Profile Facts: Canada's grand railway hotels

Saturday, September 11

Resort town

Resort town,

The majority of shops in downtown Jackson, Wyoming cater to tourists.

A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy. Most resort towns have one or more actual resorts in or nearby, although some places are considered resort towns merely because of their popularity among tourists.

Typically, the economy of a resort town is geared almost entirely towards catering to tourists, with most residents of the area working in the tourism or resort industry. Shops and luxury boutiques selling locally-themed souvenirs, motels, and unique restaurants often proliferate the downtown areas of a resort town.

Resort town economy

If the resorts or tourist attractions are seasonal in nature (such as a ski resort), resort towns typically experience a on-season where the town is bustling with tourists and workers, and an off-season where the town is populated only by a small amount of local year-round residents.

In addition, resort towns are often popular with wealthy retirees and people wishing to purchase vacation homes, which typically drives up property values and the cost of living in the region. Sometimes resort towns can become boomtowns due to the quick development of retirement and vacation-based residences

However, most of the employment available in resort towns are typically low paying and it can be difficult for workers to afford to live the area in which they are employed. Many resort towns have spawned nearby bedroom communities where the majority of the resort workforce lives.

Resorts towns sometimes struggle with problems regarding sustainable growth , due to the seasonal nature of the economy, the dependence on a single industry, and the difficulties in retaining a stable workforce.

Examples of resort towns

Asia

Nabran, Azerbaijan,Sanya, China,Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt,Dahab, Egypt,

Matheran, India,Bali, Indonesia,Eilat, Israel,Okinawa, Japan,Langkawi, Malaysia,

Sabah, Malaysia,Cebu, Philippines,Panglao, Philippines,Santosa, Singapore,

Phuket, Thailand,Pattaya, Thailand,Ko Samui, Thailand,

Africa and Surrounding Islands

Jerba, Tunisia,Swakopmund, Namibia,Plettenberg Bay, South Africa,

Las Palmas, Spain (EU),Maspalomas, Spain (EU),Playa del Inglés, Spain (EU),

Playa de las Americas, Spain (EU),

America

Canada

Whistler, British Columbia,Kimberley, British Columbia,Banff, Alberta,

Jasper, Alberta,Mont-Tremblant, Quebec,Barrie, Ontario,

Collingwood, Ontario,St. Andrews, New Brunswick,

Niagara Falls, Ontario,

Mexico

Cancún, Quintana Roo,Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur,

Los Cabos, Baja California Sur,Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco,

Rocky Point, Sonora,Mazatlán, Sinaloa,,

United States

Bull Shoals, Arkansas,Laguna Beach, California,Long Beach, California,Monterey Bay, California,

Santa Cruz,Santa Monica, California,South Lake Tahoe, California,Sun Valley, Idaho,Aspen, Colorado,

Vail, Colorado,Destin, Florida,Daytona Beach, Florida,Destin, Florida,Miami Beach, Florida,

Orlando, Florida,Palm Beach, Florida,Panama City Beach, Florida,Ocean City, Maryland,

Cape Cod, Massachusetts,Mackinaw City, Michigan,Branson, Missouri,Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri,

Las Vegas, Nevada,Laughlin, Nevada,Atlantic City, New Jersey,Ocean City, New Jersey,

Ruidoso, New Mexico,East Hampton, New York,Lake George, New York,Montauk, New York,

Ocean Beach, New York,Southampton, New York,Hershey, Pennsylvania,Rincon, Puerto Rico,

San Juan, Puerto Rico,Hilton Head Island, South Carolina,Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,

Gatlinburg, Tennessee,Pigeon Forge, Tennessee,Moab, Utah,Park City, Utah,Saint George, Utah,

Stowe, Vermont,Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin,Jackson, Wyoming,Door County, Wisconsin,Bar Harbor, Maine,Lake Geneva, Wisconsin,

Europe

European Union

Coastal towns of Spain, for example Benidorm, Malaga (with Marbella etc). Also Balearic Islands (Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza) and Canary Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria)

Coastal towns of Italy, for example Amalfi, Capri, Taormina, Porto Cervo, Sorrento, Portofino and Italian Riviera. Also alpine resorts such as Cortina d'Ampezzo

Coastal towns of Portugal, for example Lisbon (mainly suburbs: Cascais and Sintra), Faro and Algarve region

Coastal towns of France on the Mediterranean Sea, example Cannes, Saint Tropez, Nice and the French Riviera. Also alpine resorts. Corsica island.

