The day after a major fire severely damaged the Hotel & Spa Mont Gabriel in Sainte-Adèle in the Laurentians, it’s time to clean up.
• Also read: Major fire at the Hotel Mont Gabriel in Sainte-Adèle
According to the current status, the house has to close its doors until further notice.
140 employees are therefore unemployed three weeks before Christmas, and several hundred reservations had to be cancelled. Affected customers will be notified as soon as possible and their deposits will be refunded. Clean-up crews have been on duty since early morning to limit the damage.
The two reception halls devastated by the flames are total losses. The dining room, kitchen, bedrooms and other parts of the main building were damaged by water and smoke. The fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Friday morning in the building’s wing. It took more than 90 firefighters from a dozen fire departments 12 hours to bring the blaze under control.
For the general manager of the Hotel & Spa Mont Gabriel, Martin Lavallée, it is a blow. He does not know how long the reconstruction will take and when he will be able to open his doors again.
“44 years of service here, it’s my home, I’m sure this situation touches me emotionally. I am very concerned about my employees […] We want to keep the employees who are with us. The animal is injured but it is not dead. We already have teams that are here to clean it, we will fix it and we will reopen as soon as possible, ”explains Mr. Lavallée.
It is also a heavy loss for the region’s economy. The sprawling complex at the top of the ski slopes houses a hotel, but also a spa, reception rooms, a restaurant and rental chalets. Sainte-Adèle Mayor Michèle Lalonde said she was very saddened by the situation.
“It is a place, Mont Gabriel, where many congresses and events have taken place. […] It was internationally known, so many people were attracted to it. There is a ski center right next door. We are losing a large hotel in Sainte-Adèle,” explains Ms. Lalonde.
CÉDRIK DAGENAIS / QMI AGENCY
Maxime, who was met on the spot by our journalist, got married at the hotel exactly five weeks ago. He told her he received his wedding video the day before the fire and wanted to see the damage for himself.
“It’s very sad. We received our wedding video on Thursday. We saw the beauty of the room. It was beautiful inside. I watched it yesterday with great emotion. I don’t know yet, but I have the impression that “It’s no longer there. I’m thinking of a lot of people who worked here, committed employees who were unemployed on Christmas Eve. Of course it’s all very sad,” he regrets.
According to the director of the Sainte-Adèle fire brigade, Stéphan Turcotte, the cause of the fire is unknown for the time being. The fire service will start investigating on Monday.