2 Best Hotels in Fairbanks, the Yukon, and the Interior, Alaska

Wild and cultivated flowers adorn the landscaped grounds of this 105-acre resort bordering the Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. Trails at the 75-acre Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary connect with ones at the waterfowl refuge, which is a great option for northern lights viewing in the winter (the resort provides northern lights wakeup calls). Most accommodations are suites with full kitchens, and the Bear Lodge Hotel—also part of the resort—has 157 large rooms available in summer. The Fountainhead Antique Automobile Museum, one of the world's finest car museums, is also on the property. 

Soaking in the hot springs of this one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly resort has long been a popular experience for tourists and locals, especially in winter, when a soak is often paired with overhead aurora sightings. Chena's waters are served up in hot tubs, an indoor swimming pool, and an outdoor natural-rock lake. In winter you can go dogsledding, skiing, snowmobiling on quite electric machines, and take a 4½-mile round-trip snow-coach tour to a heated hilltop yurt with 360-degree views. Summer activities include dog-cart rides, guided ATV tours, and horseback riding. Don't miss the charmingly unfinished ice museum, complete with an ice bar that serves appletinis from hand-carved ice glasses, ice bedrooms, and ice sculptures by world-class carvers. In addition to the multiple lodge buildings, the resort offers camping sites and accommodations inside yurts. Eventual plans call for the introduction of overnight stays in repurposed Alaska Railroad train cars.