Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The largest leg of renovations for the Yellowknife Inn is now complete, to the delight of hotel management. But work will continue, they said.

Derek Carmody and Thom Jarvis, manager and sales manager of the Yellowknife Inn respectively, stand in front of the downtown hotel's recently touched up sign and canopy. It's all part of massive effort to transform the look of the hotel with interior work now completed and work set for the outside of the building next year. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

The downtown mainstay went through a thorough reinvention of its entire interior - rooms, hallways, front desk, everything - starting just after the Arctic Winter Games.

"It's essentially a new hotel," said Thom Jarvis, sales manager for the hotel. "Everything's brand new and out of the box."

As manager Derek Carmody put it, "It was complete 'F and F' - which is all of your furniture and fixtures, plus brand new carpeting, wallpaper, counter tops, flooring."

The outside sign and canopy also received a touch-up, he added.

All 129 guest rooms have been adorned with framed black-and-white photos of Yellowknife's history as a mining town, courtesy of a collection from the Mining Heritage Society.

"The company took a hard look at the property and it was long overdue," said Carmody.

"We knew that. It was time to give back to the community."

So far the feedback on the new look has been positive, he said.

"We've had a dozen of our regulars actually come up to us and say thank you.

"They've committed with us and now we're committed with them."

More importantly, from an operational point of view, the praise has actually translated into increased business.

"I'm happy that we're starting to see many of our former clientele returning to the hotel" as a result of the investment, said Jarvis.

Carmody added "Every day since the renovations were completed we're noticing new business coming in."

The renewed interest in the hotel has extended to new employees, as well.

"Staff are now starting to come to us because they know that it's a new hotel," said Carmody.

L'Atitudes Restaurant & Bistro also received a touch up with new flooring, paint, tables and chairs.

A new menu, set to debut soon, will feature a pasta bar and management is considering opening the restaurant in the evening for dinner as well.

"We're still trying to decide what we're going to be doing with the MacKenzie Lounge," said Carmody.

Additional renovations are slated for the hotel next year, including exterior work.

In the short term, a glass wall accessible only by key card - to be located just past the Javaroma Gourmet Coffee stand in the Centre Square Mall, thus separating the hotel from the mall - will be installed in the first two weeks of October, according to Carmody.