New Brunswick’s famed Algonquin Resort will lift spirits

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Tides and trees, golf and ghosts, sea and spa, flowers and food, the past meeting present.

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Add the Algonquin Resort to New Brunswick’s maxim as the province packed with “places with two faces,” ever changing by ebb and flow of the Bay of Fundy.

Built in 1889, faithfully restored after a 1914 fire, the Algonquin is constantly maintained and upgraded, its white Tudor facade, conical towers and rustic red roof covering two wings that overlook the charms of St. Andrews-by-the-Sea a short downhill walk away.

The one-time Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel, now part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, is cast in different light as each morning unfolds — an imposing medieval castle before Fundy’s thick fog burns off and later a golden glow under the stars, lit by lobby lanterns and huge windows of its 233 rooms. Guests can take it all in from rocking chairs on the long veranda, a bar stool in the Right Whale Pub or bring their drinks from fine dining at Braxton’s to gather at a huge fire pit and recap the day’s travel adventures.

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The Algonquin’s night vibe inspired writer Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining when the writer crossed from Maine for a wonderful stay. American and international visitors still make up one third to half of the resort clients, but some home-grown Canadian spirits apparently never checked out.

The male bell staff are in Scottish kilts with a Canadian maple tartan and they conduct nightly ghost tours. They introduce past colleagues, one who died in the aforementioned blaze, running back in the lobby to rescue a still-preserved lobby piano before he collapsed. Sometimes its ivories are heard mysteriously tinkling around 3 a.m., while other departed staffers are said to ride elevators or jangle their key chains.

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A four-year-old boy who fell from a high balcony chasing his ball and a crying bride-to-be who stayed in Room 473 to die of grief when stood up at the altar have both been sensed.

CPR builder William Van Horne had a summer home on nearby Ministers Island, thus many 19th-century VIPs stayed at the Algonquin, while a more modern list included Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the provincial premiers’ conference, Charles and Diana on a 1983 state visit, and, recently, actor Ethan Hawke.

The fire spared the Painter Wing, named after CPR chief architect Walter S. Painter, which added 100 rooms and 60 bathrooms to the resort. The price of a room increased to between $4 and $7 per day due to the introduction of a telephone system and electricity in each guestroom.

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After, a $3.7-million expansion added a rooftop garden and convention centre in 1991. There are two pools and spa facilities and during lunch at Braxton’s, general manager Stephen Dodwell told us a full Nordic spa is in expansion plans. Off-peak season rates run from about $150 to $300 a night.

The adjoining Algonquin Golf Course, opened soon after the hotel with its ocean vistas and two new waterside holes, is rated by Score Magazine as the best of New Brunswick’s 40 courses, three others of which are an hour’s drive.

THEY LIKE BIKES IN N.B.

Electric and regular five-speeds are available at the Algonquin to explore the town of 3,000 and surroundings. I hopped the latter on the family-friendly Van Horne Trail along scenic Passamaquoddy Bay, which changes shape every six-and-a-half hours on average with Fundy’s world-famous high tides. As well as awed by the water’s immense pull, it’s no exaggeration that 85% of Canada’s largest Maritime province is forest.

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That provided welcome solitude for a couple of kilometres before cycling back via Pendlebury Lighthouse. It was constructed in 1833 and maintained by the Pendlebury family for 100 of its 105 operational years, the oldest mainland lighthouse remaining in New Brunswick.

WALKING KINGSBRAE GARDENS

Not just horticulturists, but artists, architects, historians, animal lovers and foodies will find something to love in this vast 11-hectare spread, a few blocks’ walking distance from the Algonquin.

The Flemer family donated their colourful gardens to a non-profit which since 1998 has made an ecological statement and pledged to educate, preserve wildlife, create local jobs and encourage Canadian sculpture. Old and new gardening techniques are practiced here, more than 50,000 perennials in themed lots, ringed by an old-growth Acadian forest.

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Kids will love the tall hedge mazes, a farm of alpacas, goats, rabbits and the bird/butterfly area, while adults take in the individual therapy, scents and edibles gardens. There’s secluded seating throughout to appreciate Kingsbrae’s ponds, windmills, walking trails, an art studio and a Peace Garden dedicated to Canadian Forces personnel lost in Afghanistan with photo remembrances.

The Garden Cafe restaurant is on site highlighting the best in New Brunswick ingredients and recipes.

GANONG GOODIES

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In “Canada’s Chocolate Town,” Ganong’s is the nation’s oldest firm, dating to 1873 and with 250 workers remains St. Stephens’ largest employer. Enthusiastic young staffers run an informative 45-minute museum tour, the story of cocoa beans as currency among Aztecs and Mayans and the innovations five generations of Ganongs continue to bring to the industry.

They developed embossed paper to both protect the chocolates and stamp the bottom with the GB “Ganong Best” logo, as well as the first heart-shaped gift boxes, an attempt at Christmas 1932 to lift spirits during the Depression that instead surged in popularity at Valentine’s Day. They still use trained “hand dippers” who give each piece the distinct Ganong top swirl.

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Arthur Ganong did some serious reinvesting in his company in the early 1900s, consuming three pounds of chocolates a day and in his quest to perfect cellophane wrap to keep them from melting in his pockets on fishing trips, invented one of the first five-cent bars.

The fudge/coconut centred “Pal-O-Mine” was named from the loyalty people of all ages kept to it. Pink cinnamon ‘Chicken Bones,’ another Maritime fave, are among many delights in the company store post-tour. There is also a summer Chocolate Festival.

Attempts are being made to revive the area’s strong connections to the early days of basketball, including the reputed first court in Canada back in the late 19th century. The building that housed it — fortunately saved from a 2010 blaze by volunteer firemen — was where Canadian James Naismith introduced it to YMCA students. When the carpeting was pulled up to assess any fire damage, a hardwood surface was uncovered, though the site is still being prepared for future visitors.

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St. Stephen sits on the Eastern shore of the St. Croix River with wonderful views across to Calais, Maine.  Maple syrup is also plentiful in St. Stephen and around New Brunswick, third in North America in production of the sweet stuff to Quebec and Vermont.

LOOK TO THE SKIES, GUYS

The Algonquin and Cliff Valley Astronomy are hosting the Rising Sun Eclipse Experience and Retreat March 28 to 30. Such ‘Astrotourism’ ventures, for those unfamiliar, is gaining momentum in New Brunswick and around the world with an upcoming total lunar eclipse in mid-March, the solar Rising Sun March 29 and another total lunar event Sept. 7-8.

The province has four “dark sky preserves.” Fundy National Park, in partnership with Parks Canada and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, designated the first in 2011, within its borders between Saint John and Moncton. They are established to reduce artificial light glare, increase the visibility of the night sky, reduce energy consumption, and serve as a protected nocturnal habitat for birds, bats, insects and amphibians.

IF YOU GO

There’s more local info at standrewsbythesea.ca and explorenb.com.

lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

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