Senators owner Andlauer part of 'all-star' bid for Château Montebello
The Fairmont Château Montebello was put up for sale in 2024 after its previous owners were forced to sell off their real estate holdings.
By Aedan Helmer, Ottawa Citizen
Published Jun 08, 2026 | Last updated 2 minutes ago
Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer and Devcore Group CEO Jean-Pierre Poulin are part of an “all-star” team of entrepreneurs bidding to buy the iconic Fairmont Château Montebello.
Poulin confirmed he is part of the group with Andlauer and Le Nordik spa founder and CEO Martin Paquette, along with two unnamed real estate entrepreneurs who secured a bid for the historic hotel and sprawling 21-hectare property on the north shore of the Ottawa River in Montebello, Que.
Known as the world’s largest log cabin and one of Canada’s most storied hotels, Château Montebello was put up for sale in 2024 after Hong Kong-based real estate conglomerate China Evergrande was ordered to liquidate $245 billion in worldwide assets.
Evergrande had purchased the 211-room Château Montebello in 2014 as its first major investment in the Canadian real-estate market.
The hotel opened on July 1, 1930. It was constructed in just over four months under the guidance of Victor Nymark, a Finnish-born architect and master log builder.
In an interview Monday, Poulin said Andlauer called him in the last few weeks and said, “J-P, what about Montebello? And so I said, ‘What about Montebello?'”
Andlauer purchased the Ottawa Senators in 2023 for $950 million USD along with several partners, including Poulin’s Devcore Group, a minority owner in the team’s community ownership group.
“Part of (Andlauer’s) mission is to invest and increase the fanbase here in the Outaouais and in Gatineau, so this makes perfect sense to make sure that we step up and we don’t let this beautiful asset go to a U.S. potential buyer or another Chinese buyer who never even visit the property ever,” Poulin said.
“It’s in my back yard, I’m there 10 or 15 times a year and it’s very important for the history of the Montebello village,” he said. “All of this needs to be celebrated, and we feel we have an all-star group that can take this to the next level.
“Château Montebello 2.0 sounds great, but it requires a lot of love, understanding of the history, but also some serious investment,” Poulin said.
He said the chance to acquire the historic property was a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.
Poulin said Paquette’s involvement was key to the bid as “one of the best spa creators and operators in the world” with Le Nordik in Chelsea the largest thermotherapy spa in North America.
“Le Nordik Spa is unique in the world. People don’t understand how unique it is and how lucky we are to have this in Chelsea, and I think we could have a version similar to this on the Château Montebello,” Poulin said.
He pledged to transform Montebello’s renowned 18-hole golf course into one of the top-10 courses in Canada by the time the hotel celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2030.
“I think we have the landscape and we have the partners. … We spoke to a very famous architect who would help us to redesign this as soon as possible if we can win the bid. But now we have to win this.”
The winning bid is expected to be announced on Tuesday, June 9 at 5 p.m.
“I hope that they’re going think it through and that if it’s not us, it’s a group like us that are doing this for the right reasons, and that’s going to celebrate this place, that’s going to keep Fairmont there,” Poulin said. “Fairmont is an amazing banner for this site and they’ve done a great job for the last few decades, the employees are used to that. So you don’t want to come in and rock the boat.”
At the peak of construction before its opening in 1930, 3,500 people worked around-the-clock to put together the Château and its outbuildings, which were made from 10,000 western red cedar logs.
Built on the north shore of the Ottawa River on an estate previously owned by the Papineau family, the Château first served as a private sportsman’s club and played host to bank presidents, wealthy businessmen, Hollywood stars and politicians.
Canadian Pacific Railway bought the property in 1970 and transformed it into a public resort. The Fairmont banner was added in 2000.
Château Montebello hosted major international conferences, including a NATO conference, a Bilderberg congress and the 1981 meeting of the G7, which featured U.S. President Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President François Mitterrand.
The 21-hectare property offers skiing and hiking trails, indoor and outdoor pools, an 18-hole golf course designed by Stanley Thompson, a 100-slip marina, skating, curling and tennis facilities.
Colliers is managing the sale of the property and acting as adviser to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the court-appointed receiver of Millennium Golden Jiachen Hotel Holdings Ltd.
The site continues to be managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts under a hotel management agreement, Colliers said. Approximately $17 million in capital improvements have been invested in the site between 2019 and 2025.
Poulin said his group is led by two “very wealthy” Quebec-based real estate entrepreneurs who secured the initial bid. Both are under 30, Poulin said, and one grew up within minutes of the historic hotel.
“It’s a special place for all of us,” he said.
— With files from Postmedia
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/senators-owner-andlauer-chateau-montebello
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