Arctic Chalet LTD

Spent a night there in one of their cabins.|The resort is in a nice location just a kilometer out of town. Lightly wooded area with a large pond. Cabins are very nice and cozy. Ours had a hotplate, microwave, fridge coffee maker and dishes utensils.||They provided a car for two hours to go to town for shopping etc only $25.|They rent trucks, they do tours and have sled dog rides.||Highly recommend this resort. Best place to stay in inuivik.

We were so disappointed with the Arctic Chalet. They tout themselves as being pet-friendly. They are not. While the pet fee is published online (although the amount varies and most of their paperwork says $20 - we were charged $25), they made no mention of the $200 deposit until after we had paid for the room and the extra $50 (2 night pet fee). A month later Arctic Chalet has still not released the pre-authorization and when asked, their response was essentially it is my problem and I should contact the bank if I want it back. I have paid pet deposits before and they are always refunded within 3-4 days. Another issue is the place is not at all pet-friendly despite them advertising it is. You aren't allowed to walk your dog anywhere on the property because of the huskies. The literature at the property tells you to take them into town and walk them by the river - so hardly dog-friendly. The log cabin was crammed down a driveway with so many vehicles all over the show. It was jammed in between another unit. Hardly the beautiful place to sit and watch the northern lights they claim on their website. The cabin itself smelled so bad. It was like a men's urinal and totally disgusting. The shower looked like it hadn't even been completed. They had a coffee maker but not coffee. The heating control did not work and the cabin was uncomfortably hot. The tv did not work. The check in was a nightmare and took forever. I'm not sure the woman knew what she was doing. She forgot to add tax then added to much tax then needed the receipt back because she had to write all the details for the taxman on it (no idea what that was about). All in all this was not a nice place to stay. I would not recommend it at all.

My brother and I have been planning a Dempster Highway trip for months and discovered Olav and Arctic Chalet Tours. Booking with Lea and Judi was easy and communications were good. When our trip started in Dawson City, Olav picked us up and we spent 2 days travelling to Inuvik. It was beyond our expectations. Olav is incredibly knowledgeable and an experienced guide and the trip was awesome. We cannot exaggerate how great the trip was. The accommodations were comfortable and our hosts were great. The trip to Tuktoyaktuk was also amazing. Highly recommend this tour company and the Arctic Chalet resort as well. Excellent value too. Also: the group of 7 on the tour were really nice Cnadians from across the country and a fun group. The van is an excellent tour vehicle for a very tough highway. Best way to see the Dempster!

