The Explorer Hotel

The Explorer Hotel descritpion
Boasting an on-site restaurant and bar, this Yellowknife hotel is located 3.1 miles from Yellowknife Airport. Free Wi-Fi is offered in all guest rooms. Free airport shuttle is provided.
A cable TV is featured in all rooms at The Explorer Hotel. Each air-conditioned room offers a desk and seating area.
Traders Grill restaurant offers daily dining options featuring American cuisine. Guests can also relax by the fireplace in the Trapline Lounge after a day’s exploring.
A fitness centre is provided for guest use at The Hotel Explorer. A business centre is available. A cash machine is located on-site for added convenience.
Yellowknife Outdoor Adventures offers boating, fishing, and Northern Lights trips and is located 4 minutes' drive from the hotel. Fred Henne Territorial Park is 2.5 miles away. Northern Frontier Visitors Centre is located 5 minutes’ walk away.
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The staff speaks English——The Explorer Hotel's staff speaks:French,English
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Facilities of The Explorer Hotel
Pets :Pets are allowed on request. Charges may apply.
Activities :Fitness Center
Food & Drink :Bar | Breakfast in the Room | Restaurant with Dining Menu
Internet :Free!WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.
Parking :Free!Free public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed).
Services :Room Service | Airport Shuttle (free) | 24-Hour Front Desk | Baggage Storage | ATM on site | Laundry | Dry Cleaning | Meeting/Banquet Facilities | Business Center | Fax/Photocopying
General :Safe | Non-smoking Rooms | Facilities for Disabled Guests | Family Rooms | Elevator | Heating | Designated Smoking Area
Languages Spoken :French | English
Reviews for The Explorer Hotel
Review 1:One of large hotels in this town. Conveniently located, close to the big supermarket and stores. One of the last stop of tour pickup, makes late departure and early return. Wifi was good. Sunday brunch was also good. Lake view is awesome! Complimentary airport pick is ok.
Review 2:Poor maintenance on bathroom facilities. Toilet not flushing properly, shower head only half working with half of the water going down the host. Maintenance staff to lazy to do minor fix.
Review 3:Friendly front desk staff, always ready to help
Review 4:The wi-fi didn't work properly Any time, sometimes didn't load anything and wasn't impossible to make a FaceTime video call
Review 5:It has a very good location, great view and the service was very nice
Review 6:The Explore is so popular it is difficult to book a room at times. I have chosen to change my travel dates on a few occasions because the Explorer was fully booked and I will not stay anywhere else.
Review 7:The Explorer is my hotel of choice in Yellowknife. The rooms are clean, the restaurant serves good food and the staff are always friendly and accomodating.
Review 8:The staff helping us on September 9 (around 11:30pm) was very helpful and friendly (I am sorry I forgot his name). He helped us to reserve the room for the following days. The location is excellent.
Review 9:The best hotel in Yellowknife - we looked in a few others to confirm! Close to city centre and the great waterfront park. Friendly staff and good restaurant.
Review 10:Arrival shuttle delayed.
Review 11:Free airport shuttle. Quiet, clean, comfortable, good restaurant. Conveniently located across from museum, visitor information centre, Frame Lake Trail. Note: flight crew stays here.
Review 12:The pillows are too soft, each bed has 3 pillows, all are too soft. Needfirmer pillows. Thank god I brought my own, as I have learned that inthe past, too stuffy as you can not open the windows, too dry in therooms. The gym was by itself in the basement did not feel comfortablebeing down there , on my own,so did not use it.
Review 13:Interacting with the mexican manager. Very helpful, accomodating, greatpersonality.easy to talk to, nothing was too minor for him to deal with.
Review 14:Could not believe the cost of room service considering this is already avery e pensive hotel. They charged $10 extra dollars to deliver it toour room. It wasn't even worth eating! The beds were souncomfortable & old!!!! The bathrooms can use a lot of work as thefloors& tub were both disgusting!! I mean if your going to charge& arm & a leg for service, the least this hotel can do isprovide better services & products!! I will never stay here again!
Review 15:Nothing too expensive
Review 16:No bad experience, I chose this hotel because of the in house facilities, I just wish the restaurant was opened later because my flight was delayed. Had to order out.
