Review: Borealis Basecamp in Fairbanks, Alaska

Millions of Americans got a colorful and ethereal treat in early May when a solar storm made the aurora borealis visible from cities in the 48 contiguous United States. Typically, the celestial phenomenon known as the northern lights is only visible around the Arctic Circle — precisely why I flew to Fairbanks, Alaska, in April with my younger daughters, ages 12 and 8.

Travel advisor friends acquainted with aurora tourism had raved about Borealis Basecamp for years, and I was familiar with the property from the signature igloo-style “cabins” I’d seen on social media. These domes are regular hotel rooms, complete with comfy beds and en suite bathrooms.

When the property invited me and the girls to be the inaugural guests in the Family Suite Cube, a new room type specifically designed for families, it almost seemed too serendipitous to be true.

I checked in for more details with my colleague Kimberley Norman, lead Alaska travel specialist for Anchorage-based Alaska Tours. Her feedback: “Borealis Basecamp is an easy place to sell, as there is nothing like it in Alaska. I have seen the interest in aurora viewing in Alaska grow in the last few years, and properties are now selling out far in advance.”

That sounded like a good review to me. I booked our plane tickets, and off we went.

First Impressions of Borealis Basecamp

Getting to Borealis Basecamp was half the fun. After six hours of flying from San Francisco, the three of us were greeted at Fairbanks International Airport by Jeffrey, a saucy minivan driver with candy for the kids and a “menu” of different rides. Our experience was somewhere between “The Informative Ride,” with information about Alaska, and “The Me Ride,” with information about Jeffrey himself. The girls were riveted.

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The 30-mile route to the 100-acre, snow-blanketed resort took about 45 minutes. As we pulled in, I noticed those telltale igloos — 20 of them lined up to the west of the main lodge building. A desk agent checked us in and served the girls hot cocoa. She then shared the most important rule of the house: No light pollution after 10 p.m.

Following our orientation, the desk agent led us outside past eight single cube accommodations to our home for the next three nights: the Family Suite Cube.

Cube Rooms at Borealis Basecamp

Traditional cube rooms at Borealis Basecamp are basically small shipping containers that have been converted to fancy accommodations. Prior to this year, they were the largest and most modern option at the resort.

The Family Suite Cube is essentially two of these joined together — a double-wide, if you will.

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The suite boasts a bedroom with a queen-size bed, a sitting area with a queen-size pull-out couch, an efficiency kitchen with a fridge and kettle, two full bathrooms and a treehouse-style loft accessible by a wooden ladder. There is also an in-room red-light sauna in the primary bedroom’s en suite bathroom.

The Cube Suite allows families to be together, but the beds are separated so parents can stay up after they’ve put kids to sleep in the other room.

“The Cube Suite allows families to be together, but the beds are separated so parents can stay up after they’ve put kids to sleep in the other room,” said Adriel Butler, founder and owner of Borealis Basecamp. “It’s a much nicer experience.”

Perhaps the most notable feature was the windows: Each side of the Cube Suite had a giant floor-to-ceiling window facing north, providing unobstructed views of the night sky.

Activities and Amenities

The main reason people visit Borealis Basecamp is right there in the name: the aurora borealis. But the lights only come out at night, and when you go in the latter part of the winter season like we did, there’s a whole lot of daylight to fill with other adventures. 

That’s where the “Basecamp” part of the resort comes in.

The property offers daily independently priced activities and day trip experiences designed to make guests feel like they’re getting a real Alaska experience. We went dog-sledding (definitely the girls’ favorite), snow-machining and walking with reindeer. We also could have taken a helicopter flight-seeing tour or driven in a van to the Arctic Circle a few hours away.

There’s also an on-site restaurant, Latitude 65. All guests enjoy the breakfast buffet here, which is included with every stay, while lunch and dinner are a la carte affairs. Chef George Easter tries to spotlight fresh and local cuisine whenever possible; one night, I enjoyed line-caught halibut. Of course, Easter also is prepared for less refined palates: My youngest daughter swore by the macaroni and cheese, and my middle daughter ate hamburgers almost every meal.

Observing the Northern Lights

Life at Borealis Basecamp gets most exciting after dark. Around sunset, staffers light fire pits and hand out s’mores kits. Then, everyone just waits.

For guests who don’t want to while away the time outside (or stay up), employees collect phone numbers and make wake-up calls every time the aurora shows itself. Everybody else bundles up and gathers around those fire pits.

During our visit, the aurora made its first appearance each night around midnight. To the naked eye, it looks like white wisps in the blackness above; to the night-mode filter on my phone, it was wild waves of green light — seemingly dancing and swaying to their own beat in the Alaska spring.

The kids managed to stay up to see the lights on our first night; for all other sightings, I had to rouse them from their respective beds. Sometimes, both girls sat up and looked out the window, marveling at the heavens from the warmth of our cozy cube. Other times, they cursed at me and rolled over with a pillow on their heads. Thankfully, everyone saw the aurora at least once — mission accomplished.