In the wee morning hours, Carrick told the other two men that Port Arthur needed a good hotel and the Canadian Northern Railway should build one and even had a perfect location for it (the existing one).

[2] On March 14, 1911, the brand-new Prince Arthur Hotel had its grand opening dinner event where over 100 selected guests sat down to a superb 18-course meal of classical French cuisine.

Appetizers were caviar canapé à la Russe, blue points on shell, essence of tomatoes en tasse, stuffed celery, radishes and olives, and sherry.

Main courses were tournedos of beef tenderloin with béarnaise sauce, medallions of halibut with sauce Valois, pommes dauphine, pomme pailles, haricots, flageolets, claret, supreme of chicken with fresh mushrooms, punch Benedictine, new potatoes in cream, champagne, salad Prince Arthur, cheese soufflé, demi-tasse, and cognac.

[3][5] In 1914, Mrs. MacLean, a student of the famous Russian ballet dancer Louis Chalif, ran a ballroom dance studio out of the hotel.

Australian contralto Eva Mylott, a protégé of the famous Dame Nellie Melba, stayed at the hotel in the mid to late 1910s.

Travelling musicians performing in town often stayed at the Prince Arthur: Duke Ellington, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Johnny Cash to name a few.