Borealis Basecamp - Fairbanks, Alaska

Samantha Sellers

We had a really great trip. Food was great (though, $$$). Room was warm and cozy (igloo). The adventures were so much fun, even with a 6 month old in tow. I will say that the igloos weren't really as I expected as the large windows fogged over with condensation due to it being so warm inside vs how cold it was outside. We could see the night sky & stars but there was no way to see the lights through it. Overall, it was a really great stay. The staff were 5 stars. Loved Eugene. He is very charming!

David H

Wanted to take the Aurora Borealis off the bucket list and thought that this would make the experience very cool. The place is about an hour outside Fairbanks and liked the idea that they ran transportation to and from the city. Checked in and was walked to my igloo. These are great little units with plexiglass tops for viewing the lights. During the day enjoyed some dog sledding and snowmobiling. Nature supplied the amazing lightshow that you should see at some time. Breakfast included and nice little happy hour.

Wanda P

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!

Cheyenne Swisher

Overall, I would say we had a middle of the road experience. It wasn’t fantastic but it wasn’t terrible either. The staff were amazing, kind, welcoming and helpful. We enjoyed our igloo, however the “roll away cot” wasn’t exactly what we anticipated. We were most excited for our “4-6-hour” UTV experience, but the large group really takes away from it being enjoyable. It was A LOT of stopping for people to catch up and two machines with mechanical issues. If there were no mechanical issues and waiting for individuals to catch up, the trip would have been 3 hours at most.In hindsight, I regret not asking more questions about how large the group was going to be before committing to it. And I also should have confirmed that paying per person was going to mean each person had one to drive…but that was not the case. So be prepared to be a passenger for half of your trip. Lastly, we were super glad to have had our rental car for more food options in Fairbanks. It was incredibly overpriced for what it is, with the included breakfast being lackluster at best. For the price, I suppose I expected more. Overall, I feel the location needs to decide if they want to be a luxury resort or an adventure camp because both aspects don’t hit the mark.

Hayley Robbins

Borealis Basecamp is a 5/5 stars experience except one small aspect which caused me to knock off a star and I’ll explain. My husband and I stayed 3 nights in a dome. I’ll start by saying if you’re in the fence, book it. If you’ve done your research and it’s in your budget just BOOK IT! It really is a wonderful place. Here’s what I thought about everything.

The staff: the staff earned the highest marks. Every single person we encountered were genuinely nice and helpful. We had a mishap with our dome one day and it was handled smoothly. The general manager and staff immediately jumped in to action to make sure we were comfortable and made all necessary accommodations. Maintenance worked so hard all day to fix the problem and they did. We tried all the activities and the activity staff were fun, knowledgeable and patient. I’ve just never experienced just genuinely good customer service like this and we travel often.

The Dome: The king bed was like a dream. So comfortable and so warm. The bathroom was fairly standard but very clean and functional. The view out of the dome windows on a clear night were amazing. We could see the aurora from our bed one night. The heating system is under the bed (which keeps the bed nice and warm) is pretty loud but aside from one mishap, it worked very well to heat the dome.

The activities: We tried almost all the activities. 6 hour snow machine tour, meet and greet with the reindeer and dog sledding experience. Every activity was very well organized, started on time and the tour guide were top notch. You can tell that they all love what they do. The dog sledding experience was my favorite because we were allowed to interact with the dogs and puppies. The dogs were so friendly. The aurora borealis is what people go here to see and we saw it 2 out our 3 nights. It was stunning. The domes are set up high on a hill so the view of the sky is unobstructed.

The food and drinks: this is where I knocked off 1 star and it shouldn’t even be a whole star. There is a nice restaurant and a pup side. You have to have reservations for the nice side and seat yourself on the pub side. Every meal we had was very good. I have no complaints about the quality of food. There was a good selection, something for everyone. My complaint is the price. The food in both restaurants is very expensive in my opinion. If you do not have a rental car, the restaurant is your only convenient option so you have to eat there every meal and it added up quick. I wish the pub food was a little less expensive. I understand why the restaurant is priced so high, they have fancier options and it’s marketed as a nice sit down restaurant. The cocktails were also delicious and strong but again very expensive. I will say the food prices are listed on their website so it’s not like this was a big surprise or anything. They were transparent from the start.

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend Borealis Basecamp to a friend and I would also return myself. We saw some new buildings being constructed so I think they are working on expanding! Which is always a good sign that a business is flourishing and trying to improve.

Linda M

Loved Borealis Basecamp. The staff was top notch from answering my pre-trip questions to transportation to check-in to meals to the individual activities. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. We stayed in an igloo. Enough room, very comfortable. WiFi worked great. We had a flushing toilet (pleasant surprise cuz I'd read they had chemical toilets). The meals at Basecamp were quite good. I had brought along snacks but I didn't really need them. For example, at breakfast they had a cook to order omelet station. Other meals: I had a great beet, kale, goat cheese salad, a perfect brownie dessert, a delicious shepherd's pie, and excellent fries. Activities we enjoyed: dog sledding, the sunset tour (made s'mores & had hot chocolate on top of the mountain - they had wine too), the reindeer meet & greet. But we had gone to see the aurora and we did! -- all three nights at Basecamp. Having the aurora alarm to alert us when the lights appeared was the best. We bought the photography package and it was well worth it. The photographer came to us at our igloo and took photos of us on our deck. ||Things that were less than perfect: You couldn't get cold water out of the tap, because I think the pipes would freeze, so if you wanted cold water you had to fill your water bottle and set it outside to cool or use the minifridge - not a big deal. The shower wasn't great, barely a spritz, but that was probably for the better because it leaked out the door onto the floor. I slept great but my friend had the bed with the heater underneath and she said it woke her up every time it turned on. We never figured out how to turn the aurora alarm off so it kept going for several minutes. 🙂

Dreama K

While the guides and experiences were awesome. The communication regarding the time between activities was non existent and the shuttle service was lacking. We were left with a 3 hours before our shuttle could take us back AND then we were dropping off people at the airport. A long day made even longer.|Would advise you to seek your own transportation !!!!

Liz Davis

This place is a wonderful retreat. We finally stayed after wanting to visit for years. The food was incredible, the staff is so kind, the activities were unique and fun (we loved getting to feed a reindeer), the rooms are cozy and fantastic way to see the northern lights, and lastly - the scenery in general can't be beat. Can't recommend enough!