Acquired by two couples the day after Christmas 2020, the Au Clos Rolland, Couette & Café inn immerses the visitor in another era in the heart of the village of Sainte-Adèle. The story of a deep friendship, a place steeped in history and an atypical and inspiring management principle.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Claude Ménard and Geneviève Robert met Jean-François Lapalme and Alexandre Girard about ten years ago. “It was a kind of friendly love at first sight; we shared different moments together, whether through travel or common interests, such as hiking. We also like to eat well, and that’s one of the reasons that made us want to have an inn together,” says Claude.
Claude and Geneviève cherished the dream of running a B&B for a long time, then the idea of making this project a reality with their great friends germinated. “We liked the concept of living together, of planning for the long term. We form a family and we found it interesting to pool our assets and our energies,” says the mother of two young adults. “We lived in Montreal for a long time, then at one point, we were a little out of breath living in town with Claude and the children, so we moved to Sainte-Adèle eight or nine years ago. »
Lovers of old houses, the couple are well aware of the issues involved in an old house. Jean-François and Alexandre too. The first is a nurse and saw himself receiving people in a lodge: “It’s a different way of communicating than in the context of my work, but it’s also a different context than that of inviting friends to your home. »
When they saw that the Auberge Au Clos Rolland was on sale, they all said to themselves “It’s very big! », but the visit won them over. “I haven’t slept all night,” recalls Claude. The house could house all four of them in separate apartments, an essential point to preserve everyone’s privacy, in addition to offering five bedrooms and five bathrooms for guests.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Jean-François Lapalme, Alexandre Girard, Geneviève Robert and Claude Ménard, co-owners of Clos Rolland
We put all our marbles in the same bag, because we thought that this establishment was made for us.
Claude Ménard, co-owner of the Au Clos Rolland inn
A listed heritage
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The Inn is nestled on a quiet lot planted with mature trees just minutes from downtown. The owners have built a garage so that cyclists can put their bikes there.
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The projection of the main entrance is distinguished by fleur-de-lis ornaments. Renovation work, including painting, is underway to upgrade the property.
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
A pond adorns one side of the garden. The new project is to integrate a swimming pool.
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The large gallery is conducive to relaxation.
1/4
The Mont-Rolland district was a city before the municipal mergers. It was founded by Jean-Baptiste Rolland who, from an apprentice typographer, became an important businessman in the middle of the 19th century.e century. “He had the idea of creating his own printing press there rather than importing paper and joined in the revival of the Pays-d’en-Haut”, says Geneviève.
By buying land in Mont-Rolland that belonged to the Americans, he enlarged the factory and sold land to his employees, thus contributing to local development. The house was built in 1902 and extended around 1912. “It is adorned with lambrequins bearing the effigy of the fleur-de-lis, because it was important for Mr. Rolland to show that it was a Canadian house -French”, emphasizes Claude. The property remained in the family until 1995. It was then sold and transformed into an inn without altering its historical aspect.
Renovate according to the rules of the art
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The corridors and stairwells dressed in romantic wallpaper plunge the visitor into another era.
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Five rooms are intended for guests. “We can accommodate up to 15 people, because we have three additional beds, including two sofa beds,” emphasizes Geneviève Robert.
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
In this freshly redone bathroom, the clawfoot tub and ceramic tiles are original.
-
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Claude Ménard shows here the woodwork on one of the doors. We see two suns identical to those on the gables of the gallery and on other houses in the neighborhood.
1/4
Acquiring such a large estate requires constant maintenance, and the burden is heavy. The quartet was well aware of the work to be done and planned work to restore it to its former glory. “We do a lot of painting and we look for pieces of wood to replace those that are damaged. It’s not easy, and it’s also hard to find specialized craftsmen,” notes Mr. Ménard.
“Of course it needs love, but the woodwork, the stairs are extraordinary. It’s extremely important for us to upgrade things while respecting what already exists,” enthuses Jean-François. Another challenge successfully met: bring the plumbing and electricity up to standard.
We want our customers to benefit from modern comfort, while keeping the identity of the property.
Jean-François Lapalme, co-owner of the inn
State-of-the-art equipment
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The kitchen has been redesigned to be more efficient at meal times for customers, but the owners have made informed choices so that it matches the original character of the house.
The four friends were very excited when they opened in May 2021. Over time, they found solutions to various problems. “We offer four-course dinners to our hostel guests. So it happens that we have 14 people at the table. We quickly realized that the evenings doing the dishes were very long and that it was less time to chat with people, when it is often the contact they are looking for when staying in a gîte » , Claude explains.
Jean-François then replies in a joking tone that it was Claude’s madness: to invest in industrial equipment to save time. So they bought professional appliances, including a dishwasher that does the job in 140 seconds! Everyone agrees that the game was worth the candle on all counts. Technological improvements also go through the new reservation system they just bought, because the previous owners took them on paper.
An ideal organization
Well equipped, the team is better organized, but it is also the way it operates the lodge that is its strength. “We are lucky to have jobs that give us the possibility of obtaining leave without pay or with deferred pay. So we take turns taking care of the gite,” explains Geneviève.
It is therefore Jean-François who will take over from Claude, currently in charge until the end of 2022. “It is clear that we help each other naturally. It’s really a balance so as not to burn out and even if it’s not for now, it’s also our great retirement project,” she concludes.