Review 17:The window view was very scenic, the room was clean and quiet.
Review 18:Not a bad experience but the location of the parking lot and the accompanying stairs seem a bit dangerous in icy conditions. Of course there is nothing can be done due to location.
Review 19:Good location, quiet, very high level
Review 20:The room was dark and gloomy - dark carpet, dark drapes drawn when you come into the room. The bed linens looked clean, however the white is now gray and needs updating. In fact the furniture is also tired looking with scrapes and nicks over long use.
Review 21:My room was on 6th floor, WIFI didn't work well there, but at the lobby is quiet good.
Review 22:One thing must do is having brunch in the restaurant of the hotel, only on Sunday! Excellent food!
Review 23:The shower was a little hard to set the water temp.
Review 24:Location - across the road is the supermarket and many shops are within 5 minutes walk Room - spacious with comfortable beds
Review 25:I wish there had been a gift shop at the hotel. I was disappointed that there was no room service after 9pm. I was disappointed in the cleaniness of the room I had to be moved to due to the thermometre malfunction in my room. I was disappointed that I had call the front desk a second time about the heat in my room and then when they did decide to move me there was no escort to my new room. I had to ask them to bring the new key up to my old room. Disappointed that there was no "extra" blanket in the closet in the room.
Review 26:The first room I was in was clean and comfortable. I was happy for the free WiFi. I liked the idea that there was an iron and ironing board in the room. I appreciated the fridge in the room and the coffee/tea.
Review 27:Paid with debit, had to leave a deposit. No problems here, received it back at end of stay. 1 week later when at home, found we had been charged with our debit for another nights stay, on the same day I noticed it. Called the hotel, transfered to accounting clerk who could not explain it and was quite unbelieving that we were not actually checked in. Took 5 days and many unreturned calls, until after almost a week I noticed the debit was reversed and had been returned. No phone call of explanation. Not impressed. Will Not stay again.
Review 28:Liked the size of the room.
Review 29:Good location, clean and comfortable room. We could enjoy Aurora, too beautiful for words, through the window of room 504 on Sep. 18, 2014. For Aurora viewer, highly recommended.
Review 30:Lounge and restaurant hours. I tried 3 times to have a beverage and an appetizer in the lounge after a long day of hiking. Saturday all the seats were reserved. Sunday it was closed during lunch (I didn't want a full meal) and Monday it was closed altogether.
Review 31:Very quiet. Great food. Good location. Awesome views.
Review 32:ideal place to stay
Review 33:Very clean
Review 34:restaurant is Amazing rooms are very clean and Bed comfortable
Review 35:Great view from the room, offering northern lights; very helpful reception staff; great restaurant with excellent Sunday brunch.
Review 36:The room was too hot, but was fixed by the maintenance man.
Review 37:Excellent room service and helpful staff.
Review 38:No issues
Review 39:Short walk to the town, bus picked us up from Aurora Village to see the Northen Lights, food pretty good!
Review 40:no kettle, no window, no pool...
Review 41:location's good
Review 42:Need renovation, a bit old.
Review 43:Convenient location and nice restaurant.
Review 44:clean nice bar
Review 45:N/A
Review 46:Location
Review 47:- close proximity to downtown - friendly and accommodating staff - small pub and restaurant onsite - food is delicious!
Review 48:Bathroom fixtures and bathtub were a bit run down.
Review 49:Comfortable bed!
Review 50:A bit pricey for someone traveling solo.
Review 51:The room was very comfortable and quiet, and the climate control was a big plus. Nice lounge too.
Review 52:Nothing really
Review 53:Modern, clean, good dining. Centrally located.
Review 54:No fresh air...window doesn't open. Poor lighting in room.
Review 55:Spacious rooms, well equipped. Comfy bed. Good restaurant,
Review 56:Room was a nice size and very clean and comfortable.n
Review 57:Noisy heating-cooling fan
Review 58:Wifi very very slow
Review 59:Everything apart from WiFi very slow
Review 60:Not impressed with the food
Review 61:Wifi was too slow and the constant blowing of the fan that you can't shut off was annoying.
Review 62:Location was excellent. Condition of Hotel was good.
