Rustic luxury.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie

Enter the McKinley Chalet Resort, located on the banks of the Nenana River and close to the entrance of Denali National Park and Preserve, and you enter into rustic luxury.

A hundred guests mill around awaiting tours, while sipping coffee from a nearby coffee bar, or making a quick trip to the guest shop.

Some are seated on Morris-style chairs that dot the room, along with comfy couch seating. Many are retired. Most are from the Lower 48 and beyond. They come many ways: on nearly 30 worldwide airlines that fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks, via the Alaska Railroad, or on tour groups such as Gray Line of Alaska or Holland America. Many have arrived via cruise ship, then travel inland via motor coach or rail, having the Alaska adventure of a lifetime. The average stay in one of the resorts is one to two nights, two to three days.

The rooms are tastefully decorated, most with views of nearby mountain ranges and the rushing Nenana. Art decorates the wall with Alaska themes, such as Dall sheep, fall foliage or mountain ranges, plentiful in the area.

They are catered to by staff who comes from Alaska and around the world, with nametags such as Lisa, Indiana; Wes, Kansas; Chris, Georgia; Devin, Maine; Carol, Florida; and Larry, Oregon. Staff dresses in blue, maroon, green, black and other colors, depending on where they are working.

"We try to recruit a lot of employees from Alaska through the Hotel Lodging Association," said Craig Pester, general manager. "The trouble is finding Alaskans interested." Most Alaskans want full-time work, versus the seasonal four-month work calendar these resorts have to offer. Others worldwide are happy to fill in--most of them undergraduate or graduate students, or the recently graduated.

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"They come not just for the jobs," said Brook Pester, director of revenue management. "They come for the experience. And they come from all over. We probably have in the parking lot one vehicle from every state in the U.S. We get international students as well."

Craig and Brook take pride in the four hotels ARAMARK/Harrison Lodging either owns or operates during the tourism season, from May to September.

"It's going to be a busy season," says Brook. "On all properties. We expect between 95,000 and 100,000 guests. A lot of people spend a lifetime saving to come to Alaska. They want to have a great experience and it is our job to deliver."

Owned by ARAMARK/Harrison Lodging are the McKinley...