A warm retreat in a cold climate: Open since 1998, Barrow's King Eider Inn attracts travelers of all types.

• Author: Jackinsky, McKibben

The King Eider Inn, in Barrow, has looked to its namesake for the secrets of success. King eider ducks are easily recognized by their unmistakable appearance and their down is highly valued for the warmth it provides. Since construction was completed in April 1998, the King Eider Inn's appearance and warmth have been its trademark, thanks to owners Dave Sweatman and Doreen Iula.

The warm glow of a fire in the lobby's stone fireplace welcomes guests to Alaska's northernmost city, some 340 miles above the Arctic Circle. Artwork proudly reflects the area's people, wildlife and natural habitat. Leather and pine furniture invites weary travelers to relax in this nonsmoking atmosphere with a cup of complimentary tea or coffee and browse through the hotel's selection of reading material or unwind with a game of chess or other board games.

Upon check-in, guests are provided with walking maps of Barrow and hosts Sweatman and Iula, who operate the inn full-time, can offer restaurant advice and tour information.

In each room, stuffed toy polar bears carefully guard a stash of white chocolate polar bear paw candies. Televisions offer viewing of 62 channels or the ability to watch any of the 300 DVDs and videos for rent. And a sauna is available to work the kinks out of muscles or the chill out of bones.

Located near the airport, the hotel's 19 rooms are decorated with attractive pine furniture. Standard rooms come with either a queen- or two full-size beds. Nine of the inn's rooms are designed with fully equipped kitchenettes to accommodate extended stays. The impressive presidential suite offers a king-size bed, Jacuzzi and fireplace.

Shirts and hats, as well as masks, ivory figurines and baleen crafted by local artists are available in the King Eider's gift shop.

Moving to Barrow wasn't something former Anchorage-ites Sweatman and Iula planned to do. But after Sweatman took a construction job in Barrow, he observed that housing--or lack of it--posed a problem for the workers.

"It was always hard to find a place for them to stay," he said. "I suppose that was what got the wheels turning."

However, those wheels ground to a slow pace once it became clear that the hotel's close proximity to the airport necessitated a number of permits. Situated on U.S. Department of Transportation land, just the permits to satisfy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requirements numbered eight. And then there was the specific order in which they bad to be obtained. The...