TUCKED into the Laurentian Mountains less than 80 miles north of Montreal, Mont Tremblant is a stunning Quebec ski town perched at the southern tip of Lake Tremblant. It somehow manages to blend the kitsch of a Disney-like ski resort, the elegance of a small cosmopolitan city and the serenity of fir-and-pine-covered mountains.
“It’s fabulous,” said David Lyons, an investor and developer who divides his time between Mont Tremblant and Montreal. “I’ve got all the good of a city, but I’m in the country.”
He and his wife, Sandra, are building a three-bedroom, 3,300-square-foot house on Lac Forget on six acres they bought in 1998 for 30,000 Canadian dollars (about $25,400 at the current rate of 1.18 Canadian dollars to the United States dollar). They stay, meanwhile, at the Château Beauvallon, a hotel where they own a suite.
The town is made up of three villages: the Mont Tremblant resort pedestrian village, which overflows with restaurants, bars and shops that sell skiwear and chocolates; the original village of Mont Tremblant, known as the vieux, or old, village; and St.-Jovite, a service-oriented town recently incorporated into Mont Tremblant.
Second-home owners are drawn by the ski resort, which Intrawest bought in 1991 and expanded, adding a gondola, new lifts, improved snowmaking and the pedestrian village. The company plans to invest an additional billion Canadian dollars in the resort in the next decade, creating two additional villages, Versant Soleil and Versant Nord. Versant Soleil will include a conference center, a hotel and 1,200 housing units ranging from studio hotel rooms to luxury homes.
With the recent renovation of Mont Tremblant International Airport, 24 miles north of town, the region attracts a “private jet-set” crowd that includes Formula One racecar drivers and professional hockey players, said Michael Clark, a broker and developer with Mont Tremblant Real Estate. He said about half the buyers are from Britain.
Hollywood celebrities have also been seen, with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones building a house in the area, according to real estate agents and tourism officials.
Celebrity residents aside, though, Mont Tremblant isn’t overly glamorous. Along the two-lane roads that connect the three villages you see more yellow caution signs for deer than you do Land Rovers or Hummers. In St.-Jovite, where the peal of the bell at St.-Jovite Church can stall conversation, there are antique shops, cafes, supermarkets and a hardware store, complemented by new shops and restaurants — including an Irish pub that is scheduled to open soon.
The Scene
January and February temperatures in Mont Tremblant often fall into the single digits (Fahrenheit), so fur is functional as well as fashionable. One recent Saturday morning, a half-dozen mink-swaddled, middle-aged women crowded into a cafe in St.-Jovite. Across town, powder-hounds headed straight to “the station,” as the ski lift is called, to take advantage of the abundance of snow that had recently fallen.
At 2,870 feet, the mountain is a major draw, but skiing isn’t the only winter pursuit. Over at the oval on Lac Moore, stroller-pushing mothers skate alongside adolescent speed skaters. Some mountainside developments have their own skating ponds, and people cross-country ski or snowshoe along the 20-mile bike path that connects the three villages or on the P’tit Train du Nord, a former rail line that stretches through Quebec.
After a day of play, second-home owners often convene for happy hour in the pedestrian village before heading home for dinner. While Le P’tit Caribou attracts a younger crowd, there’s a decidedly older, though no less rowdy, gathering at Le Shack, where white-maned skiers and flannel-clad hotel developers drink pints and shout to be heard over live rock ’n’ roll.
Mont Tremblant “is the center of our social life,” said Mr. Lyons, who has befriended other seasonal buyers from Ottawa and Montreal. “Every Saturday we go to somebody’s house for dinner.”
Pros
For American buyers, the exchange rate helps make Canada affordable. “We found the exchange rate appealing,” said Kelli Christensen, who owns a three-bedroom ski-in, ski-out mountainside condo with her fiancé, Mike Mika, an electrical contractor. The couple, who live in Naples, Fla., bought their condo for 390,000 Canadian dollars in 2005.
Second-home owners rave about the region’s activities. In addition to biking and hiking, there are six golf courses in town. Circuit Mont Tremblant, an auto racing track that has been host to Formula One championships, sponsors car events that last year included a Ferrari Festival.
