2 nights here on a Celebrity cruisetour. If you get a room with a view of the Nenana River, lucky you. If you don't (and we didn't) you get a lovely view of the parking lot out back, complete with dumpster and tour buses disgorging passengers and baggage all day. If you're up to exposing yourself to the traffic out back, be my guest ..just be sure to charge a 2-drink minimum for the show . Tried to rectify the room situation at the desk. A desk clerk offered to upgrade me to the other side of the building for $30/night. No problem. I told her to go ahead and, as I did so, she told me "Oh, I'm sorry. My mistake. That will be $50 a night."..like I was at an auction and the bidding just went up. Called the manager over to rectify the situation. He responded as follows: "Thank you for your feedback". Such warmth. Such understanding. Didn't receive so much as a mint on the pillow as a token of apology. Management must have been trained in hospitality at an Al-Qaeda camp.
Shortage of shuttles between town and the hotel. You may get stuck waiting up to an hour to get back up if the bus fills up...or you can elect to take a hike up the switchback trail from the main drag. We got disgusted waiting for over 45 minutes and being reasonably fit opted to get some exercise. (Wouldn't recommend this for everybody, as it's a pretty steep climb). The hotel restaurant figures that if they have you by the short and curlies up on that hill, your hearts and minds will follow, and the food is priced accordingly. Hit the strip and eat for 1/2 the price. In addition to other options, Lynx Creek Pizza at the Princess Lodge makes a great pie.
Rooms at Denali Grande are decoated in the much-beloved turn of the century Motel 6 motif.
The one nice thing I can say about the place is that the bartender was a beacon of sweet relief in a sea of hairballs and hopefully will soon find employment elsewhere.
Celebrity/RCCL should be ashamed to use this joint on their itinerary. Caveat emptor, folks.

I too booked a "grand view" room 4 months in advance ($700 for 2 nites) and when I checked in, was given a view of the parking lot. However, I "fussed" at the desk, showed them my confirmation of a "grand view" room and was eventually given a room with a view. I think I had some luck because I arrived early, i.e. before the tour buses. I should note, I think that the percentage of rooms with a view is less than 75% because even if you get a room facing the canyon, if you're in the rear building and have a room on the 1st or 2nd floors (there are 3 floors in that building), you'll only have a view of the building in front of you.

Re the staff, yes, they are inexperienced and clueless but they are very pleasant. Re location, if you have your own car, it's not a problem. If you don't, I can see where it has the potential for being a problem. Since the hotel is at the top a mountain (with a very long and winding road leading to it) I can see how it would be a problem if there is only limited van service. We ate at the restaurant which was fairly expensive but with a car, at least had the option to go elsewhere.

I don't really know anything about the other places in the area but I would definitely check out other options.

We booked a two day trip to Denali National Park through the Alaska Railroad. So our stay at the Grande was part of our package. It was a wonderful experience. We were there the last weekend of August, 2006. We had our name put on a list for a wake up call if the Northern Lights were visible. The first night of our stay we saw the Lights right from our hotel room. It was a magnificent sight. The rooms were very nice, clean and well stocked every morning. If we had any negative thing to say it was the wait staff at the restaurant were mostly foreign students working there for the summer and their English was not as good as it could have been. They were not very attentive to those of us who were not part of a tour group. It was like they didn't know what to do with Non-groupies. But the food was good and the views made up for any deficiencies.

My family (no children) stayed at the Grande Denali Lodge for two nights in late June, and on the whole we had an enjoyable time. We traveled by train from Anchorage, and were greeted by a shuttle at the train station (not a luxury coach, but it got us from point A to B safely). Our bags were placed in our room, and our tickets for a next day tour were prompty delivered to us. The lodge is perched atop a mountain, with amazing views of the valley. We called ahead and secured a view room, and the hotel manager/staff was very courteous. I understand some people have had issues with this, but a simple phone call put us at ease. Our room was clean, the beds were comfortable, and everything we needed was there. It wasn't as posh as a high end Marriott, but it was nice... and it was what we expected it to be.
The lodge had good food, a bit on the higher priced side, but good quality. Also, some of the local eateries offered complimentary shuttles from the hotels to thier establishments which made getting around easier. There are not a ton of activities or amenities (i.e. no pool, sauna), but the stay itself is pleasant if you don't expect a "five star spa retreat " and instead go to take in the scenery and the pleasantry of the locals.
Our family enjoyed this hotel, and we hope you do too!