A beautiful place! A perfect "real Alaska" experience. My husband and I moved to AK after retiring, and are exploring all the tucked away places. The Lodge at Black rapids is a great place with wonderful people who make you feel right at home. The meals are truly amazing too. Common areas are great for meeting other guests or just relaxing with a good book. This will certainly be on our favorites list to come back to! read more

A wonderful experience. Guest rooms are comfortable. Less expensive rooms face a hillside leading to snow covered mountains. Front rooms face the river and snow covered mountains. With a front room the morning greets you with an awesome view lit by the sun behind you. Meals were HUGE and outstanding. Fairly priced. Wines and a selection of beers are available. Very nice hiking trail that crosses the Alaskan Pipeline right of way. Annie, the owner, knows the area well. An easy glacier hike is only about 20-25 miles away. Oh, and the rest of the staff? TERRIFIC! We loved it it here! read more

See all

I've stayed here a couple of nights and have eaten here a couple of times. This is one of the prettiest places I've stayed on the line, but I have experienced enough to know that I will make the 45 minute drive to Delta to stay if I have to work in the area again. The rooms are nice and well lit, and the beds are super comfy, but the accomodations on the main floor are terrible. I stayed in the room closest to the front desk and knew there was going to be a noise issue. The first night there were people staying up way too late. As I get up at 5 AM to get to work by 6 I didn't like to hear people partying until 1 AM. I wanted to say something but there would be a pause in gaiety that made me think the partying was concluded. Wrong! I spoke to the head hostess the next day seeking a different room and was told there weren't any available. I spoke of the noise and she mentioned there were two birthday parties that night, but she would try to keep it down. Bah! Here was a gross factor about my bathroom. The toilet paper was half previously wet and dried and set to be used. Gross to the max!!! I don't care if the roll fell in artisian water on Mt. Olympia, no way does one want to use that paper on any area of the body. Thankfully there was a clean unsused roll under the sink. The food is really mediocre, and dinner doesn't get served until 7PM, which if you are a contractor that is really late eating. The cook uses great ingredients and serves three course meals for dinner, but the food is absolutely bland. I feel bad for her as she does try very hard. Contract workers beware. This isn't an accomodating place for those who work field hours. Also, there is this dog that Marsha owns that runs around the floors and yard. He will come up to you and sniff you, but you can't pet him because he will growl and snap at you. Marsha says, "well he was kicked by a moose so he doesn't like to get touched." Uh, he is about to get touched by my steel toed boot if he continues to invade my space. Many on my team opted to stay in Delta for these reasons, but I was one of the naive that doubted the tales woe. Pass! read more

See all

We had such a great time in the lodge. Felt immidiately at home, with warm atmosphere and the good food experience was perfect. There is a small woods area to stroll around just as you go out of the lodge. read more

We traveled with a group of 18 people, which took up the entire lodge (overflowing). Owner Annie greeted us and was available for our two night stay. She had included one two hour snow shoeing with the stay and we consumed all meals there. The remote location is beautiful, we saw a faint aurora our first night. Olivia the cook did a great job in keeping us full and providing delicious food. The breakfast was a little on the late side for our early rising group though at 9am. The accommodations were pleasant depending on where you were in the lodge. My husband is 6' 5" so it would have been more comfortable to have the room upstairs with the king size bed. We were stuck in the basement which was cold until we cranked the heat and took the first night to warm up, the bathroom was also detached from our room which was inconvenient. The room didn't have a fridge and bathroom no hair dryer FYI to those of you who it matters to (a hair drier in the winter would have been appreciated). The bed was comfortably firm and had sufficient linens. The view from down stairs is not as nice, especially when Annie's car was parked in front of our window, and being in the basement there are not balconies or outdoor access. So if you plan to see the aurora at night be upstairs with a balcony facing northeast. There is only a TV in the community room down stairs which was occupied by people who were sleeping in there (due to our large group), which was awkward with our detached bathroom being adjacent/inside said community room. So if you plan to go with a group, make sure you are comfortable with everyone sharing close quarters. Now for the part that upset us on several levels: Annie offered a last minute excursion that was not part of our tour, which was a trip to the Ice Cave. It was presented as a sled ride on back of a snow machine with a guided tour of the glacier that should take about two hours and scheduled to start at 11am. We were told prior to the trip the cost would be $225 pp and that the tour was designed to take 4 people in the sled at a time, in advance she indicated credit cards were fine for payment. They were not prepared to even start shuttling to the cave until noon, while we all waited in the bus for an hour. There were 14 people in our group of 18 that decided to go including two elderly people nearly 80 years old. The issues with the excursion were 100% due to poor planning and execution for such a large group and the group should have been broken up. For subjecting us to all the unnecessary wait time for the convenience of the tour guide not to repeat the tour we should have been offered a very significant group discount considering it was designed for 4 people and they made us all go at once. They decided to have the 80 year old couple be shuttled in the sled first so they wouldn't have to wait in the cold, wrong choice, they waited the longest outside instead of on a warm bus because they made them and everyone else wait by a tent outside the cave until everyone was shuttled down the 1mile stretch from road to cave on the snow machine which took about 20-30 min per group of 4 people. Then everyone went in together, they were not prepared in offering ice cleats and 3 people fell in the cave which resulted in them not taking the tour and the elderly couple who waited at the entrance for over an hour didn't go in at all and waited till the tour was over to be shuttled back all the while waiting in the cold. The tour itself was enjoyable and the guide pleasant and knowledgeable, yet not worth the 225$ at all but otherwise I guess you wouldn't have the experience. The entire journey took 4 hours before the bus headed back to the lodge thus making our lunch extremely late at 4pm. Then when arriving back at the lodge they promised lunch would be ready as we trickled in...also not the case which made me hangry. Then our evening entertainment was suppose to be a 7 with dinner....three hours later. The few people who still had energy (my husband and I included) went snow shoeing in between to try and work up an appetite. The dinner entertainment was inconveniently blocking the balcony door, which was an issue since we were suppose to have a "bon fire" out on the deck in a fire pit but no one could get there.... The next day prior to leaving is when Annie had us pay for the excursion and surprised us with the final insult to injury of then disclosing, oh by the way if you pay with a credit card, I tack on another 3% which I conveniently didn't share prior to the excursion. This I have a major issue with as a business owner myself, the fees from the cc machine are tax deductible not to mention its a service you provide in order to get additional business and for customer convenience. When you go to the grocery store they don't charge more for credit card use, and if a gas station does you have the option of using a different station and being notified in advance. read more

