STATELY INN REFLECTS THE BEST OF BROMONT
Auberge Nuits St-Georges gives guests room to breathe, opportunities to explore
The elegant Auberge Nuits
St- Georges is at the centre of Bromont’s exceptional dining, spa life and sports.
The 1881 manor house is one of the architectural treasures along Bromont’s main street. It is so successful that it rates 9.2/10 on hotels.com and has been designated “Loved by Guests.”
Nuits St- Georges’ owner, Chanel Crevier, is a business school graduate and an accomplished equestrian who is a regular competitor at Bromont’s Olympic Equestrian Centre, a site of the 1976 Summer Games.
She packages visits to her inn with many of the most compelling local experiences: spa life at the lakeside sanctuary Balnea; gastronomy at Cellier du Roi, owned by Relais & Châteaux chef Jérôme Ferrer; and golf at Royal Bromont, one of four courses around town.
The Christmas Train of the scenic Orford Express, a delight for families, will depart Bromont on Nov. 24 and 25 and Dec. 1 and 2, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
One of the biggest attractions of Bromont is that it is a handy 50-minute drive from the Champlain Bridge, so it is a terrific short hop.
The inn: Auberge Nuits St- Georges is a large, rambling house with two modern extensions, so there is lots of space for nine good-size guest rooms and suites, a breakfast room and a living room with a library, fireplace and TV.
“Our location and the beautiful building are our strong points,” said Crevier. “And the gardens are wonderful.
“The house really has cachet and soul.”
The inn is on a huge lot on a
quiet section of Bromont’s main street, and the extensive grounds and beautiful landscaping give it scope and character. It’s shaded by maples and pines and brightened with flower boxes and ferns. The backyard is a private, leafy paradise with a hot tub, a sauna and a fish pond for decoration.
The inn’s facade is in the stately neo-Palladian style, characterized by symmetry and the columns of ancient Greek and Roman temples.
Each guest room is different, but they all have fresh white duvet covers, mini-fridges, modern bathrooms, gas or electric fireplaces and TVs.
It’s not cluttered, the spaces breathe and the windows are large. Depending on the room, you might have a view of a golf course, a church steeple, Mont Shefford or Mont Brome, with its ski trails.
Most rooms have sitting areas or separate living rooms, and many have the original wideplanked floors and vintage dark wood beams. The third-floor No. 8 is a honeymoon hideaway, with the sloped ceiling of an attic, white beadboard walls and original woodwork.
The inn’s artworks come from Galerie Artêria, also on the main street, which sells paintings by Quebec and international artists. The display is constantly changing, and everything is for sale.
Auberge Nuits St- Georges offers a choice of three breakfasts: eggs and bacon, French toast or yogurt with granola, all served with fruit, croissants, homemade blueberry or raspberry jam (from the garden) and coffee.
Creative cuisine: Chardo, an adventurous, contemporary restaurant and wine bar, stands out even in a culinary hot spot like Bromont. Its haute cuisine is based on flavourful, fresh ingredients from forests, fields and lakes, and its wines are organic or purely natural. The food is exquisitely different, beautifully presented and reasonably priced for gastronomic fare.
Chardo is run by a young, talented trio: chef Anthony Mesko (formerly of Montreal’s Europea), sommelier Benoît Hébert and maître d’ Amélie DubéRinguet, who happens to be Mme Mesko.
The exciting menu features rarities like elk with apples, boar with huckleberries, bison ravioli and wild hare with juniper. Creative appetizers include scallops with sea urchin foam, wild mushrooms with ricotta and pistachios, and braised pumpkin. Desserts are equally au naturel: beignets with cedar caramel, crème brûlée with birch syrup or the totally unusual pannacotta with chocolate and glazed mushrooms. Sweet stop: On the outskirts of town, pastry chef par excellence Michaël Roger of Boulangerie Pâtisserie Canaël spins chocolate, fruit, flour and sugar into artful creations. Roger’s signatures include almond croissants, lime pie, artisanal breads and the divine Canaël, an almond-hazelnut cake topped with praline and chocolate mousse.
The lunch menu focuses on quiches, generous salads and inventive sandwiches of chicken, turkey, ham or smoked salmon with cranberries, Brie and walnuts. The specialty pâté en croûte champenois is a rich, flaky wrap around marinated pork.