We decided to go on a roadtrip to the arctic for our Honeymoon, staying one night in the Mackenzie Hotel, another night at a local Air BnB and then 2 nights booked at the Arctic Chalet. What could go wrong, well strap in... ||When we pulled into the Arctic Chalet, it felt like we were pulling into an old garage or junk yard, vehicles, parts of vehicles, junk etc. As this is a working property, it didn't ring any alarms bells right away, but did seem to look very different from the photos on their website. Hey oh, let's go check in. ||Walking into the lobby of the main Chalet, you are hit with this warm, musty smell. Again, id excuse this if the weather was 25 degrees outside, but we were being hit by a lovely arctic front during our stay, so temperatures were in the low double digits. The windows full of dead bugs, a sad sofa (no life left in the cushions and hadn't looked like it had been introduced to a vacuum at any point during its life) and layers of dust. No one was at the front desk, even though we had called ahead saying we'd be there shortly to check in. ||We called the number on the front desk, spoke to Judi, who said she'd be right down. A couple of minutes later, a lovely girl came out, introduced herself (it wasn't Judi) and got unto the process of getting settled. During this conversation it became clear that there had been a miscommunication on when we were Intending to stay, our dates had been mixed up, mistakes happen and I honestly believe that this was no one's fault. The lovely girl who checked us in was courteous, came up with a solution to the issue and was chatting away with us about how the mistake happened etc, this is when Judi appeared from behind the reception desk, and asked what the issue was. We explained that it was Judi who we had spoken to about a month ago on the phone, changing the dates of the stay. She denied this conversation ever happening, then pulled out a paper calendar and said if it isn't in the calendar then it didn't happen, she then had the gall to say to my wife "Don't you know that a verbal conversation isn't an agreement, always get things in writing, we've fixed this problem and given you a night in the best cabin at a reduced rate, it's so nice in there id stay there myself! You're very lucky" ||It didn't feel lucky, and also, it wasn't Judi who provided that solution, it was the employee. This whole interaction was incredibly awkward  came across very aggressive and really upset us. ||We drove the truck round to the cabin, let ourselves in. It was nothing to write home about, just a bog standard log cabin. We had a view of a bush, my truck, the cabin next door and another bush. For a cabin that is based in the arctic, it was incredible to see that in mid summer, the curtains on the window were about as useless as single ply toilet paper. This cabin also had the same, musty smell that it shared with the main lobby. If this was the best cabin, god knows what the rest of the cabins were like. It was at the moment that we decided that we didn't want this on our Honeymoon, we'd met some incredible people in Inuvik and Tuk, and the interaction with Judi really affected us, completely different experience from everyone else we'd interacted with in the north. So we decided to leave. ||While peeling out of the property grounds, we called the chalet to let them know we wouldn’t be staying. We thought it would be courteous seeing as there were very few beds in town available. Judi answered the phone, angrily asking “what wasn’t good enough for us?” When my wife explained she didn’t feel comfortable staying, Judi continued to argue, telling her it was their nicest cabin & we were lucky to get it at such a discounted rate. My wife calmly & politely repeated they were welcome to rent it to someone else, that we wouldn’t be staying. Judi then said “so I guess you’re telling me you’re cancelling.” My wife said something along the lines of “we’re not looking for anything, as I’ve said, you can rent it out to someone else, I’m only calling so you know you have the space.” My wife then said goodbye & hung up. Even in leaving, not asking for a refund, the owner still wanted to treat us poorly. In what world is this any form of customer service, especially to two paying customers on their honeymoon? ||We drove to the Mackenzie Hotel, managed to score a cancelation ( we were ready to just camp in the truck like we had done on the way up the dempster) and enjoyed the rest of our trip. ||Later that evening I started to read reviews online, saw that we weren't the only ones to have these issues (Seems to be a wonderful reoccurring theme!). When we look at their website again, we noticed that nearly all yhe photos of the site and the cabin we stayed in were old, and clesrly had not been updated in a number of years. This became clear again as to probably the reason why they didnt send us photos of the overflow traile that we had requested numerous time after booking until 48hrs before we checked in. And then got sucked into their incredible, discriminatory hiring practices that they seem to proudly announce on their website. I'm sad we never asked for a refund, because after realizing that we funded a business that doesn't even allow it's employees to experience the wonderful people and town of inuvik, let aknown all the ridiculous hiring demands they have. Nothing says culture tours like having a business that doesn't even allow it's people to become part of thr culture that makes the North and Arctic so exciting. ||Overall, I'd steer clear of this place, there are some wonderful people who work there, however Judi was just abhorrent to deal with in every possible way and it makes me ashamed that a business like this exists in today's society.

Arctic chalet was the worst tour company I have ever had to deal with. The owner, Judi, was the most racist individual I have ever met. Some of their other employees, like Lea and Clemens, were amazing. But it was hard to look past the blatant racism and white supremacist attitude Judi presented. During our Tuk tour, Judi would continuously make racist comments about the indigenous people living in the Northwest Territories, and even decided to go on about how residential schools were actually a “positive experience” for the students, as it “gave them a chance to get away from their primitive camps, and for them to become true Canadians”. It would’ve been completely atrocious for her to even suggest this idea, let alone flat out say it. And it wasn’t a few comments here and there either. In total, our Tuk tour took about 7-8 hours. And throughout that ENTIRE time period, she would make disgusting remarks about the indigenous people and their ways of life. Nearing the last hour or so of our trip, Judi began to preach her religious beliefs to us, which was completely unrelated to our tour in the first place. She would sidetrack away entirely from the purpose of the tour, and ramble on about her personal life, her religion, and at the end, gave us these strange “bible health guides”. It was completely unprofessional, unnecessary, and unwanted. If I’m going to pay for a tour, I’d like to hear about the area I’m in, not about some random persons backstory. Furthermore, the drive itself was incredibly rough with Judi. The door for the sprinter van we travelled in was held together by duct tape, silly putty, and hopes and dreams. The overhead storage racks above our heads were shaking the entire time, and the screws holding them in place were falling out as we went on. Judi was not only aware of this issue, but refused to even fix it. By the end of the drive, there was only a small fraction of screws left holding the rack in place, and I was legitimately worried it was on the verge of collapsing on-top of us. Additionally, Judi was a reckless driver. She would refuse to slow down when instructed to by construction workers doing roadwork, she would erratically slam on the breaks in the middle of the highway, would nearly swerve off the road and then violently recorrect it, and would even drive on the wrong side of the road. She forced multiple oncoming vehicles to also switch to the wrong side of the road because she refused to stay on the right hand side. Not only was she doing this on straight parts of the road, she would be doing this around blind corners, where there was no way to tell if there was oncoming traffic. She wouldn’t look where she was driving, and would instead have one hand on the steering wheel, another on her PA system, staring into the back of the van rather than looking ahead. Overall, arctic chalet is a company I would strongly advise to not use. If you would like to come to the arctic circle and visit places like Inuvik or Tuk, it’s better to just get your own vehicle and tour the areas yourself, or to find another company. I will not be going back to Arctic Chalet again.

