The Wildbirch Hotel reopens Anchorage's former Aviator Hotel as Alaska's first JdV by Hyatt property, following a $50 million renovation. It opened in downtown Anchorage in June 2025 with 252 rooms, a Pan-American restaurant and the city's first genuine lifestyle-hotel positioning.
The essentials
Group JdV by Hyatt
Opening June 2025
Rooms & suites 252 rooms and suites
Segment Lifestyle
Designer EDG Design (overall design); KPB Architects and 61north architects (guest rooms)
Entry rate NC Learn more → The place In downtown Anchorage's Mushing District along West Fourth Avenue, near the Alaska Railroad Depot and Ship Creek, within walking distance of the city's museums and waterfront.
The concept MASH, LLC — co-founded by former Anchorage mayor Mark Begich and former state revenue commissioner Sheldon Fisher — bought the property in 2020 as the former Aviator Hotel (originally a Holiday Inn) and rebuilt it into Alaska's first JdV by Hyatt, the largest single-hotel investment in Anchorage since 2000. Springboard Hospitality operates the property, which pairs design-forward rooms with art curated alongside the Anchorage Museum.
Dining & wellness Crimson serves Alaska staples with Pan-American touches for breakfast through dinner, Canteen Coffee Co. handles the lobby café, and The Undertap, a craft beer room with Midnight Sun Brewing Co., was slated to open in fall 2025.
Our take A rare case of a market-defining renovation: Anchorage had no genuine lifestyle hotel before this, and the scale of investment shows in the public spaces more than gimmicks.
Google guest reviews 4.0/5 · 190 reviews
We stayed here after our cruise for two nights. The hotel presents beautifully and check in Was easy. However, the rooms walls are paper thin and not only could I hear people above us, but people beside us throughout the night. Also the bathroom fixtures had some noticeable issues. Since we were there in July, the hotel was fully booked. The restaurant service was less than efficient and I finally after waiting a significant period of time had to physically ask for Our bill at the bar. Do not get the hamburger. Breakfast was better than lunch. Although the second morning the kitchen had an issue and only a simple buffet was available. Considering the price, I would not say that this hotel was worth the money. The only good thing about it was that it is located downtown in an area that Was close to shops and restaurants.
Stayed twice, had some issues. Waiters at the Crimson (restaurant attached hotel) are nice. But they stopped checking on me when the entree came out, a $60 steak, and couldn’t get a steak knife and it was done medium well and not medium rare. The flavors are still good. Also, when I ordered room service they didn’t provide any cutlery. When I checked in the second time, some lady employee was sort of berating the younger employee over some mistake instead of checking me in so I was standing there awkwardly. The toiletry pack couldn’t be opened in the bathroom the second time, it was like it was glued shut, so obviously housekeeping isn’t checking. The hotel is new and nice but the hotel hallway is so long and awkward it feels more rundown than it really is. Your room could be like a half hour walk from the front. Recommend paying extra for the Port view / requesting a close room on Floor 3. Couldn’t get a hold of the front desk in the morning so I hauled my bags myself. Room service menu online does not work. Could easily be a much higher rating but there’s just some service consistency issues especially with the restaurant.
Our stay was thoroughly frustrating, and the experience was completely unacceptable for a property charging over $500 a night.
We were assigned what had to be the worst room in the building. Looking out our window, the entire view was completely blocked by a massive mechanical unit. To make matters worse, the room was situated directly below their maintenance facility, resulting in constant overhead noise from heavy machinery, washers, and dryers throughout our stay. On top of the noise and lack of a functional view, basic upkeep was neglected—the shower drain was clogged and filled with standing water every time we used it.
To top off a terrible stay, I was also double-charged on my credit card and am still trying to get the billing error sorted out.
When paying premium rates, you expect basic standards like a restful environment, proper maintenance, and a decent room layout. Management seriously needs to address these severe room issues instead of charging top-dollar for spaces that shouldn't be offered to guests in the first place. I would strongly advise looking elsewhere.
This was our second stay at Wildbirch, and once again, it exceeded our expectations!
We were assigned Room #2121 and, thanks to our Hyatt Explorist status, were pleasantly surprised with an upgrade to a beautiful Porch View room. It made our stay even more enjoyable.
The entire staff was warm, welcoming, and incredibly helpful throughout our visit. A special shoutout to Marilyn and Maria at the front desk—they were friendly, professional, and went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. We'd also like to recognize Nick at the bell desk for his outstanding service and genuine hospitality.
It's the people who make a great hotel truly memorable, and the team at Wildbirch does exactly that. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and look forward to returning again. Highly recommend!
5/5 Stars!!
Great central location and clearly a recent renovation, so as a loyal Hyatt member I'm excited to see the brand expanding with new options here.
That said, the experience fell short of typical Hyatt standards in several ways:
Check-in: The front desk associate didn't look up my reservation or Hyatt membership before telling me check-in was at 3 PM and suggesting I come back. About ten minutes later, I watched him greet other guests and ask whether they were Hyatt members — a courtesy I wasn't offered. When I returned later, he mentioned he'd been about to give my room away and that I was "lucky" I came back up. For a loyalty member, that felt dismissive.
Room: The room itself was acceptable, but there were signs it hadn't been thoroughly cleaned before arrival. The dual showerhead setup looked like a nice touch, but the water pressure was far too low to actually run both heads — it came across as more of a visual upgrade than a functional one. The shower also appeared to have been installed or repaired hastily.
Lobby experience: We were socializing with friends in the lobby around midnight. Rather than a staff member letting us know about quiet hours or a lobby closing time, they had the on-site security officer deliver the message. It felt unnecessarily heavy-handed and unwelcoming.
I also noticed ongoing hallway repairs during our stay, so the property still seems to be a work in progress.
I'm a genuine Hyatt fan and consistently choose them over competitors. This property has potential, but it needs tighter operational oversight to meet the standard guests expect from the brand.
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