The Explorer Hotel

I arrived when Yellowknife had a blackout. The bags were brought into the airport one by one. I went outside to see the hotel shuttle bus pulling out and drive right past me. I had to wait 30 minutes for its return, with me being the only passenger. The hotel had no power and I was told by reception that people can go up the lift but it is not guaranteed that you wouldn’t get stuck in it. Really had no choice as 7 floors is a lot of steps. The room was very hot, so I went do to the foyer. However, you could not get anything as their eftpos was not working. All places downtown were shut. So nowhere to eat or drink. The power came back on after 11pm. It was not a great start. The rooms were roomy and the king bed was comfy but the bathroom was incredibly small. First time I have seen a shower where you pull the bath faucet down to change the water flow to the shower. It took a while and google to sort this out. The coffee machine was ok. The hotel window was dirty and spoiled the great view. I liked that the room had a microwave and bar fridge. The staff were staff, nothing stood out as exceptional service. There is no porter service or doorman, so no help with luggage or doors. The lobby was ok but taken over by a theatre group the first afternoon, so not a lot of seating. Remember this is touted as a 4 star hotel, but the service doesn’t match. Housekeeping is only done in the morning, if you want to sleep in, after getting back after 2am from Aurora tours, you will miss out. There is no free water or water stations. A bottle of water costs $5. There are many vending machines. Overall, I found this hotel average.

Great location close to anything. Well equipped gym and spacious room.

The Hotel is located at convenient location. Restaurants, banks, supermarket...etc are all within walking distance. The front desk staffs and the restaurant servers were very nice, friendly and helpful. Just recommended the Explorer to a couple who are planning to visit Yellowknife next year.