Andlauer-backed group loses Château Montebello bid to international hotel operator
Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer and local developers were notified their $100M+ redevelopment proposal did not win the court-supervised auction for the historic resort.
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The local consortium backed by Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer has lost its bid to acquire Château Montebello, the historic Gatineau-area resort put up for sale after its former owner collapsed into liquidation.
Devcore Group president Jean-Pierre Poulin confirmed Monday that the group learned it was not the successful bidder in the court-supervised sales process. The winning bidder is a multinational hospitality group with hundreds of hotels worldwide, though Poulin said the receiver had not yet made an official public announcement.
"We gave it our best," Poulin said. "We beefed up our bid, but it didn't turn favourably for us, so it's disappointing."
The consortium, which also included Nordik Spa founder Martin Paquette and developers Charles-Antoine Hallé and Edouard Wakim of Elevate Real Estate Properties, had pledged to invest between $100 million and $150 million in the property over four years if successful. The group's plans included expanding the marina and golf course, building a new spa, and constructing approximately 125 hotel-condos to raise the total suite count to nearly 350.
According to Hallé, the group was among the top bidders—just two or three contenders remained—making the loss particularly bitter. "We've learned that what made the difference is probably the amount of money offered," Hallé said during a press conference. "Even though the three best offers on the table were really close in price, only a couple of hundreds of thousands of dollars have made the final difference."
Poulin said the winning bidder will likely focus on improving the existing resort and guest experience rather than pursuing large-scale redevelopment. "That might be the difference between both bids," Poulin said. "They're going to focus on making the rooms better and the service better. We would have focused more on redevelopment."
The nearly century-old resort was put up for sale after Hong Kong-based China Evergrande Group was ordered into liquidation. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the court-appointed receiver, has not yet announced the successful bidder officially.
At a glance
Who won the bid for Château Montebello?
A multinational hospitality group with hundreds of hotels worldwide won the court-supervised auction, though the receiver has not yet made an official public announcement of the winning bidder's identity.
What was the Andlauer-backed group planning to do with the property?
The consortium planned to invest between $100 million and $150 million over four years, including expanding the marina and golf course, building a new spa, and constructing approximately 125 hotel-condos to bring the total suite count to nearly 350.
