If the news that Club Med was opening in Charlevoix had you unduly worried about the pace of global warming, you can relax.
The all-inclusive beach-vacation juggernaut — that got its start on Majorca as Club Mediterranée — has had a handful of ski resorts playing in its sandbox since the 1950s. This latest, ne plus ultra iteration opened in December 2021, at Le Massif, a perch on the St Lawrence halfway between Quebec City and the whale-watching hotspot of Tadoussac.
Architecture firm Lemay Michaud is responsible for the striking clapboard, stone, and sheet-metal exteriors. Tapestries and soft colours warm their airy interiors. The 302-room property abounds at every turn with invigorating mountain and river views. Chef Mathieu Masson-Duceppe of Old Montreal’s Jellyfish Crudo+Charbon runs the kitchen, with six restaurants and two bars under his direction. Winter-lovers can embrace cross-country and downhill skiing and snowshoeing, as well as a jaw-dropping luge run and four-season canoeing (yes, ice-canoeing is a thing). There’s mountain biking, hiking, rafting, and foraging forays once the snow melts. This being Club Med, there are all kinds of other activities, ranging from yoga and meditation to circus classes. Naturally, there is a spa — the Sothys spa — and, post-massage, while enjoying the river view from the hot and cold pools on the terrasse, you might contemplate your next (beach) vacation.
—Ivy Lerner-Frank
