Trout Point chefs to speak at Canadian Chefs’ Congress in Grande Pre

Lodge Chef/Proprietors Vaughn Perret and Charles Leary will participate in the panel on Acadian/Cajun cuisine at the Canadian Chefs’ Congress, September 18, 2012, in Grande Pre, Nova Scotia. Paul Kennedy, host of CBC Radio’s popular Ideas program, will moderate the discussion of how an Acadian food culture based in Atlantic Canada was transplanted to the Mississippi Delta, and transformed into trendy Cajun cooking. Perret & Leary, who operated Chicory Farm and New Orleans’ Chicory Farm Cafe before moving to Nova Scotia, are co-authors of The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia. They have served as the Lodge’s chefs as well as cooking school instructors since 2000.

Perret & Leary will share the stage with Stephen Stryjewski, Chef/Owner , Cochon, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Karen Mersereau, Chef/Owner, Hotel Paulin, Caraquet, New Brunswick.

For more information on the Congress, click here.

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Trout Point to join Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia is pleased to announce that it will join Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH; slh.com), an unrivalled portfolio of some of the world’s finest small luxury independent hotels. Fewer than 5% of hotels expressing interest in membership ultimately attain that status, according to Michael Moloff, Development Director for the Americas.

In addition, the Lodge has just won an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine for its now 180+ selection list. The award listing appears in the issue of the magazine currently on newsstands. Earlier this year, Trout Point was selected by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) as the only accommodation in Nova Scotia to join its Signature Experiences Collection.

By associating with SLH, the Nova Scotia wilderness lodge has chosen to leave Relais & Chateaux (R&C), a Paris, France-based association of boutique hotels and gourmet restaurants it joined in 2009. R&C has about 14 members across Canada.

SLH has just 3 other Canadian properties, the Windsor Arms in Toronto, the Georgian Court in Vancouver, and Echo Valley Ranch & Spa in Jesmond, BC.

The move to SLH reflects the hard choices small independent hotels face in appealing to an ever more competitive international marketplace of vacation experiences. In this case, the proprietors of the 12-unit Nova Scotia lodge believes it has made the right decision in switching to Small Luxury.

Comprising over 520 hotels worldwide in more than 70 countries, the diversity of the individual SLH hotels, and the experiences that they offer, is truly exceptional. From cutting-edge design hotels to palatial 17th century mansions, city centre sanctuaries to remote private islands, historic country houses to idyllic resorts – the breadth and depth of the brand is far reaching.

While a hotel undoubtedly enjoys the benefits of being part of a global brand, SLH places enormous emphasis on celebrating the individuality of each hotel, a factor important to Trout Point.

Individuality remains one of the group’s core values and is central to the continued success of the brand. In the same vein, the CTC celebrates unique experiences with its Collection of authentically Canadian tourism opportunities.

The strength and credibility of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World brand is dependent on the quality of its individual hotels. Strict controls are applied to ensure that only the very best hotels with the highest standards are accepted into the brand, thus ensuring that the quality of the experience that guests receive is consistent across all SLH properties. To ensure that these exceptional standards of excellence are maintained, SLH has a carefully monitored ‘mystery guest’ programme which relies on valuable reviews from inspectors who importantly are also consumers.
According to CEO Paul Kerr, over the last 20 years SLH has been transformed from a Club of hotels to a Club of customers – customers who are loyal to the brand.

Trout Point will continues its commitment to world-class culinary & wine experiences for its guests—something emphasized within R&C—as exemplified by the Wine Spectator award. However, the owners believe SLH’s brand is more in line with the Lodge’s specific values in overall hotel operation.

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Lodge among top 10 eco friendly accommodations

Trout Point Lodge proudly announces that it appears on the top 10 list of eco lodges published today by USAToday Travel. The worldwide list of accommodations that “adhere to green values, offering nature adventures in a sustainable setting” was compiled by veteran travel journalist Larry Bleiberg and green vacation expert Irene Lane of greenloons.com. The article forms part of the popular national newspaper’s “10 great places” series.

“You’re not sleeping on a straw mat on a dirt floor. There are opportunities to stay in very comfortable accommodations” says Lane in the article. While emphasizing Trout Point’s outdoor activities such as star gazing, fishing, kayaking and mountain-bike safaris, the article also pointed to the Lodge’s emphasis on local foods. “You have local delicacies, which, from an eco standpoint, is great,” states Lane.

