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Yellowknife approves plans for Explorer Hotel expansion

Yellowknife’s hotel war is heating up, as the city has approved plans by Touchstone Holdings to add 72 rooms plus a banquet hall to The Explorer Hotel.

New wing to overlook Nova Builders' hotel project next door

The City of Yellowknife has approved plans by Touchstone Holdings to add 72 rooms plus a banquet hall to The Explorer Hotel, seen at the right. On the left is a 146-room hotel being readied for a summer 2016 opening by Nova Builders. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

Yellowknife's hotel war is heating up as the city has approved plans by Touchstone Holdings to add 72 rooms plus a banquet hall to The Explorer Hotel.

The approval comes as construction on a rival hotel — located right next door to The Explorer — continues at a brisk pace.

The new, eight-storey wing of The Explorer Hotel will actually stand at the edge of the cliff overlooking the 146-room hotel being readied for a summer 2016 opening by Nova Builders.

When completed, the new wing will bump the total number of rooms at The Explorer to 259.

Touchstone still needs a building permit before it can begin construction in earnest.