stocked with cooking utensils, the bunks were comfy, and the bathroom was clean. I hope Maggie will do a little soul-searching, however, and be a better hostess. The hosts were friendly and kind, they helped us when we met problems, I'll absolutely go back and stay at Chandalar Ranch!!!!!!! Thanks!!!!! It also a great place to view Aurora. Make sure you got 4 wheel drive car to drive there. My car get suck in the snow. The owner is very nice and she bring us tools and spend half hour to help us.
Chandalar Ranch is a US Lodging based in Fairbanks, Alaska. Chandalar Ranch is located at 5804 Chena Hot Springs Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99712, USA.
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