We were scheduled on the Holland America D1T which began in Fairbanks on Sept. 5th. The ship departed Seward on the 9th. The land package took place on Sept 5-9. There were three couples in our group and we had made reservations at the tour hotel to arrive one day early, on Sept. 4th. At the airport in Fairbanks we saw a Holland America agent greeting customers coming in for other land tours. When we identified ourselves we were warmly received and we were transported on the Holland America buses to the hotel (even though we were a day early). It was good to have the extra day in Fairbanks as we toured the Museum at the University (great museum), went to Santa's house in North Pole, AK, and had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant.
The HAL hotel is the Westmark in Fairbanks. Nice hotel. HAL has a desk at the hotel. Our tour included a very fun and informative ride on a paddle-wheel boat, lunch and panning for gold during the day. We recommend the land tour in Fairbanks. We also went on the salmon bake that evening, which we all agreed was not worth it. The next day we were transported to Denali on the train in observation cars. The observation cars have seats and a bar upstairs and a restaurant area below the seating area. The guides were attentive and informative. At the train station in Denali we were transported to our hotel, The McKinley Chalets Resort. Our group was in a separate full sized hotel near the main lodge. It is a 5 minute walk from there to the main lodge and there's a shuttle running every few minutes. Our impression is that building was owned by HAL. The main lodge has a couple of restaurants, a bar and a gift shop. Across the street is the commercial area with many shops, ice cream, pizza, etc.
We took the flightseeing tour around Mount McKinley. Denali Air picked us up at the main lodge and took us to the airstrip. We flew in an 8-passenger twin engine airplane with retractable landing gear. The flight lasted about an hour. We loved it even though it was a little cloudy that day. Highly recommended.
1850. Adequate inside cabin. The shower fluctuated from hot to cold.