Comfortable House With Kitchen On The Chena River. Family Friendly.

Cozy and convenient location

This is the second time we've stayed here and it is a great location. The view out of the Master Bedroom out at the river is beautiful. The ambiance is rustic with a lot of hides and trophies mounted and hung. It's nice and quiet and the hosts, who live below, are very accommodating. 10/10 from us. We'll definitely plan to stay here again next time we go to Fairbanks.

Beautiful place in front of the river. Location is good. I would recommend this place to anyone.

Property met our needs but couldve been a little cleaner. It was fine for the men in the group but the women were a little put out about the overall cleanliness of the bedsheets in some of the rooms and kitchen area needed a little more cleaning prior to arrival.

It was a nice quiet cabin experience. However, I was not aware the owners lived downstairs prior to renting, so that was a surprise. The place was very clean and had a really great vibe about it with all the wood paneling and taxidermy / mounted antlers and animal skins everywhere.

I was hoping to be able to post pictures of how dirty this place was upon my arrival. I feel bad leaving such a bad review but I feel that future guests should know this: Stained bed covers, dirty pillow cases, dirty carpeting, dirty kitchen (floor, table, counter), dirty washroom (everything - had to go to store to purchase cleaning supplies), entire place smelled like cigarette smoke, getting to the laundry room was scary and a bit disturbing. Again, I wish I could post pictures so you can see for yourself. My advise: look elsewhere

Cabin’s backyard is CHENA river, lovely view log house , stayedat 2nd floor with 1 bathroom provided very clean towels, able to cook but Mardee needs more updated pots & pans. Has new cook top, ref & washing machine & drier at basement. Rooms are quiet, clean , warm even though we did not turn on heater. Boil drinking water as well water tasted sulfuric from CHENA river water. Hostess & son are friendly , honest, hospitable. Definitely will return. Just walk around vast property with vege garden & birch trees.

Bob tells great stories, and they both make you feel right at home! Great hosts, Very accommodating.

The place was fairly accurate as described. However, it was disgusting. There were crumbs and hairs in a couple of beds. None of the sheets even smelled clean. There were hairs and other debris all in the shower and it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in awhile. There was cigarette resin all over the heaters in the bedrooms. There was also a strong cigarette stench throughout the entire guest part of the house.

Wonderful home with Fairbanks history! Would definitely return. Loved the wood-paneling, decor, history shared via newspaper clippings on the fridge, and the family-friendly atmosphere. The rental has the warmth of a home where children happily grew up. The kitchen has everything you need. My kids loved the games, we all loved the books on the bookshelf, the river view from the bedroom and kitchen, and large grassy area for the kids to play outside. We would have loved to use the fire pit by the river but didn't end up having time. Mardee was a very welcoming host and communication was smooth. Reminded me of staying where my aunts and uncles grew up in in my grandmother's old house (shag carpet and all!). Note that the furniture, carpet, bedding is all kept clean but well-worn. Could use a carpet shampoo or some dusting here and there. As other reviews noted, some cigarette smoke drifts upstairs. It wasn't much and was fine for my family after opening some windows.

The property was listed as no smoking but the smoke smell was terrible. One of the sheets had a small crusty substance that you could scratch off with your fingernail. The pillows and blinds were yellowed from nicotine. Under the toilet seat was crusty old gross. The location is beautiful and convenient. The view from the deck is great. I wouldn't recommend staying here if you're a non smoker

Great location, place has some great funky charm and the host was an excellent communicator. Unfortunately the place has a VERY strong smoke and mildew smell. If you are sensitive to smell or have children I would avoid. Probably could use some new carpet, the 70s shag was cool but dirty and permeated with smoke. We had to change our stay but the host was very accommodating and kind.

Cute but tiny 2nd floor place! Host was very nice and helpful! Beds were comfy! Main problem is the cigarette smell. Also there was a lot of dust on things above reach level. We did love being on the river and watching the animals! Very close and convient to get in and out of.

Great vintage Alaska Lodge vibe with knotty pine walls and shag carpeting, right on the river. Good sized bedrooms, common areas are a little cozy. Saw the Aurora from the yard in every direction. If you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, hunting trophies, or stairs, this may not be the best for for you

This was a very fun property for our family to stay at. It was within 10 to 15 minutes of everything we wanted to take our children to for our trip. The kitchen was well stocked with all of the pans we needed to cook with at the property. The bathroom had plenty of towels. There was a lot of space for everyone to relax in. The home had a very rustic, outdoors, Alaskan feel. It was fun to see all of the history of the area through maps, newspaper articles, and books that the host had at the property. The check in process was super smooth. We ended up arriving several hours later due to a snow storm and the hostess had our rooms nice and toasty for us and left the door unlocked. She was quick to respond to my questions. The only reason I docked one star for cleanliness, was the whole unit could use a good deep clean, especially the kitchen, and I did vacuum the full unit before we unpacked our things because dogs are permitted on the property and my children are very sensitive to pet hair and there was some in the carpet of the unit. In addition, the unit has had smokers in it at some point and my family is very sensitive to that. I know smoking is allowed on the property outside, but some of that did permeate in the unit. The unit has a beautiful view. We were able to enjoy the gorgeous frozen view from inside the unit. It was well stocked with games and things for the kids to look at. Thanks for a fun stay.