Our group of 12 stayed here before AND after our 12 day Firth River trip. It was the perfect accommodation for us to do all of our food and gear packing and organizing from. Olaf and Judy were on vacation our first couple of nights but Lea was very accommodating to us for all of our last minute needs. She is certainly the hostess with the mostest. We loved canoeing on the lake AND skinny dipping Some of us even got to go on a summer dog sled trip. We would highly recommend the Arctic Chalet to anyone coming to Inuvik.

Had the joy of fulfilling a dream of travelling up to Tuktoyaktu. With my sister. Judy gave a wonderful tour from Inuvik. Very friendly, knowledgeable and fun. Few stops along the way for pictures and dipped our toes in the Arctic Ocean even And we got to meet her sled dog before being returned to our hotel. Judy used a microphone in the van so everyone could hear her stories. A wonderful bonus! |Highly recommend. Thank you Judy.

Was in touch with Judi and Chloe at Arctic Chalet for about a year planning a stay in June/July 2024. Received a confirmation of room being booked by travel agent from Uniglobe on 1/12/2024. Received a message from Chloe on 4/15/2024 stating shuttles from the airport were available. Received a message from Uniglobe on 6/28/2024 (while on my way to Inuvik) that a shuttle was no longer available and that Judi would soon call me. Judi never called so I took a cab from the airport ($45) and when arriving at the Arctic Chalet a young girl from Germany tried to check me in but couldn’t find my reservation anywhere. How could I not have a reservation when Judi herself called Uniglobe (travel agent) to let them know I wouldn’t be getting a shuttle as promised. ||She then asked me why I didn’t call for a shuttle? What!!!! ||After a long time, I got the Northwoods Cabin. The cabin had the door wide open while it was being cleaned, explaining the large number of mosquitoes in the room when I finally was allowed to go in about 45 minutes later. There is only one screened window so there is no air circulation and it gets really stuffy in there. I was bombarded with mosquitoes all night long making for little sleep.||The toilet is tilted/leaning and quivers when you sit on it. The flooring in the bathroom is stapled down linoleum, barely holding. The whole shower/toilet area is built very crudely. ||I did have the luck of two beds and two sinks though (unlike many other reviews I read here). A single bed and a double bed, a sink in the bathroom and one in the mini-kitchen. ||The handrail going up the stairs is missing, rotted away it seems. The fire alarm disconnected, the room reeked of cigarettes, the foundations were twisting and crumbling. Curtains are really light – would help to have dark ones in the summer when it’s always light. The curtain rod kept falling when opening/closing curtains. ||Many reviews complain about the breakfast food. On the main road to Inuvik, the sign says Arctic Chalet Bed and Breakfast Inn (so you still assume breakfast is available). On the road by the entrance to the Arctic Chalet, the sign says Arctic Chalet Country Guest House and Cabins (no longer B&B). Don’t expect any food unless previous guests left some behind. ||The view from the room is of dead vehicles and equipment, ripped tarps, old sheds, and other trash. ||I was told the password would be written on a sheet of paper explaining the do's and don'ts of the place but it was nowhere to be found. I tracked the girl who checked me in and she finally supplied the sheet with all the information, stealing it out of another cabin.||When I asked her about the price of the shuttle, she told me it was $35 so that my extra $10 taxi was not a big deal. The information sheet stated that their shuttle is $25, not $35. Other guests got picked up by the shuttle that day. When I pointed that out to her, she just shrugged me off. Certainly looks like there is little communication between Judi and her staff.||Now for the best part, imagine 25+ dogs on a small wooden platform with a little straw and the smell that emanates from that!!! Sewage like smells wafts near the laundry room, by the lake or by the cabins depending on which way the wind blows. Very strong odor of ammonia burning your eyes and nose. And then the barking anytime someone gives them attention, feeds them, walks by be it dog or human. A constant cacophony of poor dogs who don’t get any exercise or much attention (not during the two days I was there anyway). ||I understand that there’s not a lot of competition for a good place to stay in Inuvik but this place needs a lot of TLC and Judi doesn’t seem to care at all about your experience when here. ||Go at your own risks.