Other hotels on the top 10 list were as far flung as Ecuador, Kenya, the Czech Republic, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Trout Point was the only Canadian property. Earlier this year, Where magazine placed the Lodge on its list of “15 Deluxe Wilderness Retreats for All Seasons.”

USA Today remains number one in total daily print circulation in the United States. It also has one of the largest average-issue print audience of any national newspaper, with 3.2 million readers daily.

Trout Point Lodge opened in 2000 next to the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Secluded at the junction of 2 river, Trout Point offers the “darkest night skies in eastern North America,” as noted by USAToday. The 2012 season starts May 1.

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Portland, ME to Yarmouth, NS air service remains on the go!

Regularly scheduled flights between Portland, ME, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, are fast and easy.

• Scheduled flights at convenient times. (See schedule.)

• Be there in an hour and 15 minutes.

• Reasonable fares.

• Experienced pilots and mechanics.

• Reliable year-round service.

• Easy online booking.

Need to fly at a different time? No seats available on your flight? Have a large group? Learn more about our air charter service. We fly to Bar Harbor, Rockland, Auburn and throughout the Northeast.
Call 800-564-3882.

A valid passport is required for all travelers. See a complete list of required documents.

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Believing in the local economy & geotourism: Trout Point achieves 100% local employment

Last September, the Lodge was pleased to announce that 90% of its 14 employees were from the local area.

In its 12th season of operation, Trout Point is proud to say that has a truly home-grown (and fantastic) staff, truly representative of the local area. The only employee out of a current 14 from the outside area is the new staff astronomer, who graduated from Halifax’s St. Mary’s University and is native to New Brunswick. All 13 live in Yarmouth County, most in Kemptville itself.

Why is local so important? For one, it greatly increases the beneficial impact that Trout Point can have on the local economy. For another, it enhances the Lodge’s geotourism values; employees who live and play in the local region provide a more worthwhile, experiential experience for our guests. They become our concierges. Finally, it restores a Kemptville, NS tradition of guides, lodges, and nature tourism that deserves reinvigoration.

Trout Point has concluded its planning for the 2012 season, extended now from May 1 to November 30, and it looks as though 100% of the fabulous core team of 14 will be returning employees!

This includes locals hired as early as 1998 & 2003 to those who just joined the Lodge staff last year. As noted in this presentation, local hiring is an integral component in developing and sustaining a tourism destination:

What does Geotourism add?

• Builds on “sense of place” ‐ a destination’s geographical character & distinctiveness
• It’s synergistic ‐ All the elements of geographical character work together to create an experience that is richer than the sum of its parts
• Involves the community ‐ Provides a distinctive, authentic experience
• Informs both visitors & hosts – As residents become more informed & develop pride & skill in showing off their locale, tourists get more out of their visit  (both take responsibility for destination stewardship)
• Benefits residents economically ‐ Travel businesses hire local workers & use local services, products & supplies
• Supports integrity of place ‐ Destination‐savvy travelers seek out businesses that emphasize the character of the locale; In return, local stakeholders who receive economic benefits appreciate & protect the value of those assets
• Means great trips ‐ Enthusiastic visitors bring home new knowledge; They encourage friends & relatives to experience the same thing, which brings continuing business for the destination

When Trout Point was honoured as worldwide top 10 finalist in the Geotourism Challenge, Power of Place: Sustaining the Future of Destinations, it reinforced the Lodge’s commitment to geotourism and sustainable tourism practices. Efforts were redoubled to hire locally, which in turns gives guests an enhanced experience of place and benefits the local economy. As the Wikipedia entry on geotourism explains:

Like ecotourism, geotourism promotes a virtuous circle whereby tourism revenues provide a local incentive to protect what tourists are coming to see, but extends the principle beyond nature and ecology to incorporate all characteristics that contribute to sense of place, such as historic structures, living and traditional culture, landscapes, cuisine, arts and artisanry, as well as local flora and fauna. Geotourism incorporates sustainability principles, but in addition to the do-no-harm ethic, geotourism focuses on the place as a whole. The idea of enhancement allows for development based on character of place, rather than standardized international branding, and generic architecture, food, and so on.

