Marriott Autograph Collection Hotels opened its first brand hotel in Canada with the historic Algonquin Resort at St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick, Canada. The Victorian-era seaside hotel has been restored and offers 165 guest rooms and 68 suites on four floors in a location with views over Passamaquoddy Bay.
Algonquin Resort originally opened in June 1989 as a railroad tourist resort in St. Andrews by the Sea. The property became one of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company Hotels in 1903 and in 1971 became the property of the New Brunswick Provincial Government. These CPR hotels are the historic hotels across Canada that were spun off into Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in 2001. The provincial government sought new management for The Algonquin Resort when Fairmont’s management lease expired in 2011. The hotel is now under Marriott management as a member of the Autograph Collection.
The hotel features an indoor pool and waterslide and an outdoor pool and spa tub. In its early days, the hotel pumped saltwater from the sea up to the hotel giving guests a choice of freshwater or saltwater baths. The Algonquin golf course is rated one of the top 100 courses in Canada.
At Category 5, the Algonquin Resort may be a hotel to book before the next round of Marriott Rewards hotel category changes potentially pushes it up to category 6.
I am sitting on several Marriott Rewards category-5 certificates from MegaBonus. I have fond memories of buying big Atlantic lobsters on trips in the 1990s when I would drive up the coast to New Brunswick from my home in Downeast Maine during the two years I lived in the area. I typically camped on those trips. St. Andrews by the Sea is a place I remember as the leading resort town in the province. Staying in a historic resort certainly looks like a comfortable way to revisit New Brunswick.
Wikipedia – Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by the Sea
Historic Algonquin Hotel Sale Finalized – CBC News (March 24, 2012)
Marriott The Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by the Sea, Autograph Collection
The Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick, Canada
Marriott Rewards category 5 reward at 25,000 points per night.
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Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
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