Anchorage Luxury Hotels & Destination
Anchorage AK Luxury Hotel
Anchorage is a luxury hotel destination beckoning all who seek thrilling adventure. Majestic mountains, a unique frontier culture, and a truly multicultural experience are waiting for luxury hotel explorers in the gorgeous Anchorage, AK. With a prolonged winter, experience Anchorages unique nightlife almost 24 hour around the clock or in the summertime, have a fun enjoy the beautiful rays chatting, remising or partaking in activity into the wee hours of the dawn. Anchorage offers the luxury hotel traveler an incredibly new and exciting adventure each and every day.
Anchorage Luxury Hotels
Anchorage is situated among a frontier and nothing could be better than viewing and learning about life in the wilderness without having to actually experience it firsthand. After a busy day, cozy up to a blazing fire and relax while being pampered with attentive, sophisticated service at an Anchorage luxury hotel. Elegant ambiance with attention to detail and luxury amenities make a luxury hotel stay genuinely relaxing and rejuvenating. An Anchorage luxury hotel escape is certain to be a truly memorable experience.
Anchorage History
Archaeological records show that the humans entered the area approximately 12,000 years ago by crossing the Bering Land Bridge from Asia. The native groups living in and near Anchorage are the Tlingit, Haida, Athabascan, and Eskimo.
The Papal Bull of 1493 made Alaska officially Spanish territory. Spain's Alaskan legacy endures only in a few place names, notably the Malaspina Glacier and the town of Valdez.
During the fur trading boom, both Russia and England created outposts in this land which was rich in beaver, bear, otter, mink and sea otter. At times competitive, the two powers entered into an agreement: the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1825. This allowed Britain to trade in Alaska and settled the border between Alaska and British North America (later Canada).
The US which had acquired Alaska in the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 was well established on the west coast by this time and began turning its attention northward. Financial difficulties and a desire to keep Alaska out of the British sphere of influence convinced the Russians to sell the territory to the US for $7,200,000 on April 9, 1867. The deal became known as "Seward's Folly" or “Seward's Icebox" because Alaska was such a cold and inhospitable place.
In 1914, Anchorage was chosen as a railroad construction port for the Alaska Railroad. Ship Creek Landing, where the railroad headquarters was located quickly became a tent city. Renamed Anchorage, it was incorporated on November 23, 1920. Anchorage, like the rest of Alaska remained of little interest to the rest of the US until it was invaded by Japan in WWII. Recapturing the Alaska territory became a matter of pride. During the war, Anchorage's population exploded. It grew from around 8,000 in 1941 to more than 43,000 by the war's end.
The war produced a boom in aviation. Surplus aircraft provided transportation in an area that had few rail lines and fewer roads. In 1951 the Anchorage International Airport was completed and became an important air crossroads for the burgeoning North Pacific and Asia transportation and trade. Oil was discovered on the Kenai Peninsula in 1957 and seventeen oil companies set up headquarters in Anchorage spending millions on exploration.
On January 3, 1959, United States Congress voted Alaska into statehood. On Good Friday, March 27, 1964 the strongest earthquake ever to hit North America (9.2 on the Richter scale) devastated Anchorage. Recovery was spurred by a new oil discovery on the Arctic slope of the Brooks Mountain Range.
In 1968, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was finalized bringing the issue of native land rights to closure. In May of 1972, Congress authorized the construction of an oil pipeline. Construction began in 1974 with oil beginning to flow from the North Slope to the ice free port of Valdez in 1977. Alaska and Anchorage were never the same. A building boom was on and continues today in Anchorage.
Today Anchorage is a thriving city of 280,000 municipal residents and approximately 1/2 of Alaska's population of 700,000 resides in the greater Anchorage area.
Anchorage Attractions
Anchorage offers luxury hotel guests the opportunity to take to the skies with exciting flight tours, featuring amazing scenery and exhilarating activities such as skydiving, glacier dog sledding, fishing and wildlife photo opportunities. Back on the ground, Anchorage luxury hotel guests can consider the Anchorage Museum, the Russian Orthodox Museum, and the Alaska Museum of Natural History. Inside the National Bank of Alaska building, the Alaska Heritage Library and Museum displays Eskimo art and artifacts. Anchorage luxury hotel visitors can view a scaled down stagecoach and presentation on the Alaskan Gold Rush. Next to Town Square Park in downtown Anchorage, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts hosts numerous performing arts events each year, and is home to eight resident performing arts companies. Be sure to consult the events calendar when planning your Anchorage luxury hotel stay as Anchorage has special events such as the Anchorage Folk Festival, Anchorage Fur Rendezvous and the Tour of Anchorage.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center, not far from the Anchorage city center should not be missed! Anchorage luxury hotel travelers can experience Alaska’s diverse cultures in one location. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which provides refuge for orphaned, injured or ill animals, is another must see attraction during your Anchorage luxury hotel escape. Drive through the park to see bears, eagles, elk, moose, bison, and more. The Alaska Botanical Garden, open year-round since 1993, is a 110-acre garden consisting mainly of spruce and birch forest, several specialized gardens, and the 1.1-mile (1.8-km) Lowenfels Family Nature Trail. Wildlife (moose and sometimes bears) are frequent visitors to the garden so Anchorage luxury hotel visitors should remember to bring a camera.
Anchorage Shopping
With reasonable prices and no sales tax, Anchorage is the ultimate place to shop in Alaska. Anchorage was originally laid out in a grid and many of the streets still follow this pattern, making it simple and convenient for Anchorage luxury hotel guests to find their way around. In Anchorage luxury hotel visitors will find many opportunities to purchase original Native American art. Some Anchorage galleries are set up to resemble trading posts and others as more traditional galleries. The art is beautiful, unique and a great way to remember your fabulous Anchorage luxury hotel getaway. Souvenir offerings include finely crafted ivory, Native masks, baskets, dolls, and carved jade. If authenticity is important to you, the Anchorage shop or gallery will be able to tell you the artist’s name, cultural background, village or region of origin. Native artists can sometimes be seen at work in the central common area of a building on 4th Avenue.
At 6th Avenue and H Street in Anchorage, luxury hotel guests will find the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative selling items knit of qiviut (ki-vee-ute), the light, warm, silky musk oxen under hair, collected from shedding animals and knitted by 250 Alaska Native women. Anchorage’s Ulu Factory sells traditional curved knives.
When interested in something specific, consult your Anchorage luxury hotel concierge and they will happily direct you to the appropriate place.
Anchorage Dining
Anchorage is the location to go for cold water ocean fish. Hungry luxury hotel diners can enjoy fresh halibut, Pollock, Bristol Bay salmon and of course Alaska King Crab. Springtime is when Anchorage luxury hotel guests experience fresh fish served with fiddleheads a unique treat of the unfurled immature part of a local fern.
Anchorage’s ethnic diversity is reflected in the choices luxury hotel visitors have for fine dining. Recently, several microbreweries have opened in Anchorage, with restaurants serving scrumptious lunch and dinner fare.
The frontier means game and luxury hotel visitors to Anchorage can find delicious entrees such as Caribou steak, low in fat and very tasty. Grilled to perfection and served with fresh local produce, a memorable meal it will be.
Something fascinating is always in store during an Anchorage luxury hotel stay. Plan your luxury hotel escape to Anchorage to experience frontier life in luxury.
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