Holland America Line Breaks Ground in Alaska | Cruise News – June 25, 2015

Holland America Line Breaks Ground in Alaska

Cruise News – June 25, 2015

Holland America Line has broken ground on a new “Base Camp” complex at the line’s McKinley Chalet Resort near the entrance to Alaska’s Denali National Park. Expected to be complete for the 2016 Alaska cruise season, Base Camp is part of Holland America Line’s ongoing enhancement program at the property that also includes room updates, upgrades to soft goods and hotel décor, and additional modifications.

The McKinley Chalet Resort provides accommodations for guests on Holland America Line’s Land+Sea Journeys, which combine an Alaska cruise with an overland tour to Denali National Park and beyond. Base Camp will be centrally located between the main part of the property (containing the reception hall, dining facilities, and guest rooms) and the riverfront guest rooms that provide stunning views of the Nenana River.

“The addition of Base Camp will make the guest experience all the more memorable and enriching,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “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.”

Base Camp will serve as a new gathering area to relax, shop, dine, and enjoy music and entertainment. The largest building in the complex will be the grand 7,800-square-foot, two-story restaurant, which will showcase views of the neighboring mountains. The Gold Nugget Saloon, home to the “Music of Denali Dinner Theater,” becomes a bar and music venue after the show. And an amphitheater with a covered stage and a semicircle of bench seating will be the venue for a variety of local shows, ranger talks, and demonstrations.

The new location also will feature fire pits, outdoor seating, three retail shops offering local goods, an artist-in-residence cabin where Alaska native and local artists will display and discuss their works, and walking paths to take in the property’s mountainous landscapes.

Spanning nearly 60 acres, the McKinley Chalet Resort currently features 478 rooms, fine and casual dining, an on-site dinner theater, on-site raft departures, and walking trails along the Nenana River.

^{Photo: Holland America Line}

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