Gorgeous lodge with elegant family style dining. Lunch and dinner are prixe fixe. Beer and wine available and an absolutely spectacular view. read more

See all

Stayed here in May 2018 and had a great trip. The host was very accommodating to our group of climbers as we were weather delayed. Sleeping arrangements were comfortable and clean. The lodge was hand made by the owner and it is very impressive. They even fired up the sauna for us, also beautiful and made by the owner. Can't go wrong staying here or just stopping by for a beer and a meal. read more

Cozy little hotel rooms are cute but we could hear our neighbors snoring upstairs. They offer a meal with your stay, do it! Soup salad main and dessert. We had a stuffed pork loin and it tasted amazing. There was also live music that was fun too they have a back deck that you can sit on at see all the mountains read more

We had mixed feelings about this place. It's detractions are a combination of location and cost. The good about this place is that it's a beautifully decorated lodge that is super comfortable both in the rooms and the common areas. You walk in and instantly feel like it's a place you want to hang out. The owner, Annie, is friendly and gracious and accommodating and a wonderful host. They serve meals that are worth looking forward to. (Other reviews complain about the meals. We had a salmon dinner that was fabulous. Maybe it's hit and miss.) Overall it's a really cool place with really great service. The bad is that when you're here, you have to know that you are pretty much in the middle of nowhere and at least an hour from the nearest town. That means you're captive, and I think the lodge takes advantage of that at least a little in their pricing. We spent a week traveling Alaska in B&Bs and this was by far the most expensive night we had. One night's stay, plus dinner and a few glasses of wine, was over $500 in total. We didn't stick around for breakfast the next day but that would have added another $40 or $50. They cook three meals a day, but they also charge for three meals a day. The room rate is a little high to begin with, but then the additional charges add up fast if you're there and need to eat because there is no place else to go. I also wish there had been some other activity or something to do or see on the property, but there really isn't. You're in a pretty isolated place on the side of a highway. There's some hiking in the hills behind the lodge, but that's about it. I saw a hot tub going in outside but it wasn't ready when we were there. Having been here once, I wouldn't book again because it's too isolated. It's definitely not a destination. But if you are passing through and just need a place to stay, it's a good bet. Just be prepared to spend more than your average Alaska lodge for a quick one night stay. read more

The lodge is a nicely constructed building with scenic views of the landscape and sky. The furniture and fixtures are also well appointed. Unfortunately, the communication by the owner regarding a billing error, discovered after departure, was very poor. I emailed her twice over a three week period about an incorrect charge but she refused to reply, despite the fact that her website confirmed receipt of my messages. Subsequently, I was forced to dispute the incorrect bill with my credit card issuer to rectify her error. This was a disappointing way to end an otherwise nice visit. If you visit this lodge, it will likely be a pleasant experience. But be cognizant of possible billing issues that will be quite troublesome to resolve. read more

The Lodge at Black Rapids is a great destination for spring skiing. My husband & I have gone two years in a row. Glorious setting, access to stunning backcountry areas, but best of all, a beautiful lodge with great food to return to at night. A lodge that is owner built, as well, with lots of attention to detail, it is rustic yet elegant as well. Annie & Mike Hopper, the owners, are great hosts and will do their best to make your stay a memorable one. A two night special for lodging in the off-season is a good deal. read more

It's a beautiful lodge, but don't just stop by to eat. They don't have a menu and pull together whatever they have.....which was very little in our case. They charged a fortune for a family of 4 and added an 18% tip. I didn't ask for prices in advance and they have no menu. They were obviously made up just as our meals were. If the owners of the place want to know about our experience then I would be glad to tell them. The kind people working there have quite the scam going on. Though its far from town, it is not in the bush. I am still considering making a complaint to my credit card company or the organization that regulates restaurants in Alaska. read more