Lodge proprietors and staff look forward to welcoming new and returning guests starting May 1! In so doing they will be continuing a century old lodge, camp, and guide traditionin Kemptville and Yarmouth County. As renowned local travel writer Bruce Bishop notes in his article “What might have been is not (yet) what is,” 

In another life, I’ve reviewed hotels and resorts for guidebook companies in places as far away as Bintan, Indonesia and Cape Town, South Africa…and I still contend that what we have here is a natural goldmine waiting for proper and sustainable tourism use. The state of New Hampshire has taken a keen interest in its old grand hotels and inns, many of which have been refurbished by private enterprise. And similar to the volume of visitors to that state over 100 years ago, Canadians alonemade more than 359,400 visits to New Hampshire in 2006, spending $78 million.

Let those fellow Canadians come here instead – and Americans, too – and make Loran Ellis Baker proud of what he began in 1892: a strong, self-reliant tourism industry in western Nova Scotia.

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Book a Trout Point Lodge package and get 1/2 the tax back!

Did you know that if you book a tour package with Trout Point Lodge, you can apply to get 1/2 of the 15% Harmonized Sales Tax refunded as a rebate from the Canadian government?

A tour package is a combination of two or more services or of property and services that includes transportation services, accommodation, a right to use a campground or trailer park, or guide or interpreter services when the property and services are supplied together for an all-inclusive price.

You can view and book current Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia packages here.

Our Nova Scotia Seafood Cooking School packages also count!

You will find more information and application forms from the Canada Revenue Agency here.

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Trout Point Lodge announces new accolades

Trout Point Lodge is pleased to announce that it has been independently selected for a 5/5 rating from Greenty.com, the leading online eco-travel guide, and has been accepted as a member of the Diamond Collection from travel web site bedandbreakfast.com as well as a “Fodor’s Choice” selection for the prestigious 2012 Fodor’s travel guide to Atlantic Canada. The guide was published on March 6, 2012.

Fodor’s, the leading name in travel information, today announced that Trout Point Lodge has been recognized as a Fodor’s Choice selection for the 2012-13 guide. According to publisher Random House, Fodor’s Choice selections recognize the top sights, properties, and experiences that the guide’s professional travel writers have found while traveling the world. These places are the “best of the best,” providing remarkable experiences in their price range, destination, or category.

Every year, Fodor’s writers experience, examine and evaluate thousands of hotels, restaurants and attractions in their travels across the globe. While every business included in a Fodor’s guide is deemed worth a traveler’s time, only those offering a truly remarkable experience are given the Fodor’s Choice designation.

As a 2012 Fodor’s Choice property Trout Point Lodge will receive special recognition in the next Fodor’s guidebook to this area and on http://www.Fodors.com.

The Lodge also learned today that Greenty, a website for eco-consumers to find a destination and search eco accommodations, has just finished its focus towards the green hotels in Canada, analyzing and understanding the policy those hotels have implemented to respect their environment. Greenty informed the Lodge that it had finalized the listing on Greenty.com where it had a rating of 5/5.

Finally, Trout Point Lodge was just approved for membership in the Diamond Collection by bedandbreakfast.com. The leading Austin, Texas-based specialty travel web site started the Diamond Collection about 2 years ago as an exclusive group of professionally inspected and guest-reviewed luxury inns. Each Diamond Collection property participates in a comprehensive annual inspection program, maintains top consumer reviews on BedandBreakfast.com, and offers the amenities and services required for a top-quality guest experience.

Trout Point Lodge is the collection’s first Canadian member.

The goal of launching the BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection was to distinguish a select group of properties that tend to highlight that smaller, independent properties can cater to all types of travellers. The company states: “Travellers will seek out properties that have both great consumer reviews and professional inspections, plus all modern amenities/luxuries, from online reservations to Wi-Fi to whirlpool tubs to first-rate hospitality. Diamond Collection properties are an exclusive group of professionally inspected and guest-reviewed luxury inns with extensive modern amenities. Once guests have experienced one Diamond Collection inn, they’ll be looking for a similar experience on their next getaway.”