“The kids thought that was cool,” Ms. Christensen said. She and Mr. Mika have three boys, ages 9, 10 and 11, who also enjoy the luge track that is built into the mountainside in summer and the indoor aquatic park in the pedestrian village.
The ski resort abuts the 373,000-acre Mont Tremblant National Park, which is popular for hiking and camping. Devil’s River ropes through town and residents canoe and raft there and swim and water-ski on the 900 lakes that pepper the region.
Within an hour’s ride on a float plane, Mr. Lyons said, “you can be in untouched wilderness.”
Cons
“It’s too bad the mountain isn’t 2,000 or 3,000 feet higher,” Mr. Lyons said. While Mont Tremblant is ideal for families, it’s not considered challenging.
The time and expense of getting to Mont Tremblant can be substantial. Ms. Christensen says that the time and expense of travel are “a downer.” The family usually flies into Montreal from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a $2,500 investment in airfare each visit.
Isabella and Brian Allendorfer make the 15-hour drive from Chicago with their two children, ages 5 and 3, at least four times a year. The couple bought a three-bedroom, ski-in, ski-out property just minutes from the pedestrian village for 419,000 Canadian dollars last July.
“We couldn’t touch anything like that in the U.S.,” Mrs. Allendorfer said.
The Real Estate Market
Most seasonal buyers want property on or near the mountain, said Herb Ratsch, a broker with Playground Real Estate, a division of Intrawest. Mountainside town houses range from 1.1 million to 1.4 million Canadian dollars, while a two-bedroom condo in the pedestrian village can be bought for less than 300,000 Canadian dollars. Off the mountain, a typical midrange property is a four-bedroom house on one acre that lists for 500,000 to 700,000 Canadian dollars.
Land is more plentiful than homes, with private communities the rage. “The 10-kilometer perimeter of the mountain is on fire,” Mr. Clark said. On Lake Desmarais, developers have carved out 100 acres for a private community that will eventually include hiking trails and a tennis club.
Two years ago, a two-to-three-acre lot on Lake Desmarais sold for 225,000 Canadian dollars, Mr. Clark said. Similar-size lots today sell for 1 million Canadian dollars. Three-acre lots in Sommets-du-Lac, a new community within walking distance of the Hôtel Quintessence, also sell for 1 million Canadian dollars.
“Everything sells out here before it’s in the ground,” Mr. Ratsch said, including 24 half-acre lots in the Soleil village that listed for 500,000 to 700,000 Canadian dollars.
Property has been appreciating handsomely in the last two years, with land values skyrocketing. A 1.5-acre lot in the Belvedere subdivision that Mr. Lyons bought in 2003 for 90,000 Canadian dollars is now worth 275,000 Canadian dollars, he said. Million-dollar properties “were unheard of two or three years ago,” he said. “Now they are quite standard.”
Lay of the Land
POPULATION 8,735, according to town officials.
SIZE About 100 square miles.
WHO’S BUYING Britons, young families from Montreal and Ottawa, professional hockey players, celebrities, soon-to-be-retired Americans.
GETTING THERE Direct flights to Montreal are available from all three major airports in the New York City area, Miami, Chicago and other United States cities. Mont Tremblant is a 90-minute drive northwest from Montreal. Take Route 15 north to Route 117 and follow signs.
WHILE YOU’RE LOOKING The Château Beauvallon (6385 Montée Ryan, 888-245-4030; www.chateaubeauvallon.com) has 70 suites, ranging from one bedroom to four. All have kitchens or kitchenettes, two bathrooms, gas fireplaces and private balconies. Hotel amenities include a fitness center, an outdoor hot tub, indoor and outdoor pools and complimentary wine at happy hour. Rates start at 239 Canadian dollars a night, or about $203 at the rate of 1.18 Canadian dollars to the United States dollar. The 30 luxury suites at the Hôtel Quintessence (3004 Chemin de la Chapelle, 866-425-3400; www.hotelquintessence.com) include wood-burning fireplaces and private terraces. The hotel has an infinity pool and a spa. A two-night minimum is required on weekends. Rates start at 299 Canadian dollars in the low season.
