License to Chill

1   |   Itinerary   |   Home

With some of the finest slopes in the East and a wilderness backdrop, this rustic-luxe retreat has everything for the hedonist – on and off the ski hill.

By Violaine Charest-Sigouin

Play
At Le Scandinave Spa, the Nordic recipe for relaxation is a bit of a dare: Dip into a bubbling hot tub then jog down a snow-bordered path and plunge into the icy Rivière du Diable or the Nordic waterfall. Rest in the sauna, repeat the hot-cold cycle three times, and top it all off with a Swedish massage. 

Les Factoreries has weekend clothes for both the slopes and the Jacuzzi (like Shan bathing suits), along with local specialty shops. For a snack to go, the artisanal baguettes from Les Moulins La Fayette will stay warm all the way to the slopes. Over at S. Bourassa, chances are that one of the Bourassa family will serve up the local cheeses. (Rassembleu, an organic raw blue, is a good bet.)

Snack
Hunger is a fleeting memory after sampling the fourth course of the Discovery Menu at L’Eau à la bouche. We sipped on a St. Laurent varietal from Austria while enjoying the wild boar tajine and contemplating a return visit: Chef Anne Desjardins’ weekend cooking courses let gourmets-in-training try their hand at sea­sonal cuisine. Just the thing to revive that appetite. 

L’Éléphant’s intriguing lineup changes seasonally. On the menu for our visit: bluefin tuna with banana-garam masala mayonnaise, served with the inspired addition of mangoes and anise. It took only one bite to succumb to young self-taught chef Christine Bernier’s audacious creations. 

Relax
The sweet smell of cocoa fills our treatment room at the 200-acre spa hotel Manoir St-Andrews. The Intense Chocolate Package (orange-chocolate facial treatment and chocolate body wrap and bath) is almost sinful. Along with chocolate therapy, Katya and Frédéric Blondeleau dish out equally decadent wine and truffle therapies.

Hôtel Quintessence reveals its charms one by one: a crackling fire in the foyer lit by the concierge, an immense therapeutic bath and a glass of pinot gris upon arrival. The exquisite linens are literally a dream. Our favourite room is the tiny lakeside 1885 log cabin, complete with brick fireplace and claw-foot tub.

Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net

Next page

1   |   Itinerary   |   Home