(Le Bic) Chalets that are rented by the night. Fine products like at a hotel. A breathtaking view of Le Bic. Welcome to Le Vieux Loup de Mer, where the first rental is certainly not the last.
Nearly 25 years ago, Martin Gagnon and Jean-Luc Leblond bought their first chalet to restore it. “The estate agent didn’t even tell us that the land went all the way to the tip. »
A hidden treasure since the point overlooked the haven of Bic.
“We fitted out the chalet and I placed a classified ad to rent it,” says Martin Gagnon.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
“That’s why we exist,” says Martin Gagnon about the view from the Vieux Loup de Mer site on the harbor of Bic.
The success was such that Jean-Luc Leblond and him erected a second dwelling, a third, and so on, at the rate of one per year. All from wooden frames of old ancestral houses, the first of which dates from 1859.
“We have become the crazy people of the village who rent dismantled chalets”, illustrates Martin Gagnon, recalling that it was well before the arrival of Airbnb and even before the Parc du Bic was under the aegis of the Société des Établissements. de plein air du Québec (SEPAQ).
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Jean-Luc Leblond is more responsible for the construction, layout and decoration of the chalets, while Martin Gagnon manages marketing and all customer service.
If Jean-Luc Leblond was a plumbing and heating contractor like his father, he is an autodidact in construction and a lover of everything found in flea markets and garage sales.
I am a collector of decorative accessories. Snowshoes, oars, fishing rods, fur skins, dishes, thermos.
Jean-Luc Leblond
“Jean-Luc has always picked up junk, his lover jokes. We collected stock for years without knowing what we were going to do with it. By recovering houses, we could put everything in them. »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
While the five chalets rented all year round rest on foundations, others are erected on stilts directly on the cliffs. “You have to carry the equipment by hand,” says Jean-Luc Leblond.
Authenticity and a great concern for the decor, this is precisely what makes the charm of the Vieux Loup de Mer chalets, of which there are 15 today.
What sets them apart is also the concept of “hotel chalets” that Jean-Luc Leblond and Martin Gagnon have developed over the past few years.
Not only can you rent the chalets by the night, there is also soap, coffee and even something to eat… Just like in a hotel! “There is someone at the reception,” adds Martin Gagnon.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
As in a hotel, an attendant is at the reception.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
No need to stop at the grocery store – especially if you arrive late at night after hours on the road – thanks to a pantry that offers products such as Chasse-Marée bourgots, Quebec wines as well as dishes prepared by Colombe St-Pierre or by Adrian Pastor, or products from several local bakeries.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Each chalet has its history and some are located directly on the shore. A staircase also allows the tenants of the “upstairs” chalets to walk along the water’s edge.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
L’Hermite was rebuilt on a cliff overlooking the sea, using all of its original wooden parts dating back to 1875.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Le Contrebandier is an old house that was next to the Bic grocery store, while Le Nordet was an abandoned farmhouse. In the photo, we see La Capitainerie, where we spent a night.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Jean-Luc Leblond numbers the different wooden parts of the houses he dismantles and he makes a plan with photos.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The rooms have a soothing decor.
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Sleep well… and eat well!
It was at the start of the pandemic that Martin Gagnon came up with another concept: that of a pantry. “I called my friend Colombe St-Pierre,” says the one who became the only one to have products from the star chef outside his restaurant.
He also acquired a grocer’s liquor license and entrusted the wine list to Julien Gagnon of the Wino Import agency, so much so that we find in the pantry – the area of which was doubled during our visit – bottles from some of the most sought-after Quebec vineyards and even Auval beer (holy water for those who love it).
“When you arrive tired after a five-hour drive, you just want to sit down at sunset and drink a beer while eating,” illustrates Martin Gagnon, pointing out that orders can be made in advance by email and that any passer-by can stop to shop.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The Vieux Loup de Mer hotel chalets are located on route 132, very close to Bic National Park. There are 15 dwellings, 5 of which can be rented all year round.
Recently, guests can also enjoy a chicken coop and a vegetable garden.
People fetch their eggs and herbs. It’s amazing how it has become a beautiful meeting point.
Martin Gagnon
“A chef at the chalet”
“Every year, we have something new,” Martin Gagnon told us during our visit last April.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
In summer, enjoy the terrace which allows you to admire the river. In winter, we watch the water from inside in front of a fireplace.
The duo will set up a space – a sort of barn – to accommodate business groups and hold evening events. There will even be a kitchen whose chef in residence will be none other than Adrian Pastor, semi-finalist on the show The Chiefs ! last year.
His dishes are already offered in the Vieux Loup de Mer’s pantry. Even better: you can requisition his services as “chef at the chalet”.
Adrian Pastor loves cooking for people in the comfort of a home rather than in a restaurant. “The atmosphere is more relaxed and there is more contact with people. We leave a bigger trace in their minds. »
The native Peruvian who has lived in Quebec for six years is leading what he called the Yaku project (which means Water in the indigenous Peruvian Quechua language). The St. Lawrence River inspired him in his quest to offer personalized culinary experiences that introduce him to his adopted region. “Depending on what nature gives me at the moment,” he says.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The owners like to give a rustic look to the new chalets.
Of love and chalets
For his part, Jean-Luc Leblond has a perpetual project: to build new chalets. The next on the list will give a second life to a structure that he repatriated last year from Saint-Octave-de-Métis.
Is there a finality? “I never stop,” agrees the man with such a calm temperament.
“Martin, he chatters, he chatters, and he chatters”, he jokes.
Jean-Luc Leblond and Martin Gagnon, that’s a lot of chalets, but above all it’s a beautiful love story that has lasted 28 years… Since Jean-Luc Leblond ordered a drink in a bistro in Saint- Luce. Martin Gagnon was behind the bar after leaving Drummondville and studying tourism at LaSalle College.
“We chatted, then it’s been going on since then,” says Jean-Luc Leblond.
This is probably why there is so much love in the chalets of Vieux Loup de Mer.