{"id":93893,"date":"2026-06-18T15:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/93893\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:24:16","slug":"edmonton-sisters-take-reins-of-oldest-hotel-in-jasper-alta-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/93893\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton sisters take reins of oldest hotel in Jasper, Alta."},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Edmonton sisters, who are lifelong hoteliers, officially own the iconic Athabasca Hotel \u2014 a historic cornerstone in the Alberta Rocky Mountain community of Jasper.<\/p>\n

The Bassani family, another Edmonton-based family, had owned and operated the landmark since 1972. But on Tuesday, the Athabasca Hotel \u2014 the oldest hotel in Jasper \u2014 was acquired by Decore Hotels, a family-run hospitality business that also owns the Tonquin Inn and Maligne Inn.<\/p>\n

When president and CEO Karyn Decore tells people she and her sister, Nicole Arquero, bought the Athabasca Hotel, \u201cthey laugh and they’re like, \u2018Oh, I know the Atha-B.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s kind of neat to be, now, a part of carrying that forward,\u201d Decore said.<\/p>\n

Although the 98-year-old hotel, located on the corner of Patricia Street and Miette Avenue, is changing hands, the new owners bring deep local roots and a multi-million-dollar plan to modernize the building while preserving its character.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

(Maggie Kirk\/CBC News)<\/p>\n

$4.5M upgrade<\/p>\n

The three-story, 61-room hotel is set for an immediate $4.5 million upgrade over the next eight months. The structure, built before modern conveniences, will get its first elevator, rooftop air conditioning system and new bathrooms for the 23 rooms currently without one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most urgent matter is making sure that this hotel is accessible to everyone and comfortable,\u201d Decore said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the boutique hotel, the sale included six parcels of land behind the building, on Geikie Street. Decore said four of them will be used to build a 100-unit housing residence for staff at the Athabasca Hotel and Maligne and Tonquin inns.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Accommodations are] the No. 1 barrier to being in Jasper,\u201d she said, adding that the business subsidizes the high cost of housing for staff.<\/p>\n

In three years, the hotel will undergo a more robust renovation, but the new owners want to maintain its character, said Arquero.<\/p>\n

\"Built<\/p>\n

The Athabasca Hotel, originally built by the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, catered mostly to men visiting the taproom, so most of its bathrooms were shared. Today, 23 of the 61 rooms still lack private bathrooms, Decore said. (Maggie Kirk\/CBC News)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bones here are good,\u201d she said, pointing out details that modern buildings lack, such as wood carvings and high ceilings.<\/p>\n

The buyout will not result in job losses for those working in the hotel, its restaurant, or its bars, Decore told CBC News. Decore Hotels extended employment offers to the existing team, and most chose to stay \u2014 including long-time general manager Murray Pigeon, who will continue overseeing day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n

4 generations of hoteliers<\/p>\n

The Athabasca\u2019s new owners have deep roots in Jasper, Alta., a municipality about 315 kilometres west of Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Decore said she has been cleaning hotel rooms in Jasper since she was 12. She spent her summers staying with her grandmother, who was managing the Maligne Lodge at the time.<\/p>\n

She and Arquero oversaw the business at a young age, after their parents passed away, she said.<\/p>\n

Now, both sisters have children learning the ropes. Arquero said her 11-year-old sons love helping out with the laundry at the hotels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really, truly is a family business,\u201d Decore said.<\/p>\n

Arquero and Decore had their first walk-through at the Athabasca earlier this week, and remarked they still have a lot to learn about the community\u2019s historic buildings.<\/p>\n

Hotel has long history<\/p>\n

The Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, which shut down in 1994, originally built the Athabasca Hotel to sell beer in Jasper, according to Decore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government required you to build a hotel,\u201d she said. \u201cSo they built this hotel in order to sell beer at their bar, but they actually did an amazing job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clientele was mainly men visiting the taproom, so many of the bathrooms were shared.<\/p>\n

\"Taxidermy<\/p>\n

Taxidermy wildlife is a staple fixture of the Athabasca Hotel lobby. (Maggie Kirk\/CBC News)<\/p>\n

Another quirk is the hotel\u2019s taxidermy deer, moose and elk that greet guests upon arrival. Decore said they aren\u2019t hunting trophies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe train would hit an elk, they\u2019d stop the train, they\u2019d actually \u2014 if it was okay \u2014 eat the elk meat and they\u2019d bring the head to the Atha-B,” Decore said.<\/p>\n

Ironically, on Tuesday, Arquero said she found the hotel\u2019s original blueprints in the basement rafters, beside a moose head.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that excitement that keeps Aquero and Decore engaged in the hotel business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s just interesting, fun, unusual, crazy,\u201d Decore said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s like a community that’s happening every day. Life is happening every day within the walls of a hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two Edmonton sisters, who are lifelong hoteliers, officially own the iconic Athabasca Hotel \u2014 a historic cornerstone in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[35164,35159,35163,35162,52,19375,35158,35160,35161],"class_list":["post-93893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-athabasca","tag-athabasca-hotel","tag-boutique-hotel","tag-decore-hotels","tag-edmonton","tag-hotel-rooms","tag-karyn-decore","tag-nicole-arquero","tag-tonquin-inn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}