Hotel Intel: Hands up for Canada’s first Club Med, opening Dec. 3 in Quebec
Pandemic protocol: Club Med Québec Charlevoix will feature temperature checks, distanced seating, deep cleaning, capped guest capacity and a mask mandate.
Sold out, baby, sold out! That might be the jingle for Club Med Québec Charlevoix, opening Dec. 3 at Le Massif de Charlevoix, the mountain playground known for its rugged landscape, captivating views of the St. Lawrence River and year-round adventure sports.
The booking website shows that rooms for certain times are selling faster than you can make Club Med’s “crazy signs.” This new resort, Canada’s first Club Med, is destined to be a phenomenon that will expand tourism around Charlevoix and Quebec City, which has the closest international airport.
The resort: The new venture is a powerful alliance of two ambitious developers.
Le Massif is owned by über-entrepreneur Daniel Gauthier, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil and a major developer of Charlevoix, who created the touristic Train de Charlevoix and Hôtel & Spa Le Germain Charlevoix (originally Hôtel La Ferme and one of eastern Canada’s most progressive hotels). After the Cirque’s stunning triumphs and an unsuccessful bid for the Olympics at Le Massif, Gauthier still craved an international presence. It’s done, and this region of Quebec is on the tourism map in a big way.
The scene: Club Med Québec Charlevoix expects up to 50,000 guests per year, from many countries. Millions of other potential travellers will browse the company’s website, in a dozen languages or more. The resort is generating 350 in-house jobs and about 400 in the region as shops, restaurants and excursion outfitters welcome the newcomers.
