Borealis Basecamp

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We had an incredible 3-night stay at Borealis Basecamp in one of the cozy cubes—highly recommend! The cube was warm, comfortable, and we were lucky to have one in the first row with great privacy. Watching the northern lights from our cube was an unforgettable experience, and their aurora alarm ensured we didn’t miss the magic! We packed our days with amazing activities: a 6-hour snow machine tour, a breathtaking helicopter ride that landed on a mountainside, dog sledding, and a reindeer walk. Every experience felt unique and authentic, not touristy like our visit to Chena Hot Springs. A few tips for future guests: bring some games for the evenings as there aren’t too many provided. Also, check which cube you’re assigned—some are less private, especially those in the second row. For Borealis, a couple of suggestions: adding reflective glass to the less private cubes would be great, and written reminders in the rooms to turn off lights at night could help prevent disruptions (we had to knock on a neighbor’s door when the lights came out). Overall, an unforgettable adventure and a perfect place to experience Alaska’s beauty. Highly recommend!

Nice place. However, they have a terrible management of their mistakes. We hired and paid them a private transfer on the 1st day to arrive to our activities on time. However, the transfer never arrived! No one called, no one contacted us. We had to call 5 times, and they told us that for some reason no one dispatched/notified the driver to pick us up. They said that the private transfer would arrive "in 20 minutes" for almost 4 hours that we were waiting. Later they provided the excuse that the weather was bad and that they did this for our security which was a complete lie. Although it was cold, cars were working fine and their regular shuttle was working perfectly (indeed we ended up going through the regular shuttle after 4 hours). The truth is that they simply forgot to schedule our transfer. We were there for only 3 days, and because of their logistics/communication mistake we lost all of our activities at basecamp that we had book for that day! As a compensation for waiting almost 4 hours and missing all of our day activities, they offered A FREE DESSERT! It was ridiculous to try to make the problem up that way. They did refund the transfer. In conclusion, it’s a nice place but I would recommend going somewhere else with better issues management and better logistics. All companies have problems, what makes a difference is how they manage them and whether they hold themselves accountable, and provide a reasonable compensation for what goes wrong.

This was a memorable trip for us. We stayed in an igloo which was very cozy. The staff was exceptional. Everyone from the shuttle drivers to the onsite staff were informative, warm and friendly. Be prepared for single digit or lower temps, dressing in layers. Also bring a small flashlight for when it is dark and you walk to the restaurant for dinner. When we were there sunset was around 4:30 pm and sunrise at 9:30 am. While the aurora borealis was not as brilliant as we might have expected due to a beautiful full moon and some snow/cloudy skies, it did not take away from the enjoyment and our experience. Don’t worry about missing the lights, the rooms our set up with a bell that goes off when they are sighted - typically, between 11 and 3:00 am. Ours occurred our last night at 2:30 am!

My dad, my husband, and I spent 4 nights at basecamp and one in Fairbanks. Here’s my observations about the whole trip, not just the basecamp. 1. Fairbanks airport has no public wifi. Airport is small, but the whole travel process there was efficient and painless. 2. Not super impressed with Alaska Airlines. Out of 4 flights, 3 of them were delayed. BUT, the actual plane and flight was no more or less uncomfortable than any other flight. And flight attendants were nice. 3. At the very beginning and throughout my planning process for this trip, about a year before we went, I had lots of questions and emailed back and forth with them extensively. They were very helpful and responsive, which I appreciated! 4. Wifi at basecamp was fine, though sometimes a little slow when texting. My dad has a basic galaxy phone and uses AT&T – his phone worked great everywhere. Hubby and I have nice new galaxy phones and use Tello, which piggybacks off of T-mobile – our phones were basically useless everywhere! No google maps, no cell service, no phone calls. 5. We were in igloos. Heater is under the bed and blows out from there. It’s LOUD. Also, the person who sleeps hot should sleep on the side closest to the edge of the igloo, away from heater blowing. The person who sleeps cold should sleep on the other side. Heating the room is a balancing process and quite often you are either a little too hot or a little too chilly. 6. The bed is SOFT. As in soft, squishy, and you sink into it. My husband has back issues and hated it. I like a medium bed so I was a little more ok with it. The bed and bedding is nice and warm, which we appreciated! 7. The bathroom had a real toilet, not a dry flush. They must have updated since some of the older reviews. The bathroom was nice – good towels, plenty of hot water (though they encourage shorter showers and not wasting water), I liked the dispensers in the shower. There was even a little lotion and chapstick, which was much appreciated. As Floridians we are used to hot and humid, so dry and cold left my skin in constant need of moisture and protection. 8. The room has a tea kettle for hot water and a fridge. It’s stocked with teas and hot chocolate packs and you can ask for more. 9. Apparently, two weeks before our arrival they got an unseasonable early snowstorm which dumped a foot of snow. Then a week later they got a more typical 5-6 inches of snow. We rented a car because we wanted to go back and forth to Fairbanks for some sightseeing and dinners. Well, those roads were pretty nerve-wracking! If you aren’t comfortable driving on snow and ice, and you go when that’s likely, just use their shuttle and stay put. Thankfully, my husband was ok with it, but I was a nervous wreck. We did go into Fairbanks twice, but always made sure to be back before dark… and it’s important to note when that is for the time of year you are visiting. 10. We paid for a “professional” photograph of us with the Aurora lights. If you are at all handy

Horrible experience. The Staff (Operation Manager) who received us was so rude.