Passengers booked on Holland America Line cruises to Alaska will have access to the line’s new Base Camp complex at McKinley Chalet Resort, located near the entrance to Denali National Park. Scheduled to open for the 2016 Alaska cruise season, the facility is part of Holland America Line’s ongoing improvements, which also include updates to guest rooms, refreshed soft goods and hotel décor, and other enhancements.
McKinley Chalet Resort serves guests on Holland America Line’s Land+Sea Journeys, which combine an Alaska cruise with an overland tour to Denali and surrounding areas. The new Base Camp will serve as a central gathering space where guests can relax, shop, dine and enjoy live entertainment. Planned features include a 7,800-square-foot restaurant, cozy fire pits, an artist-in-residence cabin showcasing work by native and local artists, and an amphitheater with a covered performance stage plus a semicircle of bench seating for local shows, ranger talks and demonstrations.
“Our McKinley Chalet Resort is the premier destination hotel in Alaska, and the addition of Base Camp to this already spectacular property will make the guest experience all the more memorable and enriching,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “Base Camp enables us to showcase Alaska and Denali National Park on a whole new level by bringing even more of the local history to our guests through art, dining and music.”
Set on nearly 60 acres, McKinley Chalet Resort offers 478 guestrooms, a mix of fine and casual dining options, an on-site dinner theater, raft departures from the property, and walking trails along the Nenana River.