About Trout Point Lodge
Founded in 2000, Trout Point Lodge counts among Canada’s best independent hotels. Nova Scotia’s only member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux Association, Trout Point offers an authentic Canadian wilderness experience with spacious accommodations and gourmet cuisine. The Lodge was the only accommodation finalist in the National Geographic Society’s Geotourism Challenge, Power of Place: Sustaining the Future of Destinations. Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.

About Fodor’s
Fodor’s Travel, a division of Random House, Inc. is one of the world’s leading providers of travel information. Covering over 300 destinations worldwide, Fodor’s guidebooks and website, Fodors.com, have provided the most up-to-date, accurate information for travelers for seventy-six years. Written by a team of over 700 writers located around the globe, Fodor’s provides travelers with engagingly written, intelligently and accurately reported, and absolutely indispensable travel guidance. Visit http://www.Fodors.com.

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Lodge named to top 15 wilderness retreats list

Where Canada has named Trout Point Lodge among “15 wilderness retreats for all seasons.” Author Carissa Bluestone chose 15 hotels from across Canada, the majority grouped in British Columbia. Trout Point is the only property representing Atlantic Canada.

“Getting out into nature doesn’t have to mean tent camping and pit toilets,” writes Bluestone. “For a truly unforgettable vacation without a hint of ‘roughing it’, opt for one of these gorgeous wilderness retreats.” The article puts the Lodge in great company, including Sonora Resort, Cathedral Mountain Lodge, and King Pacific Lodge, a Rosewood Resort.

“In Acadian Forest, near the Tusket and Napier rivers,” the article states, ”Trout Point offers some unusual activities, like stargazing in the nearby Dark Sky Preserve and bathing in the supposedly antioxidant-rich and therapeutic Tusket.” It goes on to recommend the new Forest Suite as an accommodation of choice.

Trout Point was also recently named among the world’s “top 10 foodie getaways” by Departures magazine.

 

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L’âme et L’esprit features the “nature shared” at Trout Point

France-based L’âme et L’esprit magazine is featuring Trout Point Lodge in its World Citizens series of articles on eco-friendly hotel properties. Author Jerome Berger notes that alongside Trout Point being “an ultra-comfortable, picture-book lodge” it also carries out numerous practices to eliminate or minimize negative environmental impacts.

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Dining at Trout Point in 2012 . . .

Proprietors Vaughan Perret and Charles Leary plan many improvements to the dining experience for 2012. Final touches are being put on the Lodge’s second dining venue, Chez la Tousquet, which features views of La Riviere Tousquet, paneled walls, and a masterful hand-chiseled red sandstone fireplace. There’s also a rough-hewn bar carved from a giant Hemlock tree.

Chez la Tousquet first received diners in 2011, but this year will see padded tables with white linens, crystal stemware, fine china chargers, and silver flatware for an enhanced dining experience unparalleled in the province. This dining room seats up to just 10 persons, either as a private dining room or a more intimate venue for couples.

Following the 2011 season where the table d’hote menu started always offering a fresh, homemade pasta option for the main course, in 2012 the Lodge will offer a choice of 2 full fixed menus, one focused on local seafood.

Trout Point’s cuisine has garnered praise recently, with veteran writer Nigel Richardson giving the Lodge’s food & drink a score of 9/10 in The Telegraph, Departures magazine naming it among the world’s top 10 foodie getaways, and Sarah Barrell writing for The Independent:

Trout Point’s gastronomy looms large on the North American culinary scene. The owners – organic farmers, cookbook writers and restaurateurs – have won numerous accolades, representing three of only a handful of Americans who are members of the French Cheesemakers Guild. The trio have roots in New Orleans and came to Nova Scotia seeking their Acadian heritage – Louisiana’s Cajun culture descends from Atlantic Canada’s 17th century French colonists. Food is a mix of Creole, French and modern North American, with seasonal ingredients drawn from the lodge’s organic garden and surrounding forest.

Couples seeking a romantic, candle-lit dinner can also request seating in front of the fireplace in the main lodge’s Great Room. The longstanding favourite Dining Room remains the venue of choice for most guests as well as those reserving dinner only. Come experience what WHERE Canada recently featured: “a kitchen specializing in Atlantic Acadian cuisine: locally inspired meals that highlight sustainable seafood, foraged ingredients and produce from the extensive on-site garden.”

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