Over $200

Built in 1953 but remodeled, Inlet Tower Suites (1200 L St., 907/276-0110 or 800/544-0786, www.inlettower.com [1]) is a 14-story tower atop a hill halfway between downtown and Midtown. Guest rooms are nicely furnished and spacious, and there are great views of the mountains or Cook Inlet from higher floors. Rooms with microwaves and fridges list at $219 d, but they’re often available for $159 d. Free airport or railroad transportation is included, along with an exercise facility and Wi-Fi. The hotel’s restaurant (Mixx Grill) is best known for fine dinners, or you can walk a block to the New Sagaya’s gourmet market.

One of my favorite Anchorage [2] hotels, Dimond Center Hotel (700 E Dimond Blvd., 907/770-5000 or 866/770-5002, www.dimondcenterhotel.com [3], $269–299 d), has a less-than-appealing location next to Wal-Mart and the Dimond Mall on the south side of town. But inside you’ll find a gorgeous lobby, custom-designed furnishings, and luxurious rooms with plush beds and 42-inch flat-screen TVs. Even the baths are special, with soaking tubs and windows opening into the main room. A full hot breakfast is included, and the hotel has guest computers and Wi-Fi, guest passes to a nearby gym, plus free airport and train station shuttles.

Anchorage Hotel (330 E St., 907/272-4553 or 800/544-0988, www.historicanchoragehotel.com [4]) is a classy little 26-room hotel built in 1916 and now on the National Register of Historic Places. Standard guest rooms (small in size) cost $179 d, and two-room suites are $259 d. The hotel has Wi-Fi and large TVs.

Hotel Captain Cook (5th Ave. and K St., 907/276-6000 or 800/843-1950, www.captaincook.com [5]), occupies an entire block, with three towers and three restaurants. The hotel is owned by the family of former governor Wally Hickel, who also served as President Nixon’s Secretary of the Interior in the 1970s. The hotel’s 550 rooms follow a nautical theme (befitting the name), and the building has an old-money feeling with dark woods and lots of suits and power ties. Amenities include concierge service, Wi-Fi, and a full athletic club with a hot tub, a sauna, and an indoor pool. Rates start at $255 d for a standard guest room or $270 for junior suites, up to $405 d for a two-bedroom executive suite.