Reviews

Nizar Idriss

Located outside of town in a nice area. Takes a little over an hour to drive to the location. The place is old, the buildings show the age and so do the rooms, but its working and warm. The food is ok but service us very slow. Front desk staff not impressive but check you in. Price is a bit high for what you get. The water in the rooms smell like the hot springs, not wanting to shower or brush my teeth in room. Should put filtration on buildings we're not swimming in rooms. Beds are ok, no fridge or microwave just old crusty coffee maker. The light show is cool, the aurora is a cool thing to ser but the ride up to is is a 5 hour evening journey. They should have a shorter ride too. The internet is slow, very slow. The 4g signal is faster. The pool and hot springs is ok, the facility is old, could use an upgrade. Came once saw it and I don't think i would return.

Michael Hoines

Chena was an incredible experience. We checked in late and stayed in the lodge which was very clean and nice. The restaurant on site was fantastic and the hot springs had very extended hours which was incredible. We did the Aurora Ice Museum tour which we highly recommend. Kimlyn was our guide and she was absolutely wonderful! So friendly and educational and served us appletinis in glasses carved in ice. The resort is a must do in Fairbanks.

Amber Cordova

This was one if the best hot springs I've been to in the US. I had an amazing experience. I was fortunate to be in the spring while it was snowing and it was magical! The staff were friendly and helpful, facility was super clean. I was not able to stay in a cabin, but I was able to eat at their restaurant. Amazing all the way around! This is a "must" experience if you travel to Fairbanks, AK!

Abbigail Range

Highly recommend. We really enjoyed Chena. We had a great time during our stay last summer. Would love to come back and stay again. Staff were amazing, polite and friendly; they were great on our four wheel adventures (my favorite part) and the staff did great explaining the gears and details of the E Bikes. We had a great time. We made life lasting, amazing memories during our brief stay at Chena. The Ice museum was very unique and neat, in its own right and we enjoyed our time there tremendously. We also did love the restaurant, and bar. Cute hidden gems. Really enjoyed the intimate moments here. (I hear the northern lights from the hot springs are perfect and bucket list worthy. I hope to come back for that! While in addition to, I do wish I was able to be try the spa during our stay…. next time!) (The showers have two temperature options extra hot or hells hot. Lol)

Henry Christopher

We stayed at the Moose Lodge for 2 nights and really enjoyed our time at Chena Hot Springs. The room was spacious, clean, and modern with two comfy queen beds. The hot springs were amazing—definitely the highlight! Towels, showers, and lockers are provided which made it super easy. There’s only one restaurant on site, so the wait can get pretty long. We did pick-up instead and ate in our room, which was much faster and convenient. The gift shops had a really nice collection, and the activity center was super helpful. We tried the Ice Museum (just okay), but the ATV tour was enjoyable, and the aurora viewing tour was unforgettable. The guides were great, and they even had snacks, coffee, hot chocolate, and chairs to take outside.

Renz Weinmann

Camped in their campground on a Monday night after the 4th of July holiday weekend so things were quiet. Short walk to the Spa building where the indoor and outdoor hot springs pools are. Very well organized and run. If you forget your swim suit, they have a box of used but laundered swim suits for sale for $10. The outdoor hot springs pond is surrounded by huge granite holders and bottom of pond is gravel. Perfect for relaxing. The main registration lodge was also worth a visit and there is an ice sculpture museum which I did not visit. Overall, it was an oasis in the wonderful Alaska wilderness. I will probably visit again. BTW, If camping be sure to buy gas canisters beforehand, their camp store which sells plenty of supplies, did not sell gas canisters and the only place to buy is backtracking 50 miles (100 miles round trip). The resort is a the end of an hourlong dead-end road.

Tiff Glenney

This is truly a one of a kind experience and well worth the drive. The rooms are rustic and naturally heated with opening windows. The hot springs and hiking give you a beautiful taste of Alaska, especially when the dogs run by. The ice museum is a specticle and those martinis hit. The restaurant is well worth the wait, just plan accordingly because they all work hard y'all. Best of all the borealis tour, Alexei really made it fun and was so helpful with how to use our cameras. Thank y'all for such a wonderful trip!

Arianna Hernandez

It's really about the location. The sky was cloudy at times but cleared at night to look for the aurora. We enjoyed the hot springs, although my daughter was disappointed that she couldn't go in the rock pool since it's adult only. But the kids loved the indoor pool and hot tubs. I enjoyed the nature trail to the beaver pond and we did the aurora ice museum. The fall foliage was beautiful and we saw the aurora for about 15 minutes one night over by the airstrip (other side of the activity building). We took snacks and drinks with us, ate in the restaurant once and the rest of the time got food from the aurora Cafe, which is reasonably priced, and once got food to go from the restaurant. We stayed in a fox room. Basic, adequate. No fridge but I knew that in advance. We used the microwave at the activity center and the staff there let me put something in their freezer. We also did the free geothermal and greenhouse tour and fed the goats.