Host was very accommodating!

Very accommodating and easy going.

A very spacious, very Alaskan home away from home with all you need to self-cater and recreate. The location is special- a quiet neighborhood on the Chena River, with lovely birch trees all around. Cigarette smoke regularly comes up into the unit as the lower unit (where the host lives) is not fully divided. Ventilation is a challenge for guests if this is of concern. Although we didn't meet Mardee, she was responsive via messages and left some charming news clippings and local history articles in the unit to learn more about her family's history.

It was exactly like pictured. True Alaskan charm complete experience even saw The Lights on a great tour!

Great communication, warm cozy home.

Our family had a great stay at this home! It was really important for us to stay somewhere suited for young families and this place met those needs. It also had a fun Alaska feel to it with taxidermy and all of their family history tied into the place. I especially loved the little book people have been signing since 2014. It was interesting reading through other people’s experiences and stories. The host was also great at communicating, frequently checking in about laundry and such. Thank you for hosting us!

Really lovely cabin home right on the Chena River. Mardee is the nicest host!

Checking in was super easy and Martha is just the nicest person. We actually got locked out and she let us in no problem. The rooms are cozy, the kitchen has all the gadgets we needed. The decor was great! Theres a polar bear coming out of the wall! We had an amazing trip! Thank you!

A comfortable and peaceful setting. I’ve stayed here a few times now and enjoy the setting and location.

Appreciated their flexibility when travel changes needed some last minute adjustments.

This was a fantastic stay. It has everything we needed and a beautiful view. My friends and I loved the cabin feel, as well as having many rooms to choose from. The kitchen also had everything we needed for cooking meals. Our only negative was the smell of cigarette smoke in the house. None of my friends are smokers, so we were not fans of that.

Amazing hospitality and great place to stay. Great Alaskan charm and history.

The house was very dirty, smoke filled and musty. We left after 2 nights and did receive a refund. The carpet was laid in the 1970’s, orange and green shag. The bedding was dirty as was the bathroom. The kitchen small appliances need replacing. The only nice thing was the view of the river. It needs a total makeover. Buyer beware.

We really enjoyed our stay. Our host did an outstanding job making us feel welcome, and the property was exactly as described in the listing. The location was perfect with a huge lawn right on the Chena River! We enjoyed relaxing on the deck, our kids enjoyed paddleboarding on the river, and our dog enjoyed exploring the spacious yard. The home itself has a unique, old time Alaska feel to it, and the beds were very comfortable. I enjoyed reading some of the articles hanging up about the history of the area. Our kids also enjoyed the puzzles and games, a nice break from the screens. We would definitely like to stay again next time we are in Fairbanks. Thank you!

good, nice location, great host

Flexible checkin/out times, this was a great area to have dogs with us. The interior is outdated, but in a very cute way. There were some things the previous people had left behind (children’s socks and undies in the hallway) that weren’t noticed by the host. The balcony was lovely to sit on, the only real downside was the heat wave that we had, certainly not controllable, but the lack of ventilation was a bit uncomfortable, so if you’re headed here during summer, just be aware. We definitely enjoyed our stay and would recommend Martha’s place.

Host was wonderful to work with and the location was beautiful.. right along the river. The rooms were decorated with awesome game furs and taxidermy. It was an ideal place for us. Thank you!

We enjoyed our seven-night stay in winter 2025. The hosts were friendly and the place had all we needed; we especially liked spending time in the kitchen, with its big window overlooking the Chena River.

Great house, would stay again.

Visiting from Idaho to see my sister, we had an amazing stay. The Ice Sculptures were beautiful. We made the trek to Chena Hot Springs twice during our stay. It was quite a dream relaxing in that warm water and staring into a sky I feel like I have never seen before. On our last night, as we pulled in after a long soak in the Hot Springs, we saw a great show of green dancing lights. The space was just what we needed to rest at night and fuel up for another adventure.

Really decent place overall. It's situated a bit outside of town, but still close. Less light pollution, so sometimes you can see the aurora without driving anyplace. Lots of space to spread out if you're 4 people. Originally we were going to be seven though, and that would still have been fine... except for the fact that there's only one bathroom. Beds were relatively comfortable. Pillows so-so. Kitchen is well stocked with everything you need, including generous supply of condiments and even snacks. Moreso than most VRBOs. The pans, however, were old, and teflon was coming off. I liked the rustic decorations... grizzly bear watching over us at night. Cleanliness was decent, but there is the smell of smoke. Guests are not allowed to smoke inside, but the owner smokes in the sunroom below, and that sometimes wafts into the upstairs living space. Also, the water had a smell to it. No one suffered any ill effects though. Overall, very decent place especially for the price.

It's a beautiful older house on the river. It's well maintained and clean. It was warm and comfortable. Just awesome

Our trip was unplanned due to a funeral, the property was gorgeous, the apartment was large enough for all 7 of us the only downfall was it not handicap accessable but we didnt state that when we paid for it

I haven't met a nicer and more caring host! I will stay at any of their properties again.

This was a great place for my family to stay at. Great views from the windows and has a lot of character.

House was big enough for all individuals to have beds a place to shower and cook and prepare meals and nice owner.

Host was fantastic. Great location, highly recommend if your coming into faibanks on a hunting trip. Host communicated well and accommodated our unique needs with alot of gear.