A grand vision for Grand View Hotel

WASILLA -- Amid the frenzied freeway construction along the Parks Highway, between mazes of ever-changing gravel lanes and loud earth-moving machines, the largest hotel in Wasilla has quietly opened its doors for business.

The Grand View Inn and Suites are owned by John and Ernie Emmi, twin brothers from upstate New York who moved to Alaska 16 years ago. This spring and summer they built the Grand View, now one of the larger and more prominent buildings in Wasilla, and on June 10 they opened the 79-room hotel for business. This weekend they opened the Trophy Room Bar and Grill downstairs and went fully operational.

"It's been in the works for two years now," Ernie Emmi said during a break from the chaos of last-minute preparations. "We saw the need. There's just so many more people moving out here and there's no land left in Anchorage. Everybody's coming this way."

The Trophy Room was a swirling scene of activity on Thursday morning: chefs, painters and carpenters bustled about the dining room and bar area hooking up speakers, assembling pool tables, installing light fixtures and making countless other last-minute preparations.

The bar and dining room, which will seat 80, were on the verge of completion. Exotic big-game trophies lined the walls of the bar, and a massive stone fireplace flanked by even more big-game trophies dominated the dining room. Both of the Emmi brothers are avid and accomplished hunters.

"The Trophy Room is for both locals and tourists. No one else is really doing this, and we already had all the decorations for it," John Emmi said, motioning toward the trophies throughout the bar.

"Yeah, but most of these are my brother's. I'm a little more stingy with mine," Ernie said. "But what better place for a guide to take a guy going on a bear hunt? You sit down, have a few drinks, talk about the hunt. It's perfect."

The Trophy Room will operate a full-service bar and restaurant featuring an exotic menu of wild game, from alligator and crocodile to ostrich and zebra, although for the first week the restaurant will only serve off the bar menu. The Emmis have hired professional French- and Creole-trained chefs and plan to try a variety of exotic meats on a rotating menu to see what people take a liking to. The owners promise something different each week.

"People are just sick and tired of driving all the way to Anchorage for a nice meal in a relaxing, smoke-free environment," Ernie said. "We think the Valley needs this, it's time. We'll have a big-screen TV on during the day, maybe show some hunting videos, an occasional one-man band, maybe a guitar player in the evening, but nothing too loud. This bar and restaurant will also be no smoking, we're trying to be classy about it and keep it comfortable for everyone."

In the inn itself, all 79 rooms are open and ready to go. Each suite has a microwave, fridge, ironing board, hair dryer, coffee maker, big-screen TV with cable and HBO, high-speed Internet and air conditioning. There are also six Jacuzzi suites.

All patrons of the inn have access to an indoor swimming pool and hot tub, an exercise room with weights and treadmills, laundry and housekeeping services and a breakfast bar next to a deck that looks out on Pioneer Peak.

A night's stay also includes a Continental breakfast. The downstairs of the inn also has an events room that can be used for conferences or weddings, several of which have already been booked for August and October.

Sandra Joynes, general manager of the inn, said business has been good since its June opening, especially given the degree of construction in the area and minimal advertising. Most of their customers have been walk-ins, Joynes said.

Currently the Grand View employs a staff of about 40, but that number will fluctuate depending on the season. The summer tourist season will be busier because the inn is on the way to Denali, and next summer the Grand View will likely host quite a few tour groups, the Emmis said.

Ernie and John are no strangers to the hotel business. Their first hotel was the Eagle River Inn and Suites, which they started with another partner and still operate.

Sometime in early October they are planning to complete an apartment building that is currently under construction next to the Inn. The building will have 60 apartments and be available to lease for longer periods of time, perhaps six months or a year.

For more information on the Grand View Inn and the Trophy Room Bar and Grill, call (907) 357-7666.

Contact John Davidson at jddavidson@hillsdale.edu.