Review 63:A restaurant wasn't open early enough to have breakfast for my early departure. No sound proof.
Review 64:Food at the lounge. Comfortable mattress.
Review 65:The restaurant was excellent with original dishes as well as an amazing Sunday brunch.
Review 66:Pillows were too big gave us both sore necks
Review 67:Was sound proof way better than other places in yellowknife
Review 68:- Airport shuttle; - My room was very big; - Helpful staff; - Great location too.
Review 69:Very clean and well run establishment.
Review 70:Other people's hair on shower curtain. Told receptionist, but wasn't dealt with. Shower water temperature inconsistent. Too hot suddenly.
Review 71:Just about everything.
Review 72:Very friendly staff everyone very helpful. Dining is excellent,
Review 73:Old bath room, you can see the tiles need to do a new one.
Review 74:the room was clean and linen.
Review 75:Clean, large rooms, good location. Good restaurant with excellent Sunday Brunch
Review 76:nothing really
Review 77:service, food, view from the 8th floor
Review 78:Very noisy inside hotel (corridors, doors, thin walls). Bathroom very small. Carpets very not clean. Advertise Saturday night Prime Rib special, then don't have it anymore at 7.30 pm. Restaurant pricy.
Review 79:Nicely situated on a hill overlooking the city. Staff were from very nice to hopeless. Comfortable beds, nice view. Plenty of amenity materials each day.
Review 80:Slightly dated facility overall, but easily the best we saw in Yellowknife.
Review 81:The location is terrific (always first one dropped off and last one picked up for all shuttles (airport, Aurora Village); easy walk to most downtown places and just a little bit of a hike to Old Town and the lake). The staff is lovely and the restaurant is the prettiest room in Yellowknife.
Review 82:obviously people smoke in their room and once they do, all the other rooms smell smoke too(cause their air conditioner is connected), I stay here for 3 nights and smell that annoying smell everyday, I suggest the hotel impose a serious amout of fine for smoking inside.
Review 83:location is great, steps to shopping centre, grocery store,restaurant,and visitor centre. views are good too.
Review 84:There is nothing that I didn't like. I'm used to hotels having a pool, which you don't, but there may be good reason why not. There was a brief confusion about who was paying for my stay, even though I had indicated this when I booked on line. Speaking of which -- when I tried to phone my reservation, the number I was given didn't work, and I couldn't find another phone number for you, not even on your web page.
Review 85:The hotel was well situated in downtown Yellowknife. I could walk many places (except for the excessive cold).
Review 86:I arrived late after being at airports and flying for over 12hours,,shuttle was waiting at airport, took less two minutes to check inand then I was able to get to my room. Very clean, comfortable bed.
Review 87:The roomservice was not a good experiance
Review 88:The confort of the hotel and facilities. Shuttle service to airport as good as well. The reception staff are very good.
Review 89:TV was terrible (too dark & could not adjust it) high speed Internet was not high speed, ice machine only on first floor
Review 90:Restaurant, staff, food, quality, consistent
Review 91:metal plate above bath tub/shower had rust spots on it due to water, etc., no doubt. Thought that could have been repainted? Other than that excellent
Review 92:Excellent Staff - Very Comfortable rooms with exceptional air control in the room. Excellent meals in Dining Room. Would definitely stay there again.
Review 93:I couldn't get on internet this trip. I have stayed here a lot and I think the automatic kicked in and wouldn't give me a chance to put in a password because it was trying to automatically link me which it couldn't.
Review 94:The air conditioner/heater in our room did not work. It was servicedtwice and while somewhat better did not provide fresh air as the fandidn't work unless it was cooling/heating
Review 95:Atmosphere, room and dining service and menu for dining.
Review 96:I didn't like the rooms not having air conditioning and mini fridges. Also, it would be nice if they had guest launrdy.
Review 97:I like the location and friendly staff. Also the airport shuttle.
Review 98:carpet in fitness room smelled a bit of smoke? smoking outside too close to the main entrance. can you tell I don't like smoke?
Review 99:the scenery out my window the buffet very friendly and helpful staff
Review 100:It was fairly expensive but I believe the rate was not unlike what you'd pay for other hotels in the North
Review 101:The Staff were fantastic, my room was clean and comfortable and the location was ideal.
