The Algonquin Resort, an Autograph Collection Hotel
184 Adolphus St., algonquinresort.com. 233 rooms from $129.
Every Maritimer you meet seems to have a story about the Algonquin Hotel, the grande dame overlooking the quaint New Brunswick town of St. Andrews-by-the-Sea. Since it was built in 1889, the hotel has been a magnet for the well-to-do looking for a seaside escape, and the salt of the earth celebrating life’s milestones. So when the Algonquin shut down for 18 months in 2012 for a major overhaul by its new owners, it sent shockwaves through the small town of St. Andrews and made news throughout the East Coast. But the time had come – it had been a long time since the storied hotel’s heyday when it was a regular stop for visiting dignitaries, everyone from John A. Macdonald and Pierre and Margaret Trudeau to Prince Charles and Diana, then Princess of Wales. The grand old lady needed more than just a facelift, and in 2012 New Castle Hotels and Resorts began a $53-million, room-by-room retrofit. The Algonquin Resort has reopened as an Autograph Collection hotel, a savvy, contemporary lodging that revels in its Scottish roots (cue the kilted bellmen and occasional bagpiper). And all those stories you’ve heard? About ghosts seen straightening the silverware, or that it inspired The Shining – well, it’s time to come see for yourself if they’re true.
Location, location
The Algonquin is truly part of the neighbourhood. Built on a hill that overlooks Passamaquoddy Bay, it’s a lovely 10-minute downhill stroll past grand old houses and Maritime-style mansions to reach the main drag of Water Street. Golfers who stay to play the resort’s renowned 18 holes may not be as enamoured with its location, since the course is about a five-minute drive away. Still, grand seaside views off the 12th and 13th holes of the Tom McBroom course make it worth your while.
Design
The red-roofed, Tudor-style exterior remains, but if you look closely there’s a chic new look to the second-floor balconies and the grand veranda’s comfy, private places to watch the hotel’s comings and goings. Inside, you’ll find a more modern, contemporary look throughout. From the driftwood display in the lobby (artfully arranged each morning instead of flowers) to the elegant, A-shaped headboards and high-thread-count linens, if there are ghosts still wandering the hallways they must have trouble recognizing the place.
Eat in or eat out?
In for dinner, out for breakfast. The hotel named its restaurant after George Braxton, the hotel’s head chef in the 1800s, one of the first black chefs to run a luxury hotel kitchen in Canada. You’ll even find a copy of his 1886 cookbook on the shelves of the lobby bar. Braxton’s offers an intimate setting with an eye-pleasing mix of contemporary and classic design. The menu features fresh seafoods and locally sourced ingredients, but the results can be mixed. My seafood chowder and seared scallops were incredible, but a friend took issue with mushy gnocchi served under his $42 lobster. Breakfast is served in the same room, but it should be offered in the glassed-in veranda just across the hall since it catches the morning light so beautifully.
Best amenity
Driving up to the Algonquin, my husband and I oohhed at the grand restoration, while the kids ahhed at the three-storey waterslide that curled out of one wing of the hotel. The indoor pool area is fantastic, with a long pool and powerful hot tub (conveniently located so you can watch the kids on the slide but also close enough that the waterslide will drip on you if you don’t watch where you sit).
If I could change one thing
More bikes, please. Offering guests complimentary use of bicycles to explore St. Andrews is great – having only three bikes available is not.
Room with a view
Sunset views over Passamaquoddy Bay are best enjoyed from your own private patio – so make sure you book a room in the original building on the second floor. Or seek out the garden patio, which offers the same gorgeous view, to sip your sundowner in the chef’s herb garden. After dark, use the patio’s telescope to marvel at the incredibly starry sky.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.