Where Adventures Meet

The Explorer Hotel is a welcoming place for guests

For nearly 50 years the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories has offered a happy retreat for guests.

The 127-room hotel was opened/established in June 1974 and, in 2004, was purchased by Doug Cox.

The hotel’s chairman and CEO said it was in rough shape at the time and renovations ensued. His first step was to upgrade all 127 rooms and regain the hotel’s position as the top business and conference hotel in the North. The turn-around effort was very successful.

The next big investment came in 2008 with the completion of a 60-room addition. Increasing to 187 rooms allowed the Explorer Hotel to attract more experienced people and significantly up their game from a service point of view.

“In 2018, with other hotels recently coming onto the scene we looked at the market and decided there was still room for another expansion. In addition to adding 72 rooms, we upgraded and expanded the conference centre. Such expansions are a long-term strategic investment – taking years to pay off. The Explorer’s expanded conference capacity now exceeds its guest room capacity, so it should have a beneficial effect on other accommodation providers in Yellowknife,” shares Atanas Botev, vice-president, hotels, Nunastar Properties.

The 2018 addition brought the hotel’s capacity to 259 guest rooms, a variety of contemporary dining options and 6,000 square feet of flexible meeting and conference space. It is the largest full-service hotel in Canada’s North.

The various room types include a penthouse Aurora Suite, Executive, King, Queen and Accessible suites. Superior rooms feature one King or two Queen beds. The new Deluxe rooms (opened in 2019) feature pillowtop mattresses on the beds. The Aurora suite opened in 2019 features one bedroom with its own private balcony and barbecue. The Royal Signature Suite is aptly named as three generations of the Royal family stayed there during their visits to the Northwest Territories.

Hotel features include Trader’s Grill for an authentic taste of the North, Trapline Lounge where guests can enjoy a locally micro-brewed pint by the fireplace and their conference, meeting and events spaces. They also have a newly renovated fitness centre.

The beautiful northern environment is the main focal point of the hotel’s design. Built on top of a knoll within the city their location offers stunning views of downtown and surrounding wilderness. They have set a new standard of luxury and comfort in Yellowknife and created a warm and friendly experience. Many of their repeat guests have told them that they consider the Explorer Hotel their home away from home.

“We like to say that the Explorer Hotel is where Adventures meet,” shares Botev. “Find your adventure in Yellowknife and your welcome home at the Explorer Hotel. Our hotel is your place to watch the aurora, mush your sledding dogs, fish the crystal rivers and kayak with the flow. Your facing heart finds its calm here and in our warm hotel rooms after the outdoor excursions of the day. Our hotel is where you happily retreat for awhile by the warmth of the fire, amid expansive forest views and Aurora Borealis lights sprinkled in a dark sky. Here is where the bond with friends, family and colleagues becomes strong, and your connection with nature becomes intimate.”

Since acquiring the hotel in 2004, the owners have strived to position it as the premier hospitality operation in the North with service levels and offerings matching if not exceeding any Southern operation.

“Those efforts have paid back greatly as people from various ages, stages of life and backgrounds call the Explorer Hotel home these days. It is normal for one to see in our lobby young and old explorers, airline crew, military, government officials, miners as well as foreign Aurora watchers. By design, on one side we are a business hotel that allows its guest to conduct business in comfortable and fully integrated spaces. On the other we are Northern urban resort that allows its guests to explore and enjoy what the beautiful North has to offer,” says Botev.

The hotel was not spared by the pandemic’s disruption to the hotel industry. A combination of frequent and totally unpredictable local lockdowns and travel restrictions has resulted in the hotel having to operate at a fraction of their available capacity.

Thanks to their reputation in the market, they were able to establish themselves as an essential service provider (accommodation) to the airlines, military, Governments of Nunavut and Northwest Territories Self-Isolation Hubs and private travellers. This allowed them to sustain levels of occupancy to keep as many as their colleagues as possible.

They have implemented several preventative measures to help keep the hotel environment as safe and clean as possible.

“Providing comfortable, clean and safe environments for our guests and employees remains our top priority. We will continue our commitment to maintain the highest standards of hygiene throughout the hotel,” says Botev.

Looking to the future their plan is simple – To Keep The Explorer Hotel’s position as the No.1 full-service hotel in Northern Canada.

Nicole Sherwood | Western Hotelier Magazine