Kwa’lilas Hotel is delighted to announce that we have hired Karen Steele as the Guest Services Supervisor and Eco Tourism Specialist. Karen comes to us with a strong balance of academic knowledge and hands-on experience in geography, environmental sciences and tourism. She graduated this year with a Bachelor in Applied Ecotourism & Outdoor Leadership and…

Kwa’lilas Hotel is almost finished the biggest renovation items on the check list and is moving into a different phase: furnishing and decorating. Throughout the course of last week, furniture and equipment arrived at the hotel. KEDC has hired temporary local workers to receive the items from the vendors, assemble the furniture and move them…

The cedar siding, complete in the front of Kwa’lilas Hotel, dramatically transforms the old Port Hardy Inn look. Cedar, the most commonly used wood on the North Island, keeps to the roots of the community. In the South Wing, k’awat’si Construction finished the plumbing and electrical work, framing the lobby, and installing new posts in…

More design elements for Kwa’lilas Hotel rooms have been approved! Last week, the Elders’ Selection Committee approved pieces for the King rooms, which will feature LED-lit headboards. These headboards will showcase artwork of two face-to-face eagles designed by Walter Brown. In addition, each room will have unique artwork, such as paintings, prints, and carvings, which…

A proud member of the Nakwaxda’xw nation, Gertie Walkus is thrilled to be part of the Elders’ Selection Committee for the Kwa’lilas Hotel. Gertie’s goal for being on the selection committee is to ensure that the artwork shows meaning and the nations’ history of their old ways, and has a vision to see many young…

The construction crews at Kwa’lilas Hotel have been working hard to keep the project moving forward, and can now begin to install drywall in the North wing. Siding materials have arrived onsite and installation will begin this week. In an exciting step, the construction team has also started working on the front entrance, which has…

              After a two-week design process, a new logo for Pier Side Landing has been finalized and put into action! The new logo, which gives the property an “identity”, will be featured on name tags, letterhead, stationary and hotel signage. The logo has also been added to websites and…

A KEDC-led aquaculture pilot project focusing on growing scallops and oysters in Gwa’sala ‘Nakwaxda’xw territorial waters recently took two graduate students, Dorothy Henderson and Ernie Henderson, from the community to the site for the project’s first check-in. The pilot project is in place to determine the feasibility of growing Pacific scallops and oysters to market…

Kwa’lilas Hotel’s exterior siding is undergoing strapping, insulation, and installation of tar paper. In the North Wing, multiple items were completed last week including the roofing, plumbing and electrical. When the drywall materials arrive next week, k’awat’si Construction will begin the installation. The smoke hole is currently framed with steel. The team will finish the…

Walter Brown is a young and up and coming artist whose art has been selected as a room feature in the Kwa’lilas Hotel. From his mother’s heritage, he has ties in the Gixsam tribe of the ‘Nakwaxda’xw people and the Tla-o-qui-aht tribe of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people through his father. Throughout Walter’s life, he has always…