Coastal towns of Greece and particularly of its islands, for example Faliraki on Rhodes, Kavos on Corfu

Coastal towns of Cyprus, for example Paphos

Coastal towns of Croatia, for example Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik

Gibraltar, overseas territory of UK

Malta

Monaco

Bulgaria: Varna, Sunny Beach

Romania: Mamaia, Neptun, Predeal, Sinaia, Vama Veche

Poland: Świnoujście, Ustka-Rowy-Łeba region, Sopot, Międzyzdroje, Ciechocinek, Wisła, Szczyrk, Ustroń, Brenna and Istebna within Silesian Beskids, Zakopane, Krynica, Szczawnica, Szklarska Poręba, Karpacz

Lithuania: Druskininkai, Juodkrantė, Nida, Palanga

England: Blackpool, Newquay, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Skegness, Lincolnshire Southend and many coastal resorts, especially along much of the South Coast

Rest of Europe,Alanya, Turkey,Antalya, Turkey,Bodrum, Turkey,Marmaris, Turkey,

Rest of Turkish Riviera,

Bečići, Montenegro

Coastal towns of the former Yugoslav states - Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and the town of Neum in Bosnia and Hercegovina,

Sochi, Russia,

Ukraine, Crimea, Feodosia, Yalta, Eupatoria, Alushta, Gurzuf,

Ukraine, Kherson, Skadovsk,

Ukraine, Odessa, Ochakov, Nikolaev,

Oceania

Guam, Micronesia

Saipan, Micronesia

Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand,

Thredbo, New South Wales, Australia,

Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand,

Canada’s railway hotels are a series of grand hotels across the country, each a local and national landmark, and most of which are icons of Canadian history and architecture. Each hotel was originally built by the Canadian railway companies, or the railways acted as a catalyst for the hotel’s construction. The hotels were designed to serve the passengers of the country's then expanding rail network and they celebrated rail travel in style.

Architecture

Many of the railway hotels were built in the "château style" (also termed the “neo-château” or "châteauesque" style), which as a result became known as a distinctly Canadian form of architecture. The use of towers and turrets, and other Scottish baronial and French château architectural elements, became a signature style of Canada’s majestic hotels. Architects also used the style for important public buildings, such as the Confederation and Justice buildings in Ottawa. In later years, the railway companies departed from the château style for some of their properties, notably with the construction of Winnipeg's Royal Alexandra in 1906; the Palliser Hotel in Calgary, built in 1914; and the elaborate second Hotel Vancouver , designed in grand Italianate style, unlike any of the previous Canadian railway hotels.

History

Banff Springs Hotel in 1929.

Canada's first grand railway hotel, the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, opened in 1878. Although it was not owned by a railway company, it was built to serve railway visitors from nearby Windsor Station. Given its location next to Montreal's main train station, the Windsor served for years as the permanent residence of executives of both the Canadian Pacific Railway and Grand Trunk Railway.

The railways' development role in the construction and operation of large hotels was inaugurated with Canadian Pacific Railway's opening of the Hotel Vancouver on May 16, 1888. This was the first of three railway-owned hotels by that name in Vancouver. Two weeks later, the Canadian Pacific Railway officially opened the Banff Springs Hotel on June 1, 1888. CPR president William Cornelius Van Horne had personally chosen the site in the Rocky Mountains for the new hotel. He envisioned a string of grand hotels across Canada that would draw visitors from abroad to his railway. Van Horne famously remarked: “If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll import the tourists.” The original Banff Springs Hotel, of wooden construction, was destroyed by fire in 1926 and replaced by the present structure.

Canadian Pacific Hotels next built the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, which quickly came to be the symbol of the city. It was designed to rival any hotel in Europe. Its elevated location overlooking the city also made it a readily identifiable landmark as viewed from passing trains as well as ships plying the waters of the Saint Lawrence River en route to Montreal. Place Viger followed in Montreal, followed by The Empress in Victoria, British Columbia and the Château Lake Louise in Alberta. The largest of these hotels is the Royal York in Toronto, which opened in 1929. The CPR’s main competitor, the Grand Trunk Railway, was not prepared to leave the field solely to its rival. It also determined to build a chain of luxury hotels across the country, which it did in the château style. The GTR built the Château Laurier in Ottawa in 1912, with the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg and the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton following in 1913 and 1915 respectively.

The Château Laurier in Ottawa.

The GTR was amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway in 1920. During the decades that followed, the CPR and the CNR continued to expand their competing hotel chains across the country. The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, built in 1958 over that city’s Central Station, was perhaps the last true railway hotel built in Canada. Both railways continued to open new establishments in subsequent years, although none had any connection to the railways, except through their ownership.

In 1988, Canadian Pacific acquired the CNR hotels. For the first time, many of Canada’s railway hotels were operated by the same company. In 1999, Canadian Pacific Hotels became Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, using the name of a company it had recently acquired. Although Fairmont continues to operate many of Canada’s landmark hotels, including Château Montebello and others some of the historic railway hotels are owned and managed by other hotel chains.

Profile Facts

Saturday, September 11

Resort town

See also

Canada's grand railway hotels

See also