By
Rebecca Gibson |
Holland America Line (HAL) has broken ground on a new Base Camp complex at its McKinley Chalet Resort near the entrance to Alaska’s Denali National Park.
Expected to be complete for the 2016 Alaska cruise season, Base Camp will enhance the McKinley Chalet Resort, which provides accommodation for guests on HAL’s Land+Sea Journeys, which combine an Alaska cruise with an overland tour to Denali National Park.
Base Camp will be centrally located between the main part of the property, containing the reception hall, dining facilities and guest rooms, and riverfront guest rooms that provide views of the Nenana River.
The complex will feature a 7,800sqft, two-storey restaurant; the Gold Nugget Saloon, which offers live music; and a central amphitheatre with a covered stage that will host local shows, ranger talks and demonstrations. It will also have fire pits and outdoor seating, three retail outlets selling local products and an artist-in-residence cabin where Alaska native and local artists will display and discuss their works.
“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, HAL president. “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.”
The Base Camp development is part of the McKinley Chalet Resort’s enhancement project, which is being led by Alaska-based company Dawson Construction and Stantec. Other contractors include lead and landscape architect The Portico Group, restaurant architect Heliotrope Architects, structural engineering company Michael Leonard Associates and project manager Costigan Integrated.
HAL’s Land+Sea Journeys combine a three- to seven-night cruise with an overland adventure that includes a one-, two- or three-night stay at Denali National Park. Each Land+Sea Journey also includes visits to places such as Dawson City, Seward, Fairbanks, Skagway and the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad.