Aspen Hotel opens to first guests

Main Street’s new Aspen Hotel opened as scheduled Monday, after a Saturday blessing by the Gideon’s Society and a last-minute push to mount headboards and other furniture.

Tony Latzel was the first guest. A Department of Transportation equipment operator from Yakutat here for two months on a chip-seal project, Latzel said he appreciated the room’s full-size refrigerator and its air-conditioner.

“At a lot of places in Alaska, air-conditioning is non-existent. It’s been warm,” Latzel said.