MALBAIE/POINTE-AU-PIC, Quebec -- Le Manoir Richelieu hotel, in the
heart of the Charlevoix region here, will receive a $92 million
face-lift designed to transform the hotel and region into a world
class resort area.
The Canadian Pacific Hotels property will be upgraded as part of
a three-phase project that includes construction of facilities to
handle more tourists and expansion of the Casino de Charlevoix. The
project has been undertaken by a consortium composed of the
government of Quebec, Loto-Quebec and Canadian Pacific Hotels. The
work will close the property until the project is finished in the
summer of 1999, according to a hotel spokeswoman.
The hotel's exterior will be restored to preserve its historical
appearance, but the interior will be modernized.
The Charlevoix region has been a popular recreation area for
more than 200 years, the spokeswoman said, with Europeans traveling
to Charlevoix to take part in whale-watching excursions on the St.
Lawrence River. Le Manoir Richelieu has drawn travelers for nearly
a century.
"Originally, it was mostly American travelers and Canadian
families," the spokeswoman said of the past clientele. The people
who came used to travel by boat [on the St. Lawrence River] and
spend the summer here to go whale watching."
A major conference center and upgrades of the area's
recreational facilities and casino are now in the plans. The first
phase of the project will include the construction of a new
building linked to the hotel. The building will house a convention
center that can host up to 800 people and will be equipped with
multifunction rooms and audiovisual systems. The second phase will
see the construction of a sports center with indoor and outdoor
swimming pools and Jacuzzis; a snowmobile pavilion offering rental
equipment and miles of trails, and renovated equestrian
stables.
The spokeswoman said the upgrade of the area's recreational
facilities will translate into the hotel's promoting learning-based
packages for both children and adults, who also might enjoy the
region's rich Charlevoix cuisine.
The final phase of the project will see an expansion of the
Casino de Charlevoix, which should be completed by February
1999.
Canadian Pacific Hotels will include information on the hotel on
its Web site at www.cphotels.ca.