Becki Bayless

We visited the hot springs on a day pass ($20 ea + $5 towel fee). Location is about an hour outside of Fairbanks. We didn't schedule anything (massages, tours, etc) ahead of time, and there was no availability when we arrived. (My fault completely, but when I asked if there was any availability, the towel guy sarcastically said, "Maybe if you have a time machine and can go back to a few months ago!" I assume that he was trying to be funny, but it was a bad first impression of the facility.) It didn't get better from there. The towels were small. The changing rooms were dirty with coin-operated lockers that didn't work. The hot springs was overcrowded and loud, and there was nowhere to sit inside the springs, just plenty of standing around. Despite it being late September, it was very buggy in the hot springs. (We're still feeling those bites, days later.) We had been hoping for a relaxing experience, and this wasn't that. There is one restaurant on site (it's too far to travel to any other restaurant), and our wait time was about an hour. We managed to snag a seat at the bar instead after about 15 mins of waiting. (Our server, Lisa, was great.) The food was fine, nothing special, though my partner said his salad was especially good. I'm not saying this was a bad place, but it was very different from our expectations.

Tarini Singh

We stayed at the Moose Lodge for 2 nights and really enjoyed our time at Chena Hot Springs. The room was spacious, clean, and modern with two comfy queen beds. The hot springs were amazing—definitely the highlight! Towels, showers, and lockers are provided which made it super easy. There’s only one restaurant on site, so the wait can get pretty long. We did pick-up instead and ate in our room, which was much faster and convenient. The gift shops had a really nice collection, and the activity center was super helpful. We tried the Ice Museum (just okay), but the ATV tour was enjoyable, and the aurora viewing tour was unforgettable. The guides were great, and they even had snacks, coffee, hot chocolate, and chairs to take outside. No cell service out there (your phone goes into SOS mode), and the WiFi isn’t the strongest—but honestly, it was kind of nice to disconnect for a couple days. Overall, such a great experience—relaxing hot springs, fun activities, and the aurora made it really special.

Lisa Hall

We have visited the Hot Springs on various occasions….the facilities have not been updated since inception or so it appears. Needs updating or at least a thorough cleaning. Had only one hairdryer this time in the women’s dressing room which I could not get to work. The hot springs itself had lots of black and brown unknowns floating in the water 😳. I did like the feeling of the hot springs on my muscles, seemed to help them relax but it would have been even more enjoyable if it felt and looked cleaner.

Wayne Brearley

The Chena Hot Springs Resort is well worth the drive time and cost. The hot springs are very relaxing and refreshing. The ice museum is amazing along with the apple martini. All this followed by a hot stone message was the crown of the day. The total day was so relaxing and peaceful. I would go back on my own to repeat the day if I could.

Anna Hardisty

I'm glad I spent a few nights, so I could use the AMAZING hot springs pool several times. The Ice Museum with Appletini was very unique and impressive, while Asia, our tour guide, was friendly and informative. The room was rustic, yet clean. Worth noting that the internet was slow and TV got 4 fuzzy channels, but that's not why I was there anyways! Can't wait to go back!

gayle minard

We visited Chena Hot Springs resort March 11-14 2025 and we loved it. This was the second time for my roommate, and we definitively would go back. We're glad we took their shuttle because even with a heavy van with snow tires and chains, it took 2 hours to drive the 56 miles from the airport to the resort as the roads were very icy and bumpy. Kudos to the drivers! Check-in was painless. Our room was in building 202 and it was very simple (think 60's state park lodging), but clean. Of course the water smells like sulfur due to their type of hot spring, but it wasn't a big deal. The rooms have geothermal heat, so no working thermostat. I merely opened the windows when I got there and we continued to modulate their openings during our stay. The restaurant was GREAT. The food was exceptional as was the service, except for one evening when the bartender had his hands full when several workers were absent. They make full use of the greenhouses to grow a lot of the vegetables they serve. I had read that the food is pricey, but it's cheaper than Memphis, TN. They also have a small cafe/gift shop with premade food such as sandwiches, salads, soup, yogurt, water, sodas, bottled water, etc. and a coffee bar. We did two aurora tours (9:30 pm - 2:30 AM), which were amazing. We were transported in SUSV's 2.5 miles up the hill (which takes 30 minutes and was an interesting experience). They had 2 heated yurts with chairs, tables, and drinks - hot chocolate, hot apple cider, coffee and tea, along with music in one. They also had heated and lighted outhouses, including hand sanitizer. Periodically the SUSV drivers or other visitors would come in and let people know whenever the lights (or the lunar eclipse) were especially prominent. We also did the ice museum, sled dog, and geothermal power plant/greenhouse tours. I have read visitors' complaints about being charged for those, but they have to pay the bills! Since they are 2 hours outside of Fairbanks they have to generate their own power, heat, water and maintain and fix all the equipment themselves. They also have to buy a lot of dog food! I also read complaints about all the old farm equipment, trucks and an airplane (!) distributed throughout the property. I personally thought it was cool. My friend went in the hot spring and liked it, but it was 6 degrees outside, so I passed. We decided to check out a day early to see the World Ice Sculpture Championship in Fairbanks, and that was also seamless. The only "complaint" we had was there is no cell service (for miles) and the WiFi was slow. Who cares if I couldn't read about the murders and mayhem in Memphis, that's not why we went.

Emily Smallze

We had such a great time at Chena Hot Springs resort! The springs were such a cool experience in negative degree weather and the views were beautiful. The food was so good, especially the “Chena fresh” salads where they grow the vegetables right down the street in their greenhouse. There’s a nice range of fun activities to keep you busy that are easy to book online or at the activities center. We did the ice museum, dog kennel, snow machine, and aurora viewing tours. All of the guides were awesome and made sure everyone had a great time. The aurora viewing tour was especially nice, of all the places we saw the lights on our trip, the top of Charlie Dome was by far the best. Shuttle option to get to and from the resort was super convenient and right on time. This place is a great option if you’re looking for places to checkout around the Fairbanks area, would definitely recommend!