Holland America Line held a grand opening ceremony for the line's new luxury guest accommodations at McKinley Chalet Resort (Denali Park, Alaska) on Friday, June 14.
Officially dedicating the Ridge View building that opened for 2019 Alaska season, the ribbon-cutting celebration was attended by Carnival Corporation's president and CEO - Arnold Donald, chief executive officer of Holland America Group and Carnival UK - Stein Kruse, President of HAL Orlando Ashford, executive VP, land operations and customer service for Holland America Group - Charlie Ball, and several business partners, community members, staff members.
The new 99-room addition has McKinley Chalet's first-ever junior suites where cruise passengers stay via Holland America's packages "Land and Sea Journeys". 54 of the new rooms are balcony suites with bigger living areas and enhanced amenities such as heated bathroom floors and a floor-ceiling map of Denali Park.
The new accommodations are an extension of Holland America's overland Alaska experience to Denali, that includes McKinley Chalet Resort hotel and Denali Square gathering area to shop, dine, relax, and enjoy entertainment. The addition is situated just west of Denali Square, with views of Mt Healy and Denali National Park and Preserve.
The 3-story facility, called Ridge View, has junior suites and standard rooms with contemporary rustic-chic decor. The first 2 floors have central, open-air lobbies with gas fireplaces and cosy furniture. The 3rd floor has open public deck space with loungers so guests can take in the scenery.
The new rooms are an addition to McKinley Chalet Resort, Holland America's magnificent 68-acre hotel property on Nenana River. The hotel serves as home base for adventures in and around Denali National Park like full-day Tundra Wilderness Tour which included on most Land+Sea Journeys and optional ATV adventures, flightseeing, fly fishing, river rafting, and more.