Review 102:The bath room was tiny, I was on the 7th floor and the 8th floor was noisey, i had a pillow that if squeesed would light up all 3 nights no wires no batteries whats up with that, a little pricy.
Review 103:It was clean, The room was big, the food was good, close to down town, staff friendly,
Review 104:Expensive for what you get. Staff not overly helpful (example: my car got stuck in some soft snow in their parking lot, so I asked for a shovel. They said they didn't have any shovels.)
Review 105:Good location
Review 106:TV in the room is shot! Clear the ice at the bottom of the stairs to the parking lot. Someone's going to kill themselves!
Review 107:Generally good overall service and value
Review 108:Shuttle bus driver didn't come into the foyer to collect waiting passengers, despite reception desk telling everyone that this was the arrangement
Review 109:Comfortable room Good bar, open late with good food Polar Bear in the foyer
Review 110:The food was excellent, it is the best location for tours to the Aurora Village to view the Northern Lights and close to the downtown. It was our 2nd visit there.
Review 111:First, when checking in, front staff did not realize we would bechecking into two rooms. After checking in to both, one room had onlyone bed for 3 people although the reservation said otherwise. They movedus to another room, but had to realize for ourselves that the amenitieswere only for two people.Then our keypass stopped working. Went down and got another two keypasses created. Neither of them worked. Went down again and finally got a working pair. After this, between our family's two rooms, the keycards stopped working on no less than 4 occassions. After being told that mobile phones interfere with them, we diligently obeyed with the similar results. I've never had this problem with any other hotel. Also, there is very poor communication between front desk staff & cleaning staff. After asking front desk until what time we could get room cleaning service, they said "Anytime, just call. Is there a time you'd like to have it?". We said "2 to 3pm would be fine". Cleaning staff show up at 12:30am and tell us that service will only be available until 1:30pm. Then after cleanup, they hotel still did not inform the cleaning staff that three people were staying in a room with 2 beds. Had to ask for amenities again. Poor communication. The cleaning staff even told us that they don't get told anything. We have to request it.
Review 112:The best part of the hotel is the restaurant. We dined there threetimes: twice for dinner and once for breakfast. Beds were quitecomfortable with a good choice of pillows. Great views.
Review 113:Miserable, unfriendly lobby/reception staff every time weencountered them. Overpriced and average quality breakfast. No fridge inrooms and only powdered creamer available for coffee/tea.
Review 114:Extremely comfortable beds. Quiet room. Free shuttle from airport. Wearrived on New Years Day when the shuttle doesn't run, but a quickcall to the hotel from the courtesy phone at the airport & theyoffered to pay for a taxi when we arrived. Although, the off to paydidn't come up front, not until I questioned it.
Review 115:The internet connections are sometimes not that great and the water onthe 5th floor for some reason (cold water I believe), was not under thatmuch pressure. Can't really say why, but it was not that big a deal.
Review 116:The rooms are quiet, and comfortable. The staff are friendly. This time,my son noticed an incorrect charge on my bill and the front desk ladyimmediately refunded my money. Very good to see that.I would love to see perhaps a bowflex training machine for weight training in the excercise room, but it is not bad. I like the easy access to downtown and the safe parking for vehicles. The air handling system is quiet and efficient. I find the overall feel of the hotel very relaxing.
Review 117:I wasn't able to book a room for my family who was traveling after me because the hotel was full - great for the hotel but would have loved to have my family experience the great service that I did!
Review 118:The service was wonderful and very helpful. The room itself was luxurious and clean. I really enjoyed the food at the in-house restaurant and made great use of the shuttle service to and from the airport. Overall, I had a great stay and will recommend The Explorer Hotel to everyone traveling through Yellowknife! Thank you!
Review 119:Food and serving staff were great. Front desk staff were very helpful. Great hotel
Review 120:Clean, quiet, free parking and wi-Fi. Excellent food on site, close to everything downtown
Review 121:The elevator doors were scratched or dirty
Review 122:The location - the room and view - the staff were helpful and friendly
The Fine Print
You must show a valid photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all special requests cannot be guaranteed and are subject to availability upon check-in. Additional charges may apply.