The ’98 Hotel is a historic hotel saloon in downtown Whitehorse, on Wood Street in the city centre. It began as the 98 Ballroom in the 1940s, a dance hall with live orchestra, and was converted to the 98 Hotel with a cocktail lounge in the early 1950s.
The building was fully refurbished in 2019, but the lounge still looks and feels like an old Yukon saloon, with a long bar, rifle and memorabilia displays, and a regular crowd of locals. Live fiddle nights, open mic evenings, and weekend bands keep the place busy, and there has been a weekly fiddle night tradition.
With a long-standing licence that lets the lounge open at 9 a.m., earlier than most other bars, the 98 has its own informal Breakfast Club. Stop in for a morning visit and you will quickly see why this early crowd has become part of the hotel’s legend.
Behind the bar, the 98 operates a small hotel with five themed guest rooms that were updated during the 2019 renovation. Rooms are simple, with shared facilities and a kitchenette for guests, and the location puts visitors within easy walking distance of the Yukon River, MacBride Museum, and the rest of downtown.
